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Augustine's Concept of Volition and Its Significance for the Doctrine of Original Sin

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Augustine's Concept of Volition and Its Significance for the Doctrine of Original Sin Southern Methodist University SMU Scholar Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations Religious Studies Summer 8-6-2019 Augustine's Concept of Volition and Its Significance for the Doctrine of Original Sin Scot Bontrager Southern Methodist University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.smu.edu/religious_studies_etds Part of the Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Bontrager, Scot, "Augustine's Concept of Volition and Its Significance for the Doctrine of Original Sin" (2019). Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations. 16. https://scholar.smu.edu/religious_studies_etds/16 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Religious Studies at SMU Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SMU Scholar. For more information, please visit http://digitalrepository.smu.edu. AUGUSTINE’S CONCEPT OF VOLITION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN Approved by: _______________________________________ Prof. William J. Abraham Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies _______________________________________ Prof. Fred Aquino Professor of Philosophy and Religion _______________________________________ Prof. James Kang Hoon Lee Associate Professor of the History of Early Christianity _______________________________________ Prof. Rebekah Miles Professor of Ethics and Practical Theology AUGUSTINE’S CONCEPT OF VOLITION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Faculty of Dedman College Southern Methodist University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Religious Studies by Scot Christian Bontrager M.Div., Southern Methodist University August 6, 2019 Copyright (2019) Scot Christian Bontrager All Rights Reserved Bontrager, Scot Christian M.Div., Southern Methodist University Augustine’s Concept of Volition and its Significance for the Doctrine of Original Sin Advisor: Professor William J. Abraham Doctor of Philosophy conferred August 6, 2019 Dissertation completed June 1, 2019 Augustine has been credited as the inventor of the concept of volition (the will), and yet it is not clear from this claim exactly what his concept of volition is. His understanding of the human person, especially his theory of volition, has had profound implications for much of the theological work which followed. This thesis examines various concepts which influenced Augustine’s notion of volition, contemporary ways of understanding volition, and what Augustine himself believed about it. Since the will is central to Augustine’s description of the human person and the human condition a careful examination of the concept is necessary to understand Augustine’s theological project, especially as pertains to his formulation of the doctrine of Original Sin. Chapter two looks at contemporary analytic philosophy and some ways in which it approaches volition and the mind and how analytic philosophy might be helpful to current theological work related to understanding the human person. I touch upon key figures in action theory, the mind-body problem, decision theory and agency. iv Chapters three and four are an extensive diachronic analysis of Augustine’s use of concepts related to volition. I attempt to document the sources which are behind his development of the term, and show how his deployment of volition as a central concept in his anthropology is novel but not without antecedents. I argue that Augustine, contrary to the prevailing opinion, understood the key points of classical philosophy and intentionally rejected several core commitments of the Stoics and Platonists. This rejection was not from a failure on his part to understand what the philosophers were saying, but informed by his theological and anthropological positions. His notion of the will as ruling over the mind is the central point which frequently gets overlooked when people try to read Augustine as a classical philosopher. In Chapter five I evaluate the commitments which forced Augustine to develop his later doctrine of Original Sin, the antecedent versions of the doctrine found in the Christian tradition, and why his metaphysical, hermeneutic and pastoral concerns of led him to his conclusions. I argue that the doctrine has been mischaracterized and misunderstood by proponents and opponents alike since Augustine formulated it. Finally, I argue that the core of the doctrine does not depend on one particular set of metaphysical principles, or a literal reading of Genesis, but it can be translated into other metaphysical systems by paying attention to the core commitments. I briefly attempt to rehabilitate it for a modern worldview. Chapter six is an exploration of various different models for thinking about what sin is, and how various atonement theories depend on (or arise from) the different models of sin. I argue that no one model is in itself sufficient. The Christian tradition is wise in not canonizing one, but the open plurality of conceptual models makes room for articulating the Christian theological heritage into different contexts. v The final chapter addresses grief, loss, and how the self is changed through the process of grieving. Since the will is the locus of the self in Augustine’s thought, the ability to will correctly is absolutely necessary for human thriving. When we experience profound loss, we also lose our identity in whole or in part—we can no longer will as we did before. Intrapsychic losses, loss of a sense of self, can be healed through narrating new meaning into our lives. Augustine’s confessions is an example of his own work at dealing with his changing identity through time. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................x Augustine ..................................................................................................................................x Other Authors...........................................................................................................................xi 2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................ix 3. CHAPTER 1: I have nothing other than desire. .................................................................1 The elusive concept(s) of volition.............................................................................................6 The concept of nature (physis)................................................................................................15 Teleology ................................................................................................................................21 The sources of the concept of the will ...................................................................................30 Summary ................................................................................................................................37 4. CHAPTER 2: Volition in Analytic Philosophy ..................................................................39 Analytic Philosophy ...............................................................................................................42 An overview of analytic reflection on concepts related to volition ......................................46 Summary ................................................................................................................................64 5. CHAPTER 3: Volition in Augustine’s Early Works ..........................................................66 Early Works: sitne aliqua nobis voluntas?..............................................................................68 Summary.................................................................................................................................83 6. CHAPTER 4: Volition in the Confessions and later works...............................................85 The Confessions: beatae vitae inquisitor ardens....................................................................85 The anti-Pelagian Writings: hoc est ergo gratiam Dei ponere in lege atque doctrina. .........94 vii De Trinitate ...........................................................................................................................101 City of God ..........................................................................................................................103 Summary...............................................................................................................................107 7. CHAPTER 5: non morior necessitate peccati, sed oboedientiae voluntate ........................111 The commitments restated ...................................................................................................124 The role of volition in the doctrine of Original Sin .............................................................128 The doctrine of Original Sin in the Late Modern context ....................................................133 Summary...............................................................................................................................140 8. CHAPTER 6: Conceptual Models of Sin .........................................................................143 Introduction...........................................................................................................................143
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