DOCSLIB.ORG

Transforming Authenticity – Appropriating the Concept of Charles Taylor from a Christian Point of View

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Transforming Authenticity – Appropriating the Concept of Charles Taylor from a Christian Point of View TRANSFORMING AUTHENTICITY – APPROPRIATING THE CONCEPT OF CHARLES TAYLOR FROM A CHRISTIAN POINT OF VIEW C B ELS 10298960 M.Eng. (Nuclear) Mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Philosophy at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University Supervisor: Prof. M F Heyns May 2017 Abstract The concept of authenticity is troublesome in that it means different things to different people. The authenticity that emanated from the 17th century rationalism paints a distorted picture of the individual who became the centre of attraction – it is authenticity intermingled with autonomism and individualism. Since then, thinkers from the age of Romanticism until the present age have endeavoured to correct the shortcomings ascribed to authenticity. Charles Taylor in The ethics of authenticity has made great strides in clearing authenticity from its rationalism baggage, but he still has not addressed all its shortcomings. Since philosophy is never religiously neutral, a philosophical topic can be approached from various fundamental view points. My decision to approach this study from a Christian point of view is affirmed by the notion that the roots of autheniticity can be found by employing the biblical principle of spoliatio Aegyptiorum, also known as ‘appropriation’, to appropriate ideas from Renaissance thinkers along the example of the early church fathers, especially Augustine – and normatively transform it from a Christian point of view. The result, although sobering, but not surprising, culminates in the realisation that authenticity is neither a product of the mind, nor of self-definition. The path of progress, in discovering one’s authenticity, is an inward journey of contemplative reflection to explore and develop the inner self in seeking a relationship with God. i Preface The focus of this study is to explore the modern understanding of the concept of authenticity, especially Charles Taylor’s version of the concept. Although the term ‘authenticity’ originated during the Renaissance, I argue that the notion of authenticity had been an antecedent praxis since the early ages. This study sought first to determine the shortcomings of the concept as portrayed in modernity, secondly to find the source of authenticity, and lastly to appropriate material from the Renaissance philosophers to normatively transform Charles Taylor’s concept from a Christian perspective by using the ideas of the Patristics1, notably Augustine. 1 This study looks at authenticity from a Christian perspective, and in doing so I shall focus on the work of Patristics from the latin, western European Roman Catholic church, especially Augustine’s views ii Table of contents Abstract .............................................................................................................. i Preface .............................................................................................................. ii 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 2 2.2 Word origin and interpretation of the concept .................................. 3 2.2.1 Etymology .............................................................................................. 3 2.2.2 Relation with the self ............................................................................. 4 2.3 Focus on Charles Taylor’s authenticity ............................................. 5 2.4 Authenticity and rationalism .............................................................. 7 2.5 Authenticity and autonomy ................................................................ 8 2.6 Authenticity, individuality and individualism .................................... 9 2.7 Sources of authenticity ..................................................................... 10 2.8 Authenticity and religious belief ...................................................... 10 2.9 Summary ............................................................................................ 11 3.1 Problem statement ............................................................................ 12 4.1 Central goal ........................................................................................ 13 5.1 Central theoretical statement ........................................................... 14 5.1.1 Claim of this study ............................................................................... 14 5.1.2 Normative transformation .................................................................... 14 6.1 Sub-questions .................................................................................... 17 7.1 Objectives .......................................................................................... 18 iii 8.1 Appropriation as method of transformation ................................... 19 8.2 The principle and practice of appropriation .................................... 19 8.3 The Roman Empire ............................................................................ 21 8.3.1 Latinisation of Western Europe ............................................................ 21 8.3.2 Greek treasures ................................................................................... 22 8.4 The early Christian Church ............................................................... 23 8.4.1 Spreading the Gospel .......................................................................... 23 8.4.2 The Patristics ....................................................................................... 