Augustine & Aquinas: Medieval Political Philosophy

Summary

This lecture discusses two prominent figures of Christian philosophy: Augustine and Aquinas. It explores Augustine's pessimistic view of politics and humanity, emphasizing original sin, human evil, and the necessity of strong coercive authority. In contrast, Aquinas, influenced by Aristotle, views politics as integral to human flourishing, advocating for a harmony between material prosperity, moral virtue, and spiritual salvation. The lecture touches on their differing attitudes towards tyranny and authority, setting the stage for later political philosophy discussions, such as those by Hobbes and Locke.

Takeaways

• 🕰 Augustine and Aquinas stand at two extremes of the Middle Ages, representing different periods and philosophical ideas.
• 📜 Augustine was an important early Christian philosopher, influenced by Neoplatonism, especially through Plato and Cicero.
• 😈 Augustine emphasized the concept of original sin, viewing humanity as inherently sinful and deserving of hell.
• 🛡 Augustine argued that governments are based on coercion, resembling bands of robbers, and saw politics as a necessary evil.
• 🙏 Augustine believed that Christians should accept their fate under tyranny and martyrdom rather than resist through violence.
• 🧠 Aquinas, influenced by Aristotle, emphasized the importance of politics and saw it as integral to human flourishing.
• ⚖ Aquinas introduced the idea of natural law, suggesting that moral truths are accessible to all rational beings through reason.
• 💥 Unlike Augustine, Aquinas allowed for the possibility of resistance against tyrants, though in a limited and structured way.
• 👑 Aquinas supported monarchy as the best form of government but with checks and balances, resembling a mixed regime.
• 🔗 The ideas of both Augustine and Aquinas influenced later political thought, notably Hobbes' realism and Locke's natural law.

Q & A

Who are the two key philosophers discussed in the script?

The two key philosophers discussed are Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, who represent two extremes of the Christian Middle Ages.

How did Augustine initially view Christianity?

Augustine initially found Christianity to be intellectually unsophisticated and was influenced by the works of Cicero and Neoplatonism before fully accepting Christian doctrine.

What is Augustine's view on original sin and human nature?

Augustine believed that humanity is inherently sinful due to the original sin of Adam, and that everyone deserves to go to hell unless saved by God's inscrutable mercy.

How does Augustine view politics and government?

Augustine sees politics as a necessary evil. He believes that governments are fundamentally coercive and that there is little difference between a government and a band of robbers.

What is Augustine's stance on resistance to tyrants?

Augustine believed that Christians must submit to authority and only offer non-violent, passive resistance if commanded to act against their faith, such as being forced to sacrifice to pagan deities.

How does Aquinas' view of politics differ from Augustine's?

Aquinas viewed political engagement as integral to human flourishing, unlike Augustine, who was anti-political. Aquinas believed in the possibility of harmony between material prosperity, virtuous character, and spiritual salvation.

What role does natural law play in Aquinas' philosophy?

Aquinas believed that natural law, knowable through reason, governs universal moral truths. This law applies to all rational human beings, regardless of whether they are Christian.

Does Aquinas believe in the right to resist tyranny?

Yes, Aquinas suggests that if positive laws conflict with natural law, they are not legitimate, and there may be a right of revolution, though likely through the actions of inferior magistrates rather than individuals.

What form of government does Aquinas support?

Aquinas favored monarchy, arguing that one ruler mirrors the singular authority of God, though he also advocated for a mixed regime with elements of aristocracy and possibly democratic representation.

What connection is drawn between Augustine, Aquinas, and later philosophers?

The script highlights Augustine’s influence on thinkers like Thomas Hobbes, especially in the realist tradition, and Aquinas’ influence on philosophers like John Locke, particularly regarding natural law.

Outlines

00:00

⏳ Rushing through the Christian Middle Ages: Augustine and Aquinas

The speaker introduces the need to briefly cover centuries of Christian Middle Ages history, focusing on two influential figures—Augustine and Aquinas. Augustine, a major early Christian philosopher, initially viewed the gospel as intellectually unsophisticated. His ideas were heavily influenced by Neoplatonism, especially Plotinus. Augustine's philosophy reflects a pessimistic view of humanity, marred by original sin, where everyone deserves to go to hell, and God's mercy alone decides salvation. His ideas on politics equate governments with bands of robbers, emphasizing the harsh necessity of coercion to govern a fundamentally evil human nature.

