Philosophy Notes St.

Augustin



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Philosophy Notes St. Augustin

This section covers all of the notes from The Road to Nicea through St. Augustin. Test will be on
Friday 12/13 with a study day Thursday 12/12.
Two Ideas that shaped St. Augustin
- Manichaeism
- Neo-Platonism
Nicea:

Two centers for Christianity: Antioch and Alexandria. Fighting over the idea of Logos
Christology.
Antioch hosted a group called the Alogoi. They stood completely against all Greek thought
entering the church. Later known as the Ebionites.
1. Hard Monotheism: Belief in strictly one God no trinity.
2. Jesus as Man: Jesus is the Messiah but He is not God.
3. Soteriology: Salvation is this worldly (Premillennial)
Alexandria hosted a thought group known as Alexandrian Gnosticism. Their views differed
from the Alogoi.
1. Pantheism: God inside of creation
2. Divinity: belief in logos, emanation (Docetism: the belief that Jesus only appeared
human but wasnt really human)
3. Soteriology: Salvation is other worldly (Non-millennial)
The Conflict can be classified as such: (click on a name to head to that section of the document)
Antioch: Alexandria:
2
nd
Century: The Alogoi The Alexandrian Gnostics
3
rd
Century: Paul of Samosata Seballius
4
th
Century: Arius Anti-Arians




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Paul of Samosata:

Came up with Dynamic Monarchism (also known as Ebionite Monarchism, Unitarian
Monarchism, and Adoptionistic Monarchism)
1. Rejected the Idea of Trinity
2. Rejected the Prologue of Johns Gospel
3. Jesus became a god at baptism adopted as Son of God
4. Powerful change in Jesus

Seballius:

Came up with Modalistic Monarchism (and thankfully there arent a dozen different names)
1. Modalistic View of God being flows out of God and we are being (Levels from logos to
angles to man to creation to nothing)
2. Pantheistic Theology: there is a little bit of God in all of us but it is inferior.
3. Language: terms like Light of Light, God of God, Same Essense (homo ousia)
Condemned at the Council of Antioch in 268 AD.







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Arius:

Lived in Antioch and moved to Alexandria
Asked Bishop Alexander about a verse, taken aside for scolding, banned from church, people
criticized the unfairness, and Constantine called a council to sort things out.
7 Point Arianism:
1. God alone is eternal.
2. God created all things voluntarily.
3. God alone is unbegotten.
4. To beget means to create.
5. God created an independent substance which he used to create everything else.
6. The Son/logos is a perfect creature.
7. The incarnation involves the unification of a human body with the Divine Logos.
Anti-Arians:

Condemned Arius at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. Nicean Creed given to establish the idea of
the Trinity.
Ecumenical Councils:

Click on a council to go directly to the page it is on.
Councils: Date: Fundamental Issue:
Nicea 325 AD Affirmation of the Trinity
Constantinople 381 AD Rejection of Apollinarianism
Ephesus 431 AD Rejection of Nestorianism
Chalcedon 451 AD Rejection of Eutychianism
Constantinople II 553 AD Rejection of Monophysite
Heresy
Constantinople III 680 AD Rejection of Monothelyte
Heresy
Nicea II 787 AD Conflict of Icons


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Constantinople:

The council criticized Apollinarius idea of the 3-Fold Being (Body, Soul, Spirit) Theory.

Ephesus:

Nestorius gave the 2 Natures 2 Persons Theory to describe Jesus. Condemned in the council
but no answer was given until later.

Chalcedon:

Eutychus gave the 1 Nature 1 Person Theory to describe Jesus. Condemned in the council and
given a solution.
- Definition of Chalcedon: God is two natures (Nestorianism) but only one person
(Eutychianism).
- Official Answer: Vera Homo, Vera Deus, 2 Natures, 1 Person, without Mixture,
Conversion, Separation, and Division.

Constantinople II:

Monophysite Heresy: more subtle version of Eutychianism. This council condemned it and
wrapped that subject up.

Constantinople III:

Monothelyte Heresy: the philosophy that Jesus had only one will as oppose to two.

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Nicea II:

Discussion about the use of Icons in the church. Adopted by Eastern Orthodox Church and
Catholics but not Protestants.