24 8.4.3 Augustine (ad 354–430) ...................................................................... 26 8.4.4 The mediaeval Church ........................................................................ 27 8.5 From appropriation to synthesis ...................................................... 29 8.5.1 Scholasticism ....................................................................................... 29 8.5.2 Thomas Aquinas (ad 1225–1274) ....................................................... 30 8.5.3 Different voices .................................................................................... 32 8.5.3.1 Early criticism ...................................................................................... 32 8.5.3.2 Modern criticism .................................................................................. 32 8.5.4 Critique on Augustine’s appropriation .................................................. 33 8.6 Renaissance ....................................................................................... 34 8.6.1 Scientific revolution .............................................................................. 36 8.6.2 Christian reformation ........................................................................... 37 8.6.3 Philosophical revolution ....................................................................... 38 iv 8.6.4 Rationalism .......................................................................................... 39 8.7 Summary of appropriation ............................................................ 4241 9.1 Charles Taylor’s concept of authenticity..................................... 4544 9.2 Sources, epistemology and ontology of Charles Taylor’s authenticity .................................................................................... 4544 9.2.1 Sources of authenticity .................................................................... 4645 9.2.2 Epistemology of authenticity ............................................................ 4847 9.2.3 Ontology of authenticity ................................................................... 5251 9.3 Exploring Charles Taylor’s definition of authenticity ................. 5453 9.3.1 Focus on the self ............................................................................. 5655 9.3.2 Relationship with societal context .................................................... 5857 9.4 Critique of Charles Taylor’s concept of authenticity .................. 6059 9.4.1 Analysis of the authenticity definition ............................................... 6059 9.4.2 Views from other thinkers ................................................................ 6362 9.5 The evolution of Charles Taylor’s thinking on authenticity ....... 6463 9.5.1 The age of authenticity .................................................................... 6766 9.6 Charles Taylor’s religious belief and view of appropriation ...... 6968 10.1 Appropriation from a Christian point of view .............................. 7473 10.2 Search for meaning ....................................................................... 7574 10.3 The practice of appropriation ....................................................... 7776 10.4 Early Christian worldview ............................................................. 7877 10.4.1 Plotinus and the early Church .......................................................... 7978 v 10.5 Augustine ....................................................................................... 7978 10.5.1 The influence of Platonism .............................................................. 8079 10.5.2 The inward road to God ................................................................... 8180 10.5.3 Augustinian epistemology ................................................................ 8281 10.5.4 Criticism on Augustine ..................................................................... 8684 10.5.5 Augustine
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Theories of Truth. Bibliography on Primary Medieval Authors
    Theories of Truth. Bibliography on Primary Medieval Authors https://www.ontology.co/biblio/truth-medieval-authors.htm Theory and History of Ontology by Raul Corazzon | e-mail: [email protected] History of Truth. Selected Bibliography on Medieval Primary Authors The Authors to which I will devote an entire page are marked with an asterisk (*). Hilary of Poitiers Augustine of Hippo (*) Boethius (*) Isidore of Seville John Scottus Eriugena (*) Isaac Israeli Avicenna (*) Anselm of Canterbury (*) Peter Abelard (*) Philip the Chancellor Robert Grosseteste William of Auvergne Albert the Great Bonaventure Thomas Aquinas (*) Henry of Ghent Siger of Brabant John Duns Scotus (*) Hervaeus Natalis Giles of Rome Durandus of St. Pourçain Peter Auriol Walter Burley William of Ockham (*) Robert Holkot John Buridan (*) 1 di 14 22/09/2016 09:25 Theories of Truth. Bibliography on Primary Medieval Authors https://www.ontology.co/biblio/truth-medieval-authors.htm Gregory of Rimini William of Heytesbury Peter of Mantua Paul of Venice Hilary of Poitiers (ca. 300 - 368) Texts 1. Meijering, E.P. 1982. Hilary of Poitiers on the Trinity. De Trinitate 1, 1-19, 2, 3. Leiden: Brill. In close cooperation with J. C. M: van Winden. On truth see I, 1-14. Studies Augustine of Hippo ( 354 - 430) Texts Studies 1. Boyer, Charles. 1921. L'idée De Vérité Dans La Philosophie De Saint Augustin. Paris: Gabriel Beauchesne. 2. Kuntz, Paul G. 1982. "St. Augustine's Quest for Truth: The Adequacy of a Christian Philosophy." Augustinian Studies no. 13:1-21. 3. Vilalobos, José. 1982. Ser Y Verdad En Agustín De Hipona. Sevilla: Publicaciones de la Universidad de Sevilla.
