Philosophy Notes St.

Augustin



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Philosophy Notes St. Augustin

This section covers St. Augustin from the Early Ideas all the way to _____________. Test will be
on Friday 12/13 with a study day Thursday 12/12.
Two Ideas that shaped St. Augustin
- Manichaeism
- Neo-Platonism
Manichaeism:

Founded by Mani (unknown real name) in Mesopotamia during the 3
rd
Century.
- Claimed to have a revelation that told him he was the Paraklyte
Paraklyte (tookctoo): the Helper Jesus said he would send to the Apostles
keep in mind its an advocate in a legal sense, not just some helper
- Didnt get very far in Mesopotamia but gained slight influence in the Church
- Manichaeism is syncretistic/eclectic it mixed all kinds of different religions into one.
- Very empiricism-focused there is no room for faith, only concrete evidence.
How did Augustin get involved? He was the auditor for the Manicheans.
3 Main Features of Manichaeism:
1. Ultimate Metaphysical Dualism (UMD): the theory that two ultimate powers are locked
in a never ending conflict (light VS darkness).
2. Syncretism: Manichaeism mixes in a whole bunch of other religions into one.
Claim that Jesus was just some good guy who should be considered a role model.
3. Creation Myth: Basically, the god of light created Adam with original light until the god
of darkness invaded, swallowed the light, and regurgitated out the moon, starts, order,
etc with Adam in okay condition. Adam recovers but Eve also shows up and seduces him
because she is half-light-half-dark and as a result has Abel and Seth but has Cain when
she met with Satan. Now theres a weird mixture of light and dark and so the god of
light sends figures into the world to liberate us from the darkness.
Adds to a negative view of Eve and a positive view of Mary.

Philosophy Notes St. Augustin



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Neo-Platonism:

Founded by Plotinus during the 3
rd
Century.
- Very anti-Christian and wanted to create some kind of complex pagan philosophy
(Gnostic)
- Very complicated and intricate system of beliefs.
6 Main Features of Manichaeism:
1. Idealistic Monism: Plotinus believes in a real/ideal emanation-theory being. He is
ineffable he neither thinks nor not-thinks, exists nor not-exists, is written in these
notes nor not written in these notes, etc.
2. Illusory Evil: Evil is simply the absence of good and it is a trick (deprivation of the good).
3. Cosmology: Has a hierarchy of beings in the universe which is as follows:
The One that ineffable being that cant be described but is described in
negatives anyways.
Nous (vous) The thoughts of the One, basically revisiting Platos ideal world
Psyche (u_q) The soul/mind, our rational thinking selves in a network with
the One.
Matter Non-living stuff. Rocks, trees, desks, etc.
Nonbeing Stuff that doesnt exist.
4. Microcosm: Man is a microcosm because he has the whole reality of the universe inside
of him.
5. Salvation: A mystical process where we have some weird mystical union with the One.
Mystically, of course.
6. Creation: Creation by the One (who neither creates nor not creates) is automatic,
involuntary, and eternal.




Philosophy Notes St. Augustin



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St. Augustin

(Note: You may see it spelled as St. Augustine but you dont pronounce it as such.)
Born November 13, 354 AD outside of Carthage
- Pagan dad, Christian mother (named Monica)
- Received a state-of-the-art education
Moved to Carthage
- Went crazy, partied, etc.
- Had a girlfriend and a son as a result
Joined Manicheans and became their auditor, moved to Rome 8 years later and rejected
Manichaeism. After that he moved to Milan, split up with his girlfriend, and completely melted
down.
- Chair of Rhetoric (dignified position)
- Attended the Church of Ambrose
- Converted to Christianity in a garden after hearing the voice of a little girl saying pick
up and read (after desperately asking God for help). Assumed it was the voice of God.
- Found Romans 13:13 (Let us behave decently )
Moved back to North Africa and became an almost-monk doing nothing but devotion, reading,
prayer, etc.
- Nominated the Bishop of Hippo on the coastline
- Died in 430 AD
Basic Points of Augustin:
3 Women: 3 Philosophies: 3 Heresies:

- Monica (his mom)
- Girlfriend
- Little Girl in Garden


- Neo-Platonism
- Platonism
- Skepticism

- Manichaeism
- Donatism
- Pelagianism




Philosophy Notes St. Augustin



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Augustins Epistemology:

Augustin is simply a Christian Platonist.
3 Levels of Reality: 3 Types of Reason 3 Types of Knowledge

