Understanding the Self - St. Augustine (Soul and Communion with God) - UTS Philosophical Perspective
Summary
TLDRSt. Augustine's theological perspective on life after death is rooted in dualism, emphasizing the separation and unity of body and soul. He views the soul as the true essence of a person, capable of immortality through communion with God. Augustine's concept of self-realization is achieved via virtues like prudence, justice, courage, and temperance, which guide moral actions and reflect God's love. These virtues, when practiced, align the soul with divine will, potentially leading to eternal life.
Takeaways
- 🌟 Saint Augustine viewed life in the physical world as temporary, with the soul returning to the creator after death.
- 🧠 He grounded his concept of self on dualism, suggesting a separation between the body and the soul.
- 🚶♂️ The soul, according to Augustine, is the true person and is immortal if in communion with the divine.
- 💡 Augustine proposed that the human mind is an image of God, with the capacity to become wise through remembering, knowing, and loving God.
- 🔍 He emphasized the self's dual character as both imperfect and immortal, with the potential for immortality through a relationship with God.
- 🌱 Virtue, for Augustine, is an inner disposition that allows us to act out of genuine love, defined as 'ordered love'.
- 📚 The four cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, courage, and temperance—are manifestations of God's love.
- 🤔 Prudence is the virtue of discerning what helps or hinders us in our pursuit of God, guiding moral decisions.
- ⚖️ Justice, as defined by Augustine, is love serving God and ruling well over all else, with obedience to God taking precedence over state authority.
- 💪 Courage is needed to overcome fears and irrational desires, balancing fear and confidence.
- 🏡 Temperance is the virtue that helps control appetites, emotions, and material desires through self-control.
Q & A
What is Saint Augustine's perspective on the relationship between the body and the soul?
-Saint Augustine viewed the soul as a rider on the body, emphasizing the distinction between the tangible body and the immaterial soul. He believed that the soul represents the true person and cannot be imagined without its body.
How does Saint Augustine define the concept of self?
-Saint Augustine's concept of self is defined by his relationship to God, which includes his perception of God's love and his response to it, achieved through self-presentation and self-realization.
What does Saint Augustine believe about the immortality of the soul?
-Saint Augustine believes that the soul can be immortal if it is in communion with the divine. He suggests that through a relationship with a Christian God, the soul can achieve immortality.
According to Saint Augustine, how does one obtain inner calm?
-Saint Augustine felt that finding God's love was the only way to obtain inner calm. He proposed that the human mind, being an image of God, has the capacity to become wise by remembering, knowing, and loving God.
What is Saint Augustine's definition of virtue?
-Saint Augustine's briefest definition of virtue is 'ordered love'. He viewed virtue as an inner disposition or motivational habit that allows us to act out of genuine love.
What are the four cardinal virtues according to Saint Augustine?
-The four cardinal virtues according to Saint Augustine are prudence, justice, courage, and temperance. He saw these as manifestations of God's love.
How does Saint Augustine describe prudence?
-Prudence, for Saint Augustine, is love that discerns what helps and what hinders us in our pursuit of God. It is the first virtue considered when making a moral decision, guiding actions with the aid of moral principles.
What is Saint Augustine's view on justice?
-Saint Augustine views justice as love serving God only and ruling well over all else. He adds that citizens have a duty to obey their political leaders, but when obedience to state authority conflicts with obedience to God, citizens must choose to obey God.
How does Saint Augustine define courage?
-Courage, according to Saint Augustine, is the virtue that helps us overcome our fears and irrational desires to conquer them. It is necessary to face distressing circumstances without excessive fear or recklessness.
What does temperance mean in the context of Saint Augustine's teachings?
-Temperance, in Saint Augustine's teachings, is a Christian virtue that balances the use of created goods by reducing attraction. It involves self-control over appetites, emotions, and material desires.
What does Saint Augustine suggest about the role of the soul in relation to the body and its pursuit of immortality?
-Saint Augustine suggests that the soul cannot exist without the physical body, and to achieve the immortality of the soul, one must maintain virtue through communion with God while on earth.
Outlines
🌟 Life After Death and Saint Augustine's Philosophy
This paragraph discusses the concept of life after death from a Christian theological perspective, focusing on Saint Augustine's views. It emphasizes the dualism between the body and the soul, with Saint Augustine describing the soul as a 'rider on the body' to illustrate their distinct yet interconnected nature. He suggests that the soul's immortality is attainable through communion with the divine. Saint Augustine's definition of self is deeply rooted in the relationship with God, which is expressed through self-presentation and self-realization. He posits that the human mind, being made in God's image, has the capacity to become wise by remembering, knowing, and loving God. The paragraph also delves into the four cardinal virtues as defined by Augustine: prudence, justice, courage, and temperance, which are seen as manifestations of God's love and are essential for maintaining virtue and achieving the soul's immortality.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Dualism
💡Saint Augustine
💡Soul
💡Salvation
💡Virtue
💡Prudence
💡Justice
💡Courage
💡Temperance
💡Immortality
Highlights
Life in the physical world is considered temporary, with the soul returning to the creator after death.