    [Show full text]
  • Natural Theology and the Christian Contribution to Metaphysics: on Thomas Joseph White’S Wisdom in the Face of Modernity
    Nova et Vetera, English Edition, Vol. 10, No. 2 (2012): 539 –62 539 Natural Theology and the Christian Contribution to Metaphysics: On Thomas Joseph White’s Wisdom in the Face of Modernity NICHOLAS J. H EALY , J R. John Paul II Institute Washington, DC From the very heart of Christian faith and, at the same time, the heart of Greek thought now joined to faith, Manuel II was able to say: Not to act “with logos” is contrary to God’s nature. [T]he faith of the Church has always insisted that between God and us, between his eternal Creator Spirit and our created reason there exists a real analogy, in which unlike - ness remains infinitely greater than likeness, yet not to the point of abol - ishing analogy and its language (cf. Lateran IV). God does not become more divine when we push him away from us in a sheer, impenetrable voluntarism; rather, the truly divine God is the God who has revealed himself as logos and, as logos, has acted and continues to act lovingly on our behalf. This inner rapprochement between biblical faith and Greek philosophical inquiry was an event of decisive importance not only from the standpoint of the history of religions, but also from that of world history—it is an event which concerns us even today. 1 It is my view that the neoscholastic rationalism that was trying to reconstruct the praeambula fidei, the approach to faith, with pure rational certainty, by means of rational argument that was strictly inde - pendent of any faith, has failed; and it cannot be otherwise for any such attempts to do that kind of thing.
    [Show full text]
  • Suggestions for Further Reading
    MP_D01.qxd 11/23/06 2:43 AM Page 382 Suggestions for Further Reading GENERAL SURVEYS OF MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY Armstrong, A. H., ed. 1970. The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Copleston, Frederick. 1950. A History of Philosophy, vol. 2: Medieval Philosophy: From Augustine to Duns Scotus. Westminster, MD: The Newman Press (many subsequent reprintings by various presses). Copleston, Frederick. 1953. A History of Philosophy, vol. 2: Late Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy. Westminster, MD: The Newman Press (many subsequent reprintings by various presses). Gilson, Étienne. 1955. History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages. New York: Random House. Gracia, Jorge J. E., and Timothy B. Noone, eds. 2003. A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell. Kenny, A. 2005. A New History of Western Philosophy, vol. 2: Medieval Philosophy. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Kretzmann, Norman, et al., eds. 1982. The Cambridge History of Later Medieval Philosophy: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Disintegration of Scholasticism, 1100–1600. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Luscombe, David E. 1997. History of Western Philosophy, vol. 2: Medieval Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Marenbon, John. 1981. From the Circle of Alcuin to the School of Auxerre: Logic, Theology and Philosophy in the Early Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Marenbon, John. 1983. Early Medieval Philosophy (480–1150): An Introduction. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Marenbon, John. 1991. Later Medieval Philosophy (1150–1350): An Introduction. London: Routledge. Marenbon, John, ed. 1998. The Routledge History of Philosophy, vol. 3: The Middle Ages. London: Routledge. McGrade, A.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter the MIND–SOUL PROBLEM
    200437. Ashgatebundel Paul Bakker; 02_Chapter2. Proef 1. 14-11-2006:11.02, page 1. chapter THE MIND–SOUL PROBLEM Robert Pasnau . Introduction Few notions about the history of philosophy are more widely held than the no- tion that Descartes began something important in the way we think about the mind. But what exactly did he begin? A good place to look for an answer to this question is the start of his caustic set of replies to Gassendi, where Descartes cla- rifies a point of terminology. On his usage, he explains, the term ‘mind’ should be taken not in the traditional way, as referring to a part of the soul, but as refer- ring to the whole soul. Hence the two terms, ‘mind’ (mens)and‘soul’(anima), are to be treated as co-referential: ‘I consider the mind not as a part of the soul, but as the whole soul that thinks’.1 To be sure, this is no mere point of terminology. On the contrary, his erasure of the distinction between mind and soul constitutes the most fundamental respect in which Descartes’s conception of mind has influ- enced our own. In fact, one might reasonably think of this passage as marking out a kind of dividing line between medieval psychology and modern philosophy of mind. In what follows I will consider some of the medieval background to Descartes’s position, and show how this dividing line, though significant, is less clear than one might suppose. But before turning back to that earlier tradition, it is worth a closer look at how Descartes accounts for his choice of terminology.