05:02

🛡 Augustine's Stance on Tyranny and Heresy

This paragraph delves into Augustine’s harsh stance on heretics and his justification for coercive power. Augustine justifies the use of imperial power against Christian sects that do not align with the Bishop of Rome. He also discusses tyranny, emphasizing that Christians should obey authority as all power comes from God, except when commanded to do something against their faith. In such cases, Augustine advocates for passive resistance and martyrdom, believing that eternal rewards in the afterlife outweigh any earthly suffering.

10:02

⚖ Augustine vs. Aquinas: A Shift in Political Thought

The speaker contrasts Augustine's and Aquinas's political philosophies. While Augustine sees politics as a necessary evil, Aquinas, influenced by Aristotle, rehabilitates political life as integral to human flourishing. Augustine’s strict dichotomy of loving God versus loving oneself is replaced by Aquinas’s belief in the possibility of harmony between material prosperity, virtue, and salvation. Aquinas also promotes the idea that reason and natural law can guide humanity, regardless of religion, and that revelation complements rather than contradicts natural law.

15:03

🌍 Aquinas and Natural Law: Universal Morality and the Right to Resist Tyranny

Aquinas argues that universal norms of morality, or natural law, can be established by reason alone, accessible to all people, regardless of their faith. He believes natural law forms the foundation of a harmonious society, supplemented by divine commandments. Aquinas’s approach to tyranny is also different from Augustine’s; he suggests that unjust laws conflicting with natural law can be resisted, and there is a limited right to revolution, especially by magistrates or princes, although not fully fleshed out in his work.

👑 Monarchy and Mixed Regime: Aquinas’s Ideal Government

Aquinas, drawing from Aristotle, supports monarchy as the best form of government, though his concept is more aligned with a mixed regime, similar to the rule of Moses in the Bible. The speaker reflects on how Aquinas’s preference for monarchy might seem antiquated but invites students to consider how future generations might view modern political ideas as equally outdated. Aquinas's monarchy includes elements of checks and balances, such as an aristocratic council and some democratic representation, blending various forms of governance.

🔄 Revisiting Realism and Natural Law: Themes for the Future

The speaker briefly concludes by noting the importance of revisiting Augustine's pessimistic realism, especially in thinkers like Thomas Hobbes, and Aquinas’s concept of natural law, which will appear later in thinkers like John Locke. Locke borrows from Aquinas’s idea that natural law is knowable through reason, influencing later political and philosophical discussions.

Keywords

💡Augustine

Augustine, a key early Christian philosopher from the 4th and 5th centuries, plays a crucial role in shaping medieval Christian thought. In the video, he is depicted as having a deeply pessimistic view of humanity, influenced by his belief in original sin. Augustine views politics as a necessary evil and believes that salvation is only attainable through God's grace, often placing more emphasis on spiritual matters over earthly concerns.

💡Original Sin

Original sin refers to the doctrine, rooted in Augustine’s theology, that all humans inherit a sinful nature due to Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden. Augustine argues that this sin makes human beings inherently evil, deserving of eternal punishment, but God, in his mercy, chooses to save a select few. This concept is central to Augustine’s pessimistic view of humanity and his belief that political systems must be harsh to counter human wickedness.

💡Neoplatonism

Neoplatonism, a philosophical system that Augustine encountered through reading Plotinus, played a significant role in his conversion to Christianity. This school of thought emphasizes the existence of a higher, immaterial reality, which Augustine uses as a framework to understand Christian doctrines, such as the nature of the soul and salvation. In the video, it is highlighted how Augustine integrates Neoplatonic ideas with Christian theology.

💡Coercion and Politics

Augustine viewed politics as inherently based on coercion and violence, likening governments to 'bands of robbers.' He believed that no government could truly be just, as human nature is corrupt due to original sin. Therefore, political authority, though necessary, is always tainted and should focus on restraining evil rather than achieving justice.

💡City of God vs. City of Man

Augustine's concept of the 'City of God' versus the 'City of Man' contrasts the heavenly realm, where true justice and divine order prevail, with the earthly, sinful world. According to Augustine, earthly governments belong to the 'City of Man' and are inherently flawed, whereas the 'City of God' represents the ultimate goal of Christian life, attainable only after death. This dichotomy illustrates his anti-political stance and the focus on spiritual salvation.

💡Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, a 13th-century philosopher and theologian, contrasts with Augustine by viewing politics and engagement in public life as essential to human flourishing. In the video, Aquinas is presented as more optimistic, following Aristotelian principles and arguing that political life and virtue are integral to achieving happiness and harmony. Aquinas also sees no conflict between reason and faith, promoting the idea that both can lead to truth.