- God
- Man
- Body (Matter)


- Eternal
- Human
- Seminal

- Sapientia
- Scientia
- Sensation

The mind of Man moves in both directions either we think about God and the Eternal
(Augustins Logos) or about Body and the Seminal.
Eternal Reason is in the mind of God ideas of the ideal world.
- Ideas including Universals, Forms, Logic, Predication, Numbers, Beauty, and Ethical
Truth
Seminal Reason is reason found in nature (like gravity, breathing, Boyles Law, etc.)
The forms of knowledge are all present in the human mind
- Sapientia: wisdom, adding meaning of God (Why knowledge)
- Scientia: science, classifying things (How knowledge)
- Sensation: experience, by the senses (What knowledge)
Everyone has something in the place of God in their minds and that affects their actions and
thoughts.

Theory of Illumination:

God is to the human mind what light is to the human eye without God our human minds
(not just those of Christians) become useless. #fail


Abstraction
(Deduction)
Concretion
(Induction)
Philosophy Notes St. Augustin



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1
2
3
4
5
Faith:

Augustin is replying to Skepticism here in the age old debate of faith VS reason.




Augustin gives us five levels of faith, working like a hierarchy.
5. Thinking with Ascent: Open Mind, being receptive to the truth
4. Provisional Acceptance: Hypothetical, assuming the truth might be true
3. Acceptance of Authority: Trusting reliable authorities on the truth
2. Compulsion of the Truth: Looking for reasonable doubt before continuing
1. Surrender of the Will: Having God open your eyes to the full truth



Theistic Proof:

Theistic Proof: an argument for the existence of God.
Augustin believed in an immediate existence of himself, and from there reasoned that he is a
dependent, existing being.
- His existence depends on a prior existence that created him.
- This is known as the Presuppositional Proof.





Faith
(Fideism)
Reason
(Rationalism)
^
Tertullian
^
St. Augustin
^
Clement of
Alexandria
Philosophy Notes St. Augustin



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The Problem of Evil:

Augustin rejects good/evil dualism but worked from Plotinus quote Evil depends on good,
otherwise it would not exist.
- Evil exists only because good exists and because God utilizes it for good.

Donatist Controversy:

The Donatists believed that Christians who cracked under persecution should be barred from
entering the church again
- Augustin came up with 4 categories fighting this idea
1. One: exclusiveness, no other competition
2. Holy: unique, unlike everything else
3. Catholic: inclusiveness, universal
4. Apostolic: authority
a. Catholic: based on Apostolic Succession (Bureaucracy)
b. Protestant: teaching authority (Charismatic)

Pelagius:

British monk in a Christianized Roman era, eunuch, former fan of Augustin until receiving
criticism, then became an enemy.
- Pelagius view: Original Sin is not a problem (Spiritually Well)
- Augustins view: Original Sin is a serious problem (Spiritually Dead)
Original Sin: the condition all people have as a result of the first sin
- Adams sin is important because he sinned in innocence (Romans 5)
- Pelagius would argue that Eden is metaphorical, Augustin would believe that Eden and
Original Sin are so real that the rest of the world we live in is simply The Matrix. Just
kidding.
Philosophy Notes St. Augustin



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14 Point Pelagianism:

The bolded parts are simply to help your memory.
1. God commands nothing impossible.
2. Adam was created mortal.
3. Adams sin injured Adam only.
4. Some people are saved by law and not by gospel
5. Infant baptism is not related to infant sin.
6. Human nature is indestructibly good, only modified by accidence (in an Aristotelian
sense)
7. Man can resist sin easily.
8. Everyone is created in the same condition as Adam before he fell.
9. Grace facilitates goodness.
10. Grace is illumination and instruction.
11. Grace is given based on merit.
12. The advantage of Christianity is sinlessness made easier.
13. Jesus is our great example of sinlessness.
14. The human will is completely free.
8 Point Augustinianism:
1. People are a mass of sin.
2. Four moral states:
a. Posse peccare (able to sin) (Before Fall, After Fall)
b. Posse non peccare (able to not sin) (Before Fall)
c. Non posse non peccare (not able to not sin) (After Fall)
d. Non posse peccare (not able to sin)
3. Non posse non mori (not able to not die)
4. Will
a. Liber Arbitrium: ability to choose what you want (Before Fall, After Fall)
b. Libertas: ability to want the truly right thing (Before Fall)