Saint Augustine's concept of self is grounded in dualism, distinguishing between the body and the soul.
The soul, according to Augustine, is the true person and can be immortal if in communion with the divine.
Augustine views the human mind as an image of God, capable of becoming wise through remembering, knowing, and loving God.
The self's dual character is both imperfect and immortal, with potential for immortality through a relationship with God.
Virtue is defined by Augustine as 'ordered love', an inner disposition that guides actions out of genuine love.
The four cardinal virtues are providence, justice, courage, and temperance, reflecting God's love.
Prudence is the virtue of discerning what helps or hinders in the pursuit of God.
Justice is love serving God and ruling well over all else, with citizens duty-bound to obey political leaders.
Courage allows overcoming fears and irrational desires, balancing fear and confidence.
Temperance is the virtue of self-control, balancing the use of created goods and controlling appetites and desires.
Augustine suggests that finding God's love is the only way to achieve inner calm.
The body should stay in virtue while on earth, aspiring to be with the divine.
The soul's immortality is achieved through communion with God and adherence to virtues.
In cases of conflict between obedience to God and state authority, citizens must choose to obey God.
Augustine's teachings emphasize the importance of a relationship with God for the soul's immortality and virtue.
Transcripts
some of us were told that life in the
physical world is only temporary and
that after physical death our soul will
return to the creator saint augustine
who is better regarded as a christian
saint than a philosopher grounded his
concept of self on dualism he proposed
that the separation of body and soul can
be explained by salvation now the
question is do you believe in life after
death to answer this saint augustine a
christian theologian described the soul
as a rider on the body emphasizing the
distinction between the tangible and
immaterial with the soul representing
the true person despite the fact that
body and soul were distinct it was
impossible to imagine a soul without its
body the soul can be immortal according
to saint augustine if it is in communion
with the divine saint augustine's idea
of self is defined by his relationship
to god which includes both his
perception of god's love and his
response to it which he achieves through
self-presentation and eventually
self-realization saint augustine felt
that finding god's love was the only way
to obtain inner calm he suggested that
human mind is an image of god augustine
claims that the mind is made in god's
image not because it is capable of
self-knowledge but because it has the
capacity to become wise that is to
remember know and love god its creator
he also emphasized the self's dual
character as both imperfect and immortal
he believes that through a relationship
with a christian god the soul can obtain
immortality as a result the body will
stay in virtue while on earth
wanting to be with the divine
his briefest definition of virtue is
ordered love
virtue according to augustine is an
inner disposition or motivational habit
that allows us to do whatever we do out
of genuine love there are various
catalogues that define traditional four
cardinal virtues of providence
justice
courage and temperance as manifestations
of god's love in this life or at the end
of the world let us talk about the
virtues prudence can be defined as love
that discerns what helps and what
hinders us in our pursuit of god
prudence is the first thing that comes
to mind when making a moral
decision in accordance with this
judgment the prudent man decides and
directs his actions with the aid of this
virtue we are able to apply
moral principles to specific situations
without making mistakes and we are able
to overcome doubts regarding the good to
achieve and the evil to avoid augustine
suggests that justice is love serving
god only and so ruling well
all else
he added that citizens have the duty to
obey their political leaders regardless
of whether the leader is wicked or
righteous there is no right of civil
disobedience citizens are always
duty-bound to obey god with the
imperatives of obedience to god in
obedience to state authority conflict
citizens must choose to obey god and
suffer the consequences of disobedience
freely to face distressing circumstances
we need courage to overcome our fears
courage on the other hand not only comes
our worries but also combats our
irrational desire to conquer them
excessive urge to confront frightening
situations is a form of recklessness
that can quickly lead as a result we
want courage to both reduce excessive
fear and moderate excessive confidence
and the temperance this includes
refraining from sexual addiction
vengeance arrogance expensive luxury
fury or excessive anger through
self-control temperance is a christian
virtue that balances the use of created
goods by reducing attraction so
temperance is a virtue that improves
one's power to control one's appetites
emotions and material desires in summary
saint augustine believed in dualism he
suggested that our soul cannot exist
without physical body and in order to
achieve immortality of the soul we have
to go through communion with god by
staying in virtue such as prudence
justice courage and temperance
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