Manichaeism:

Founded by Mani (unknown real name) in Mesopotamia during the 3
rd
Century.
- Claimed to have a revelation that told him he was the Paraklyte
Paraklyte (tookctoo): the Helper Jesus said he would send to the Apostles
keep in mind its an advocate in a legal sense, not just some helper
- Didnt get very far in Mesopotamia but gained slight influence in the Church
- Manichaeism is syncretistic/eclectic it mixed all kinds of different religions into one.
- Very empiricism-focused there is no room for faith, only concrete evidence.
How did Augustin get involved? He was the auditor for the Manicheans.
3 Main Features of Manichaeism:
1. Ultimate Metaphysical Dualism (UMD): the theory that two ultimate powers are locked
in a never ending conflict (light VS darkness).
2. Syncretism: Manichaeism mixes in a whole bunch of other religions into one.
Claim that Jesus was just some good guy who should be considered a role model.
3. Creation Myth: Basically, the god of light created Adam with original light until the god
of darkness invaded, swallowed the light, and regurgitated out the moon, starts, order,
etc with Adam in okay condition. Adam recovers but Eve also shows up and seduces him
because she is half-light-half-dark and as a result has Abel and Seth but has Cain when
she met with Satan. Now theres a weird mixture of light and dark and so the god of
light sends figures into the world to liberate us from the darkness.
Adds to a negative view of Eve and a positive view of Mary.

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Neo-Platonism:

Founded by Plotinus during the 3
rd
Century.
- Very anti-Christian and wanted to create some kind of complex pagan philosophy
(Gnostic)
- Very complicated and intricate system of beliefs.
6 Main Features of Manichaeism:
1. Idealistic Monism: Plotinus believes in a real/ideal emanation-theory being. He is
ineffable he neither thinks nor not-thinks, exists nor not-exists, is written in these
notes nor not written in these notes, etc.
2. Illusory Evil: Evil is simply the absence of good and it is a trick (deprivation of the good).
3. Cosmology: Has a hierarchy of beings in the universe which is as follows:
The One that ineffable being that cant be described but is described in
negatives anyways.
Nous (vous) The thoughts of the One, basically revisiting Platos ideal world
Psyche (u_q) The soul/mind, our rational thinking selves in a network with
the One.
Matter Non-living stuff. Rocks, trees, desks, etc.
Nonbeing Stuff that doesnt exist.
4. Microcosm: Man is a microcosm because he has the whole reality of the universe inside
of him.
5. Salvation: A mystical process where we have some weird mystical union with the One.
Mystically, of course.
6. Creation: Creation by the One (who neither creates nor not creates) is automatic,
involuntary, and eternal.




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St. Augustin

(Note: You may see it spelled as St. Augustine but you dont pronounce it as such.)
Born November 13, 354 AD outside of Carthage
- Pagan dad, Christian mother (named Monica)
- Received a state-of-the-art education
Moved to Carthage
- Went crazy, partied, etc.
- Had a girlfriend and a son as a result
Joined Manicheans and became their auditor, moved to Rome 8 years later and rejected
Manichaeism. After that he moved to Milan, split up with his girlfriend, and completely melted
down.
- Chair of Rhetoric (dignified position)
- Attended the Church of Ambrose
- Converted to Christianity in a garden after hearing the voice of a little girl saying pick
up and read (after desperately asking God for help). Assumed it was the voice of God.
- Found Romans 13:13 (Let us behave decently )
Moved back to North Africa and became an almost-monk doing nothing but devotion, reading,
prayer, etc.
- Nominated the Bishop of Hippo on the coastline
- Died in 430 AD
Basic Points of Augustin:
3 Women: 3 Philosophies: 3 Heresies:

- Monica (his mom)
- Girlfriend
- Little Girl in Garden


- Neo-Platonism
- Platonism
- Skepticism

- Manichaeism
- Donatism
- Pelagianism



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Augustins Epistemology:

Augustin is simply a Christian Platonist.
3 Levels of Reality: 3 Types of Reason 3 Types of Knowledge

- God
- Man
- Body (Matter)


