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Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Augustine's moral psychology was one of the richest in late antiquity, and in this book James Wetzel evaluates its development, indicating that the insights offered by Augustine on free-will have been prevented from receiving full appreciation as the result of an anachronistic distinction between theology and philosophy. He shows that it has been commonplace to divide Augustine's thought into earlier and later phases, the former being more philosophically informed than the latter. Wetzel's contention is that this division is less pronounced than it has been made out to be. The author shows that, while Augustine clearly acknowledges his differences with philosophy, he never loses his fascination with the Stoic concepts of happiness and virtue, and of the possibility of their attainment by human beings. This fascination is seen by Wetzel to extend to Augustine's writings on grace, where freedom and happiness are viewed as a recovery of virtue. The notorious dismissal of pagan virtue in 'The City of God' is part of Augustine's family quarrel with philosophers, not a rejection of philosophy per se. Augustine the theologian is thus seen to be a Platonist philosopher with a keen sense of the psychology of moral struggle.
Book Description
This sophisticated analysis of Augustine's thought on virtue and the will makes a notable contribution to Augustine studies, and casts light both on the subject of 'moral luck' and on the relationship between theology and philosophy generally.
Augustine's moral psychology was one of the richest in late antiquity, and in this book James Wetzel evaluates its development, indicating that the insights offered by Augustine on free-will have been prevented from receiving full appreciation as the result of an anachronistic distinction between theology and philosophy. He shows that it has been commonplace to divide Augustine's thought into earlier and later phases, the former being more philosophically informed than the latter. Wetzel's contention is that this division is less pronounced than it has been made out to be. The author shows that, while Augustine clearly acknowledges his differences with philosophy, he never loses his fascination with the Stoic concepts of happiness and virtue, and of the possibility of their attainment by human beings. This fascination is seen by Wetzel to extend to Augustine's writings on grace, where freedom and happiness are viewed as a recovery of virtue. The notorious dismissal of pagan virtue in 'The City of God' is part of Augustine's family quarrel with philosophers, not a rejection of philosophy per se. Augustine the theologian is thus seen to be a Platonist philosopher with a keen sense of the psychology of moral struggle.
Book Description
This sophisticated analysis of Augustine's thought on virtue and the will makes a notable contribution to Augustine studies, and casts light both on the subject of 'moral luck' and on the relationship between theology and philosophy generally.
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Inside This Book Citations: This book cites 34 books | 36 books that cite this book Explore: Citations | Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Key Phrases - SIPs: pagan moral psychology, pagan beatitude, adventitious loss, beatific knowledge, involuntary sin (more) Key Phrases - CAPs: Old Academy, Augustine of Hippo, New York, Peter Brown, Augustine the Theologian (more) Browse Sample Pages: Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Surprise Me! |
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The cornerstone of Augustine's natural philosophy is his distinction between sensibility and intelligence. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pagan moral psychology, pagan beatitude, adventitious loss, beatific knowledge, involuntary sin, duabus animabus, suitable calling, beata vita, libero arbitrio, eternal measure, compulsory action, dono perseverantiae, praedestinatione sanctorum, operative grace, book vin, human consent, sub lege, pagan wisdom, converted life, philosophical inheritance, pagan virtue, pagan philosophy, temporal present, temporal goods, external goods Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Academy, Augustine of Hippo, New York, Peter Brown, Augustine the Theologian, University of California Press, The Stoic Tradition, Amor Dei, William Babcock, Augustinian Studies, Journal of Theological Studies, Marcia Colish, Patout Burns, The Old Enemy, Augustine's Stoicism, Cambridge University Press, Hippo Regius, Instead Augustine, Jesus Christ, John Burnaby, Journal of Religious Ethics, Julian of Eclanum, North Africa, Paula Fredriksen, Review of Metaphysics New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Surprise Me!
The cornerstone of Augustine's natural philosophy is his distinction between sensibility and intelligence. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pagan moral psychology, pagan beatitude, adventitious loss, beatific knowledge, involuntary sin, duabus animabus, suitable calling, beata vita, libero arbitrio, eternal measure, compulsory action, dono perseverantiae, praedestinatione sanctorum, operative grace, book vin, human consent, sub lege, pagan wisdom, converted life, philosophical inheritance, pagan virtue, pagan philosophy, temporal present, temporal goods, external goods Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Academy, Augustine of Hippo, New York, Peter Brown, Augustine the Theologian, University of California Press, The Stoic Tradition, Amor Dei, William Babcock, Augustinian Studies, Journal of Theological Studies, Marcia Colish, Patout Burns, The Old Enemy, Augustine's Stoicism, Cambridge University Press, Hippo Regius, Instead Augustine, Jesus Christ, John Burnaby, Journal of Religious Ethics, Julian of Eclanum, North Africa, Paula Fredriksen, Review of Metaphysics New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 34
books:
See all 34 books this book cites
36
books
cite this book:
See all 36 books citing this book
- Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (New Edition, with an Epilogue) by Peter Brown on 11 pages
- Augustine the Theologian by Eugene Teselle on 9 pages
- Anti-Pelagian Writings [A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church - Volume V] by St. Augustine on 9 pages
- Free Will (Oxford Readings in Philosophy) by Gary Watson on 5 pages
- Free Will by Craig Watson on 5 pages
See all 34 books this book cites
- Law's Interior: Legal and Literary Constructions of the Self by Kevin M. Crotty on 5 pages
- Augustine and Modernity (Radical Orthodoxy) by Michael Hanby in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Canon 1096 on Ignorance with Application to Tribunal and Pastoral Practice by Girard M. Sherba on page 17, and Back Matter
- The Augustinian Tradition (Philosophical Traditions) by Gareth B. Matthews in Front Matter, and page 135
- Recent Studies in Early Christianity: A Collection of Scholarly Essays by E. Ferguson on page 152, and page 179
See all 36 books citing this book