    [Show full text]
  • The Descent of the Dove
    Charles Williams The Descent of the Dove A short history of the Holy pirit in the church (First published 1939 by Longmans Green & Company) 4 1 Preface My first intention for the title of this book was A History of Chris- tendom : it was changed lest any reader should be misled. It is open to any reader to complain that many names, of persons and events, which have been of immense importance to Christendom, have been omitted. THE DESCENT OF THE DOVE But though they have been important their omission here is unimportant. It was inevitable that this particular book should talk about Dante and not Charles Williams, who was born in 1886 and died in about Descartes, since its special themes are found much more in Dante 1945, was a writer of unusual genius in several than in Descartes. Nevertheless, I hope the curve of history has been literary forms, as well as a brilliant conversationalist justly followed, as I hope and believe that all the dates and details are and lecturer, recognised at Oxford by an honorary accurate. If I have made a mistake anywhere, it is not for want of refer- M.A. in 1943. Educated at St. Alban’s School and ence to the specialists, but from the mere stupidity of human nature. An University College, London, he was for most of his effort has been made to keep proportion; the final modern chapter has not life a reader and literary adviser to the Oxford been allowed to run away with the book. A motto which might have been University Press; during these years he also produced set on the title-page but has been, less ostentatiously, put here instead, is a over thirty volumes of poems, plays, literary phrase which I once supposed to come from Augustine, but I am in- criticism, fiction, biography and theological argument.
    [Show full text]
  • Paola Nasti University of Manchester
    The Wise Poet: Solomon in Dante's Heaven of the Sunl Paola Nasti University of Manchester Some sort of Trap-Door must have opened. Crowds from foreign parts with cornered hats and long garments are coming and going. Suddenly my voice is heard (though I'm not talking): you, my fair Roman ladies la luce onde s'infiora vostra sustanza rimarril con voi ellerna1mente si con' ell' e ora? And after some time, like an echo, the response: tu non se in terra. si come tu credi .. tu non se in terra ... to non se in terra (Odysseus Ely tis, 'KHPIAKH, 3 M', from Journal of an Unseen April) i, RethInking Solomon Leaving behind the earth's shadows, the pilgrim of the Commedia raises to the Heaven of the Sun (Paradiso X_XIV)' Here, in the splendour of the fourth sphere, he encounters the gleaming souls of the wise men, philosophers, mystics, saints and masters of knowledge who spent their lives in the pursuit of wisdom. Beatrice and her beloved are spectacularly encircled by some of the most important personalities of Christian culture: Thomas Aquinas, Peter Lombard, Pseudo-Dionysius, Boethius, Bede, Richard of Saint Victor, Siger of Brabant, Bonaventure, Hugh of Saint Victor, Anselm, Joaquim of Rora, to mention just a few . It is clear that these are no less than the authors of the idcallibrary of the divine poet. The range and diversity of the list of names is nonetheless bewildering. Indeed, Dante parades, in the same location, the most representative intellectuals of different schools of theological and religious thought.
    [Show full text]
  • Dante and PHILOSOPHY
    Danteand PHILOSOPHY by Etienne Cjilson • Translatedby David Moore Harper Torchbooks , The Academy Library • Harper & Row, Publishers New York, Evanston, and London CONTENTS Page PREFACE vu I. DANTE'S CLERICAL VOCATION AND METAMORPHOSES OF BEATRICE I I. BEATRICE METAMORPHOSED INTO THEOLOGY 2 II. BEATRICE METAMORPHOSED INTO A NUMBER 16 III. BEATRICE METAMORPHOSED INTO BAPTISM 21 IV. BEATRICE METAMORPHOSED INTO THE TON- SURE 25 v. BEATRICE METAMORPHOSED INTO MINOR ORDERS 29 VI. BEATRICE METAMORPHOSED INTO A CORD 31 VII. BEATRICE METAMORPHOSED INTO A BISHOP- DEATH OF BEATRICE 36 VIII. BEATRICE METAMORPHOSED INTO THE LIGHT OF GLORY 45 IX. BEATRICE'S MISSION 50 x. TRANSFIGURATION OF BEATRICE 72 II. PHILOSOPHY IN THE BANQUET 83 I. THE DONNA GENTILE 86 II. THE PRIMACY OF ETIDCS 99 III. TRANSCENDENCY OF THEOLOGY 112 IV. LIMITS OF METAPHYSICS 121 v. PRIMACY OF CONTEMPLATION 129 VI. THE PIDLOSOPHER AND THE EMPEROR 142 VII. THE SPIRIT OF THE BANQUET 151 xi xii CONTENTS Page III. PHILOSOPHY IN THE MONARCHY 162 I. THE GOAL OF THE HUMAN RACE 166 II. NECESSITY OF THE MONARCHY 171 III. INDEPENDENCE OF THE EMPIRE 180 IV. THE TWO FORMS OF BEATITUDE 191 v. DANTE'S PLACE IN HISTORY 201 IV. PHILOSOPHY IN THE DIVINE COMEDY 225 I. DANTE'S THOMISM 226 A. The Number of Beatrice 227 B. The Verb "To Smile" 230 C. The Symbolism ofIntelletto 231 D. The Symbolism of" Will" 232 E. The Actors in the Sacred Poem 233 F. The Voice of St. Thomas 239 II. DANTE'S CRITICISM OF THE MENDICANT ORDERS 242 III. THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 253 IV.
