Understanding the Self - St. Augustine (Soul and Communion with God) - UTS Philosophical Perspective

Summary

St. 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

00:00

🌟 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.

Keywords

💡Dualism

Dualism refers to the philosophical concept that the world is made up of two distinct entities or principles, typically the physical and the spiritual. In the context of the video, Saint Augustine's dualism suggests that the soul and the body are separate, with the soul being the true essence of a person. This concept is central to understanding Augustine's views on the nature of the self and the possibility of life after death.

💡Saint Augustine

Saint Augustine is a key figure in Christian theology, known for his significant contributions to Western thought. The video discusses his ideas on the soul's relationship with the body and with God, emphasizing his belief in the soul's immortality through communion with the divine. His teachings on virtues and the nature of the self are central to the video's exploration of Christian philosophy.

💡Soul

The soul, as discussed in the video, is the immaterial and immortal part of a person, distinct from the physical body. Saint Augustine describes the soul as a 'rider on the body,' highlighting its role as the true self. The video suggests that the soul's immortality is contingent upon its relationship with God, which is a central theme in Augustine's theology.

💡Salvation

Salvation, in Christian theology, is the deliverance from sin and its consequences. The video mentions that Saint Augustine's concept of self is grounded in dualism and salvation, implying that the soul's separation from the body can be explained through the idea of salvation. This concept is integral to understanding the afterlife and the soul's journey according to Augustine.

💡Virtue

Virtue, in the video, is defined as an inner disposition or motivational habit that allows one to act out of genuine love. Saint Augustine's definition of virtue as 'ordered love' is central to his ethical teachings. The video discusses four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, courage, and temperance, which are manifestations of God's love and are essential for living a virtuous life on earth and achieving immortality.

💡Prudence

Prudence, as explained in the video, is the virtue of discerning what helps and what hinders us in our pursuit of God. It is the first virtue considered when making moral decisions. The video illustrates prudence as the ability to apply moral principles to specific situations without error and to overcome doubts regarding the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.

💡Justice

Justice, in the context of the video, is described as love serving God and ruling well over all else. Saint Augustine adds that citizens have a duty to obey their political leaders, but when obedience to state authority conflicts with obedience to God, one must choose to obey God. This concept is crucial for understanding the relationship between divine law and civil law in Augustine's philosophy.

💡Courage

Courage, as discussed in the video, is the virtue that helps us overcome fear and irrational desires to confront frightening situations. It is necessary to face distressing circumstances and is described as a balance between reducing excessive fear and moderating excessive confidence. The video emphasizes the importance of courage in maintaining a virtuous life.

💡Temperance

Temperance, according to the video, is the Christian virtue that balances the use of created goods by reducing attraction to them. It involves self-control over appetites, emotions, and material desires. The video explains temperance as a virtue that improves one's power to control these aspects of life, which is essential for maintaining virtue and achieving communion with God.

💡Immortality

Immortality, in the video, is the concept of the soul's eternal existence, separate from the physical body. Saint Augustine believes that the soul can achieve immortality through its relationship with God. The video emphasizes that this immortality is not only a future state but also a present pursuit, as living a virtuous life on earth is seen as a step towards the soul's 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