💡Natural Law

Natural law, as emphasized by Aquinas, is the belief that moral principles are inherent in human nature and accessible through reason. Aquinas argues that these universal truths are knowable by all rational beings, regardless of their religious background. In the video, this contrasts with Augustine’s more pessimistic outlook, as Aquinas believes that societies can operate justly based on natural law.

💡Tyranny

The video contrasts Augustine and Aquinas’s views on tyranny. Augustine advocates for passive resistance and martyrdom when faced with tyrannical rulers, suggesting that Christians should accept suffering as part of their faith. Aquinas, however, introduces the idea that unjust laws, which violate natural law, may be resisted. While not fully endorsing revolution, Aquinas acknowledges the possibility of resisting tyranny under certain circumstances, particularly by 'inferior magistrates.'

💡Faith and Reason

Both Augustine and Aquinas discuss the relationship between faith and reason, but they approach it differently. Augustine believes that reason has limits and must be supplemented by divine revelation, particularly when it comes to understanding God’s will. Aquinas, in contrast, holds that reason and faith work in harmony, with reason capable of discovering truths about the world and morality, while revelation completes this knowledge. This is a core theme in Aquinas’s philosophy, bridging religious belief and intellectual inquiry.

💡Martyrdom

In Augustine’s philosophy, martyrdom is the ultimate response to political tyranny. He argues that Christians should submit to unjust authorities, but if forced to act against their faith, they should refuse and accept death as a martyr. This approach emphasizes Augustine's belief in the futility of worldly power and the importance of spiritual integrity over political resistance.

Highlights

Augustine begins his education as an academic skeptic by reading Cicero, finding Christianity initially intellectually unsophisticated.

Augustine embraces Christianity through the influence of Neoplatonism, particularly the work of Plotinus.

A central question about Augustine's philosophy is how much he owes to the Bible versus how much he owes to Plato.

Augustine views politics as a necessary evil, with humanity inherently infected by original sin.

Augustine argues that all human beings, including saints and newborns, deserve damnation because of original sin, and salvation is only possible through God's inscrutable mercy.

In Augustine's view, governments resemble bands of robbers, as both rely on coercion and violence.

Augustine sees life as a 'veil of tears,' and this world as merely a preparation for the afterlife, with no expectation of justice on earth.

Christians in positions of power, according to Augustine, must exercise coercive force to curb human evil.

Augustine controversially defends the use of violent coercion against heretics to preserve orthodoxy.

Despite his pessimism about earthly life, Augustine advises Christians to accept martyrdom when resisting tyranny.

Aquinas, in contrast, sees political participation as integral to human flourishing, aligning more with Aristotelian philosophy.

Aquinas rehabilitates political life, seeing it as compatible with virtue and material prosperity, in contrast to Augustine's anti-political stance.

Aquinas argues that natural law, knowable by reason alone, provides a moral foundation for all human beings, regardless of religion.

For Aquinas, human laws must conform to natural law; if they conflict, they are unjust and may be resisted.

Aquinas advocates monarchy as the best form of government but acknowledges the importance of checks and balances, resembling Aristotle's mixed regime.

Transcripts

[Music]