- Eternal
- Human
- Seminal

- Sapientia
- Scientia
- Sensation

The mind of Man moves in both directions either we think about God and the Eternal
(Augustins Logos) or about Body and the Seminal.
Eternal Reason is in the mind of God ideas of the ideal world.
- Ideas including Universals, Forms, Logic, Predication, Numbers, Beauty, and Ethical
Truth
Seminal Reason is reason found in nature (like gravity, breathing, Boyles Law, etc.)
The forms of knowledge are all present in the human mind
- Sapientia: wisdom, adding meaning of God (Why knowledge)
- Scientia: science, classifying things (How knowledge)
- Sensation: experience, by the senses (What knowledge)
Everyone has something in the place of God in their minds and that affects their actions and
thoughts.


Theory of Illumination:

God is to the human mind what light is to the human eye without God our human minds
(not just those of Christians) become useless. #fail

Abstraction
(Deduction)
Concretion
(Induction)
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1
2
3
4
5
Faith:

Augustin is replying to Skepticism here in the age old debate of faith VS reason.




Augustin gives us five levels of faith, working like a hierarchy.
5. Thinking with Ascent: Open Mind, being receptive to the truth
4. Provisional Acceptance: Hypothetical, assuming the truth might be true
3. Acceptance of Authority: Trusting reliable authorities on the truth
2. Compulsion of the Truth: Looking for reasonable doubt before continuing
1. Surrender of the Will: Having God open your eyes to the full truth



Theistic Proof:

Theistic Proof: an argument for the existence of God.
Augustin believed in an immediate existence of himself, and from there reasoned that he is a
dependent, existing being.
- His existence depends on a prior existence that created him.
- This is known as the Presuppositional Proof.



Faith
(Fideism)
Reason
(Rationalism)
^
Tertullian
^
St. Augustin
^
Clement of
Alexandria
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The Problem of Evil:

Augustin rejects good/evil dualism but worked from Plotinus quote Evil depends on good,
otherwise it would not exist.
- Evil exists only because good exists and because God utilizes it for good.

Donatist Controversy:

The Donatists believed that Christians who cracked under persecution should be barred from
entering the church again
- Augustin came up with 4 categories fighting this idea
1. One: exclusiveness, no other competition
2. Holy: unique, unlike everything else
3. Catholic: inclusiveness, universal
4. Apostolic: authority
a. Catholic: based on Apostolic Succession (Bureaucracy)
b. Protestant: teaching authority (Charismatic)

Pelagius:

British monk in a Christianized Roman era, eunuch, former fan of Augustin until receiving
criticism, then became an enemy.
- Pelagius view: Original Sin is not a problem (Spiritually Well)
- Augustins view: Original Sin is a serious problem (Spiritually Dead)
Original Sin: the condition all people have as a result of the first sin
- Adams sin is important because he sinned in innocence (Romans 5)
- Pelagius would argue that Eden is metaphorical, Augustin would believe that Eden and
Original Sin are so real that the rest of the world we live in is simply The Matrix. Just
kidding.
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14 Point Pelagianism:

The bolded parts are simply to help your memory.
1. God commands nothing impossible.
2. Adam was created mortal.
3. Adams sin injured Adam only.
4. Some people are saved by law and not by gospel
5. Infant baptism is not related to infant sin.
6. Human nature is indestructibly good, only modified by accidence (in an Aristotelian
sense)
7. Man can resist sin easily.
8. Everyone is created in the same condition as Adam before he fell.
9. Grace facilitates goodness.
10. Grace is illumination and instruction.
11. Grace is given based on merit.
12. The advantage of Christianity is sinlessness made easier.
13. Jesus is our great example of sinlessness.
14. The human will is completely free.
8 Point Augustinianism: Know only the first four points as the other four have yet to be
covered.
1. People are a mass of sin.
2. Four moral states:
a. Posse peccare (able to sin) (Before Fall, After Fall)
b. Posse non peccare (able to not sin) (Before Fall)
c. Non posse non peccare (not able to not sin) (After Fall)
d. Non posse peccare (not able to sin)
3. Non posse non mori (not able to not die)
4. Will
a. Liber Arbitrium: ability to choose what you want (Before Fall, After Fall)
b. Libertas: ability to want the truly right thing (Before Fall)