    [Show full text]
  • Mental Existence in Thomas Aquinas and Avicenna*
    MENTAL EXISTENCE IN THOMAS AQUINAS AND AVICENNA* Deborah L. Black Traditionally it was the case that in philosophical circles, when the name of Thomas Aquinas was raised, the doctrine that would most readily come to mind was the distinction between essence and existence, and the related claim that the act of existence (esse) rather than Aristotelian form is, in the oft-cited words of the Disputed Questions on the Power of God, ―the act of all acts‖ and ―the perfection of all perfections.‖1 Thomism more often than not meant ―existential Thomism,‖ and Aquinas‘s interpreters emphasized the centrality of this insight for virtually all aspects of his philosophy. It was, of course, recognized by existential Thomists—at least the most historically sensitive among them—that the distinction between essence and existence itself, as an addition to the basic Aristotelian metaphysics of form and matter, was not a Thomistic innovation, but primarily one of the many legacies bequeathed to Aquinas by his Islamic predecessor Avicenna (Ibn Sna, 980–1037). From the early De * Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the 31st International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, and at the Medieval Institute in the University of Notre Dame. 1 De potentia dei, 7.2 ad 9: ―Unde patet quod hoc quod dico esse est actualitas omnium actuum et propter hoc est perfectio omnium perfectionum.‖ All citations of Aquinas are from the new Leonine edition, or from the Marietti edition where no Leonine edition is available, with the following exceptions: I have used the the revised Ottawa edition of the Summa theologiae (Ottawa, 1953), and for the Expositio super librum de causis I have used the edition of H.
    [Show full text]
  • Medieval Philosophy : from St. Augustine to Nicholas of Cusa
    CONTENTS PREFACE V INTRODUCTION 1 I ST. AUGUSTINE 31 A Critique of Skepticism 33 How Great Is the Soul? 43 On the Existence of God 63 II BOETHIUS 82 Divine Foreknowledge of Human Actions 84 How Substances May Be Good in Their Essence Without Being Good of Their Essence 97 III F RID U GIS 103 Letter on Nothing and Darkness 104 IV JOHN SCOTUS ERIUGENA 109 Philosophy, Faith, and Reason 111 The Dialectic of Nature 116 On the Division of Nature 118 V ST. PETER DAMIAN 140 On Divine Omnipotence 143 VI ST. ANSELM AND GA UNILON 153 St. Anselm on the Existence of God 154 A Reply to Anselm on Behalf of the Fool 158 Anselm's Reply to Gaunilon 163 VII HONORIUS OF AUTUN 175 A Picture of the World 177 VIII PETER ABELARD 187 On Universals 190 IX PETE R LOM BARD 204 How Creatures Manifest God As One and Triune 206 X RICHARD OF ST. VICTOR 210 On the Trinity Selections from Book One 212 Selections from Book Three 22 3 vii XI AVICENN A 227 Essay on the Secret of Destiny 229 XII AVERROES 233 On God's Knowledge 235 The Future Life 241 XIII MOSES MAIMONIDES 244 The God of the Philosophers 246 XIV ODO RIGAUD 263 Is Theology a Science? 265 XV ROGER BACON 273 Opus Maius Part I: Causes of Error (Selections) 275 Part VI: On Experimental Science (Selections) 288 Part VII: Moral Philosophy (Selection) 292 XVI ST. BONAVENTURE 298 Is God's Existence a Truth That Cannot Be Doubted? 300 Theory of Illumination 314 Theory of Seminal Reasons 318 XVII ST.