alas

time is short

and so lamentably we're going to have to

rush

through several centuries of the

christian middle ages but

as an example we're going to talk about

again two figures who stand at the

roughly speaking at the two extremes of

the middle ages augustine in the fourth

and fifth centuries and aquinas in the

13th century

so um

as always i'm brief and brief and

superficial presentation but still

um

augustine

is a very important uh um philosopher of

uh of early christianity and again to

continue this

um discussion of of difference between

christianity of jesus and christianity

in rome right

lamentably i have to i have to mention

this right

augustine uh um begins his education as

an as an academic skeptic by reading

cicero and i guess augustine's mother is

a christian but he finds the christian

gospel to be let's say intellectually

unsophisticated

so augustine cannot really become a

christian before he goes through a stage

he reads neoplatonists and only through

the prism of neoplateness first and

foremost presumably platinus he then

comes to accept the

uh the christian doctrine but a big

question you know how much does

augustine owe to the bible and how much

does he owe to plato

anyway

still sort of within this uh uh broad

and superficial comparison augustine

should remind us of plato or at least of

a certain neoplatonic version of plato

with this insistence that

politics is a necessary evil

and in general augustine's outlook is

deeply deeply pessimistic in this notion

that humanity is infected with original

sin the original sin of adam and so

human beings are by nature evil

and in fact augustine is very adamant

that everybody deserves to go to hell

because of this original sin um even the

same tastes of saints even the newborn

babies deserve to go to hell and god

only by his infinite mercy completely

undeservedly decides to save uh certain

people now god's reasons are inscrutable

to us so god is just in the end but

we cannot even predict who's going to be

saved because technically speaking

everybody deserves to go to hell right

and so again so original sin the the

evil of human nature and so augustine in

a move which is actually reminiscent of

the sophists

talks maybe of thrasymachus he talks

about how there is no justice on this

earth

and governments at best can resemble a

band of robbers there's no there is you

know

politics is based on coercion violence

and there is no interesting difference

in principle between governments and the

band of robbers both are based on on

coercion

um at the same time um

augustine

so i mean like in in general his general

attitude to to life is that this life

again is a veil of tears or a welter of

sorrow so

again in this anti-political fashion um

christians have nothing to gain in this

life this is this life is only a short

preparation for judgment and eternal

life after death which is now understood

in terms of not in terms of the physical

resurrection of the body but in terms of

the neoplatonic immortal soul

right but um

still to the extent to the extent that

some people some christians can find

themselves in a position of power and

authority

um christians have to exercise this

power and authority in harsh and

coercive ways

again human beings are bad and so uh

governments through harsh coercive

action have to try to make them less bad

and this is actually again

augustine is a deeply deeply

controversial

uh thinker

throughout the rest of the history of

western philosophy and especially this

idea of original sin many later

philosophers will find this to be a

terrible doctrine and you know

linked to this also is going to be

augustine's attitude towards heretics

because within the catholic tradition

augustine

serves as the most important defender of

the practice of violent coercion of

heretics

this this notion that human beings are

sinful so

um even though technically speaking

people

believe with their heart and um in this

in this sense like it should be like

it's theoretically i guess impossible to

force people into the right kind of

belief however there is a role of for

violence and coercion in putting down

heresies and again this uh again

augustine serves as the justification of

the

centralized imperial power being

deployed against um christian

monasteries again versions of

christianity which do not subscribe to

the bishop of rome

to the ideas of the bishop of rome who

gradually over time acquires the status

as the pope status which is not really

found in early christian communities or

for that matter

in the christian scripture

so maybe to try to illustrate

augustine's position maybe with a

slightly more vivid example so if you

talk about tyranny or tyrants again in

general augustine places places very low

value on this life

and so

uh in principle again all power comes

from god we are not supposed to resist

evil so

and again all power is from god so

christians always have to obey however

if the tyrant forces you to do something

completely antithetical to your faith

like for example um sacrifice to the

pagan deities which incidentally was the

uh um original problem that the roman

empire had with the christians roman

empire in general was very tolerant of

many different faiths against idea of

syncretism let's just add on

different gods to the pantheon however

the christian refusal to sacrifice to

the statue of the emperor the christian

refusal to sacrifice to the statue of

the emperor this was seen

as political treason and this is

basically why christians were persecuted

not necessarily for their religious

ideas so again so augustine would say

that christians always have to submit

but if they are forced to do something

which is completely against their faith

then

um they can only offer a non-violent

passive resistance and accept their just

punishment so basically martyr them so

the answer to the problem of tyranny in

augustine is martyrdom you accept the

death of the martyr and you hope that

god will reward you in the afterlife

again this is augustine and although

it's very important that augustine is

not plato and i think that the very

there are very clear uh differences

between pagustine worldview and platonic

worldview even if we talk about the um

republic right so um

plato or socrates and plato's republic

talks about this intellectual

contemplation of the forms and maybe

the form of the good which seems to be

impersonal

right but in in augustine uh we're not

we're no longer talking about this form

of the good now we're talking about a

personal god and so in in general

there's a basic compatibility between

philosophy and religion in august and

augustine has this very famous phrase

we do philosophy because faith is

seeking understanding but again

again in the skeptical move

reason establishes its own boundaries

reason establishes its own limitation

and we have to refer to revelation to

supplement reason

