Augustine Vs. Aquinas
St. Augustine of Hippo vs. St. Thomas Aquinas- Contradicting Views Tamanpreet Kaur Gill
Grand Canyon University: PHI-305
12 October 2014
St. Augustine of Hippo vs. St. Thomas Aquinas- Contradicting Views Saint Augustine of Hippo, as he is most commonly referred, of the early fifth century and Saint Thomas Aquinas, of the thirteenth century, are considerably well-known for their philosophical and theological discoveries. Even though both are famous for venturing to integrate Christianity with their philosophical thoughts, they took completely different paths in doing so. Aquinas took an Aristotelian path, being a strong follower of Aristotle while Augustine, took a Platonic path, considering Plotinus as his mentor. Both delved deeply into the concept of ethics dichotomy, the human nature, and the human’s ability to know, and to do, the good.
Christianity does hold true to the fact life after death exists. (Bray, 2003). Augustine’s view on the nature of the human beings states that each individual is “trapped by sin in immorality and untruth” (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 39). A human being cannot access that after-life unless they devote themselves fully to God. It is only through the process of “illumination” and “divine assistance” that an individual can be truly fulfilled as a human being. Basically, only through the love of God can one reach to the ultimate truth about themselves and learn to see and do the good. “Divine assistance is necessary to rid us of vice, turn our hearts towards God and enable us to acquire virtue” (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 42). He believed that the man’s “corrupted desire’s” to knowledge stemmed from the Garden of Eden, where man’s thirst to be “like God” led to feeling pride and then led to the fall of that individual. When an individual stirs their attention away from the realm of God is when they get plundered by temptations such as pride, power, wealth, fame, and even human love. He believed that
Grand Canyon University: PHI-305
12 October 2014
St. Augustine of Hippo vs. St. Thomas Aquinas- Contradicting Views Saint Augustine of Hippo, as he is most commonly referred, of the early fifth century and Saint Thomas Aquinas, of the thirteenth century, are considerably well-known for their philosophical and theological discoveries. Even though both are famous for venturing to integrate Christianity with their philosophical thoughts, they took completely different paths in doing so. Aquinas took an Aristotelian path, being a strong follower of Aristotle while Augustine, took a Platonic path, considering Plotinus as his mentor. Both delved deeply into the concept of ethics dichotomy, the human nature, and the human’s ability to know, and to do, the good.
Christianity does hold true to the fact life after death exists. (Bray, 2003). Augustine’s view on the nature of the human beings states that each individual is “trapped by sin in immorality and untruth” (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 39). A human being cannot access that after-life unless they devote themselves fully to God. It is only through the process of “illumination” and “divine assistance” that an individual can be truly fulfilled as a human being. Basically, only through the love of God can one reach to the ultimate truth about themselves and learn to see and do the good. “Divine assistance is necessary to rid us of vice, turn our hearts towards God and enable us to acquire virtue” (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 42). He believed that the man’s “corrupted desire’s” to knowledge stemmed from the Garden of Eden, where man’s thirst to be “like God” led to feeling pride and then led to the fall of that individual. When an individual stirs their attention away from the realm of God is when they get plundered by temptations such as pride, power, wealth, fame, and even human love. He believed that
References: Aristotle. 1966. Aristotle 's Metaphysics. Grinnell, Iowa: The Peripatetic Press. Bray, G. (2003). AUGUSTINE 'S KEY. Christian History, 22(4), 42. Clark, K. J., & Poortenga, A. (2003). The story of ethics: Fulfilling our human nature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Campolo, T. (2007). How Jewish was Jesus? Tikkun, 22(6), 26-28. Vaught, C. G. (2005). Access to God in Augustine 's Confessions: Books X-XIII. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press.