    [Show full text]
  • Siger of Brabant and Thomas Aquinas on the Separability of Accidents
    SIGER OF BRABANT AND THOMAS AQUINAS ON DIVINE POWER AND THE SEPARABILITY OF ACCIDENTS I wish to examine an excerpt from Siger of Brabant’s Quaestions on the Book of causes that has already received considerable attention on the part of scholars.1 The text is remarkable for its criticism of Aquinas’s doctrine that God can conserve an accident independently from the substance in which it naturally inheres, as he does in the case of the Eucharist. While Siger is careful not to question the validity and indeed the absolute certainty of the Eucharist as a theological truth, he is critical about the claim that God’s being able to make accidents subsist independently from substance can be demonstrated or shown to be true by relying solely on the use of natural reason: “Some people argue fallaciously believing that they can show and demonstrate by natural reason that the first cause can make it (come to pass) that the accident can exist without the subject of that accident.”2 To understand Siger’s skepticism on this issue we must turn to his Questions on Aristotle’s Metaphysics where he lists six differences between theology and philosophy, the first four of which only need concern us here. The first difference concerns the methodologies, or “modes of consideration” as Siger puts it, between the two sciences. Whereas theology proceeds from principles known by divine revelation, which it applies to the conclusions of other sciences, philosophy proceeds demonstratively (modo demonstrativo), from principles that are known by 1 Les Quaestiones super librum de causis de Siger de Brabant, ed.
    [Show full text]
  • 65019 Downloaded Stream 244.Pdf
    NOT EVERYTHING IS GRACE: AQUINAS’S NOTION OF “PURE NATURE” AND THE CHRISTIAN INTEGRALISM OF HENRI DE LUBAC AND OF RADICAL ORTHODOXY Submitted by Matthew Bernard Mulcahy, OP, BA, MDiv, STB, STL in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Theology (National) Faculty of Arts and Sciences Australian Catholic University Research Services Locked Bag 4115 Fitzroy, Victoria 3065 Australia Submitted 1 August 2008 ii Statement of Sources This thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the main text of the thesis. This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. All research procedures reported in the thesis received the approval of the relevant Ethics/Safety Committees (where required). ___________________________________ M. Bernard Mulcahy, OP 1 August 2008 ii iii Abstract Henri de Lubac argues that, in early modern times, a pernicious concept began to become commonplace in Roman Catholic theology: this concept is “pure nature.” Pure nature is human nature, considered without reference to grace or to the supernatural destiny of personal union with God. Further, de Lubac argues that Catholic theology, in assimilating this idea, has departed from the sound tradition represented by St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas. He holds that the notion of pure nature leads inevitably to the self-exclusion of Christianity from the affairs of the world—when, in fact, the light of the Gospel ought to be shed on all aspects of human existence.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of Philosophy. Vol. 2, Mediaeval Philosophy : Augustine to Scotus
    CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 PART I PRE-MEDIAEVAL INFLUENCES II. THE PATRISTIC PERIOD 13 Christianity and Greek philosophy-Greek Apologists (Aristides, St. Justin Martyr, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus)-Gnosticism and writers against Gnosticism (St. Irenaeus, Hippolytus)-Latin Apologists (Minucius Felix, Tertullian, Arnobius, Lactantius)-Catechetical School of Alexandria (Clement, Origen)-Greek Fathers (St. Basil, Eusebius, St. Gregory of Nyssa)-Latin Fathers (St. Ambrose)-St. John Damascene-Summary. III. ST. AUGUSTINE-I 40 Life and writings-St. Augustine and Philosophy. IV. ST. AUGUSTINE-II: KNOWLEDGE Sl Knowledge with a view to beatitude-Against scepticism -Experiential knowledge-Nature of sensation-Divine ideas-Illumination and Abstraction. V. ST. AUGUSTINE-III: GOD . 68 Proof of God from eternal truths-Proofs from creatures and from universal consent-The various proofs as stages in one process-Attributes of God-Exemplarism. VI. ST. AUGUSTINE-IV: THE WORLD 74 Free creation out of nothing-Matter-Rationes seminales -Numbers-Soul and body-Immortality-Origin of soul. VII. ST. AUGUSTINE-V: MORAL THEORY 81 Happiness and God-Freedom and Obligation-Need of grace-Evil-the two Cities. VIII. ST. AUGUSTINE-VI: THE STATE 87 The State and the City of Babylon not identical-The pagan State does not embody true justice-Church superior to State. IX. THE PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS 91 Writings and author-Affirmative way-Negative way- Neo-Platonic interpretation of Trinity-Ambiguous teach- ing on creati~-Problem of evil-Orthodoxy or un~- thodoxy? . X. BOETHIUS, CASSIODORUS, ISIDORE 101 Boethius's transmission of Aristotelian ideas-Natural theology-Influence on Middle Ages-Cassiodorus on the seven liberal arts and the spirituality of the soul­ Isidore's Etymologies and Senlences.
    [Show full text]