so this this is augustine

and again i hope you can see platonic

elements in augustine's doctrine

so rushing through the centuries now we

get to aquinas

um

aristotle's works are actually

rediscovered reintroduced into europe uh

by way of the islamic world and by way

of

islamic arabic and jewish commentators

on aristotle it's a whole separate story

unfortunately we have to

gloss over uh uh but again you can see

aquinas's uh um

attitude to politics and to life in

general is very different right so

whereas again augustine in this somewhat

platonic fashion talks about politics as

necessary evil aquinas in aristotelian

fashion is going to say that engaging in

politics

is integral to human flourishing so

augustine is deeply anti-political and

in aquinas we see a certain

rehabilitation of political life this is

later going to be important for the

republican tradition

uh uh republican in a sense of the word

republicanism has different meanings in

this context we mean the value of

political political participation in and

of itself

um so so whereas for augustine augustine

has this very radical formulation he

talks about these two cities the earthly

city and the heavenly city and augustine

basically says you either have to love

god and hate yourself this notion of

original sin or you have to if you love

yourself then you have to hate god

augustine is very uncompromising in this

in the sense

aquinas does not see this as a conflict

he's going to say

look

the task of the good life is to be

prosperous including presumably having

some measure of property or maybe luxury

so this material prosperity and also

virtual and excellence of character

and salvation of your soul and there's

there's a possibility of harmony between

all three of these at the same time

right and in general when aquinas talks

about reason and revelation aquinas

writes extensively to the gentiles

mostly meaning

jews and muslims but aquinas imagines

again in this quasi-aristotelian fashion

which should be reminiscent also of the

stoics that reason establishes universal

norms of morality that there is a

natural law and this natural law is

clear and knowable to all rational human

beings regardless of whether they are

christians or not and yes in addition to

this natural law

the yahweh also reveals particular

commandments

but

first they do not

contradict mature law in any fashion and

in fact they sort of complete and

supplement the natural law but there is

a basis for

good and harmonious existence for all

peoples in some sense regardless of

whether they're christians or not and

again in aquinas there's this deep

commitment

to the fact that the basic truths

of life can be established through

reason alone to reason alone now

reason alone or philosophy alone will

not get you all the way and in order to

be perfectly virtuous in order to be

perfectly happy and in order to go to

paradise or to heaven after you die you

also need the benefit of revelation but

again uh these two these two work much

more um

together in in in concert and again we

asked this question about tyranny and

tyrants in augustine the only suggestion

the only advice that augustine gives is

except the death of the martyr and

aquinas is different in aquinas is

different aquinas is going to say that

the positive laws of society

if they conflict with the natural laws

then there are no no laws at all now

aquinas doesn't have a fully fledged

political philosophy but in general

there is something like an intimation to

the right of revolution now

we have to be careful um

this is probably not the right of

individuals to resist uh the governments

right because at the sa at the uh you

know at the end of the day all power

comes from god but there's a certain

notion that maybe inferior magistrates

inferior magistrates maybe not private

individuals but let's say princes

can uh legitimately

uh

resist you know even violently resist uh

um you know a king who has become a

tyrant

right so so so again whereas augustine

simply enjoins us to accept our fate uh

um aquinas actually has

uh a limited defense of again

um

right you revolution violent resistance

overthrow of tyrants although again

although it's not it's not really

perfectly fleshed out now one last thing

i want to mention that you will remember

when we talked about aristotle there was

a typology of regimes

and um again i think it's a very

interesting intellectual exercise

for us to look at

what was considered the best regime

throughout the ages now for aquinas in

the middle ages it's very clear that of

course the best regime and again i

remind you aquinas is reading aristotle

and he's trying to base his philosophy

aristotle aquinas is going to say that

the best regime is monarchy

right and this

sounds preposterous to many students and

aquinas gives some arguments he says

there's only one god therefore

there should be one king

right but i think there's a there's a

deeply you know there's a very important

intellectual exercise in us looking at

what aquinas is saying no

this should teach us a little bit of

humility right i i i believe i don't

want to say i believe but i invite you

colleagues to think about uh the

medieval prejudice about monarchy being

the best form of government and also to

think of what we today think are the

best forms of government could it be

that future generations will regard our

political ideas as preposterous right as

the ideas people had in the middle ages

now to be perfectly to be perfectly fair

to aquinas his um

idea of the virtuous monarchy is

actually closer to aristotle's mixed

regime aquinas's own example would be

moses

who rules moses in the hebrew bible who

rules as a single king

but

relying on the council of the elders so

there is some

some intimation of you know separation

of powers or at least

something like checks and balances

between the monarch the uh uh you know

the aristocratic you know the single

monarch the aristocratic assembly of the

elders and then maybe even um in some

form the democratic representation of

the people so

not necessarily monarchy in its pure

form but something closer to a mixed

regime

unfortunately on this note we're going

to have to finish our extremely brief

discussion of these

uh two profound thinkers however uh let

me just allude to the fact that we're

going to return to these ideas again

this uh

realist tradition in politics how

human beings are by nature evil in

augustine and therefore

society has to be based on a strong

coercive authority

especially in the philosophy of thomas

hobbs we'll see something similar and

likewise a different perspective in

aquinas especially this notion of

natural law which is knowable through

reason and available to all rational

human beings again this is an idea we'll

return back to especially in the in the

works of

uh john locke who i think quite

explicitly

borrows many of his ideas from the

legacy of thomas aquinas

[Music]