The contributions of St. Augustine of Hippo to philosophy and humanity establish him as one of the most important personages of his time.
St. Augustine was born on November 13, 354 and died on August 28, 430. He based his studies on the importance of the knowledge of God together with the thought of man.
Although at first he refused to acquaint himself with the Christianity imparted by his mother Monica, he ended up approaching it after knowing Manichaeism and skepticism, thus uniting the discovered dogmas with philosophical meanings.
Besides, it also adhered to the Neoplatonic current, noting that it could reveal its process of conversion to it and religious part, in harmony with wisdom and criticism about the events that concur in a society.
Thanks to this thought, he was able to make clear in his"Dialogues"the relationship of Christ with authority and his support within the reason of man, as well as to create a more human explanation about the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Posed as a great thinker, he wrote his famous work"Confessions", where he exposes his ideals within philosophy and reconsiders that knowing the truth is not impossible.
Contributions of St. Augustine in philosophy and humanity
St. Augustine of Hippo was successful in mastering philosophy, despite not having studied it formally.
Through it he managed to explain his concerns in the theological field, creating great contributions to both currents, such as:
Theory of Time
In his book of confessions, St. Augustine points out that time is part of an order that is carried within the human mind. For him there is no present without a past, much less a future without a present.
Because of this, he mentions that the present of past experiences is kept in the memory, while the present of current experiences is established in the near future.
With this he managed to imply that even when remembering man is kept in a present (revive moment), and dreaming of future actions.
Language learning
Augustine of Hippo brought great thoughts on human language, making reference in the way in which children learn to speak through the environment and association.
Likewise, he said that through speech only seeks to teach, because when asking even for something unknown, the person who has the answer is allowed to reflect on what he will say and expose his point of view freely.
On the other hand, he pointed out that through language it is taught and learned through memory, which is stored in the soul and externalized with thought, to communicate with people.
He also stressed that prayer was a method of communication that was already in the soul, and that served only to communicate directly with God, to calm concerns and hope.
Statement of faith as a search for compression
St. Augustine affirmed that one should"believe to understand", thus pointing to faith as the perfect method for understanding, since it is the basis of a testimony and truth, through the reason of feeling.
Based on this, he invited Christians to understand the reality according to their faith and the doctrines imposed, so that they could see that everything was related and provided faith was not indifferent to reason, a full understanding would come.
Refuted skepticism
It is known that Augustine of Hippo was at one time related to the skepticism, nevertheless to sticking to the Neoplatónico knowledge, defined that in the thought it existed, and even if it was also deceived, discarding the fact that there was no truth.
He influenced the ontological argument
His writings related to the Christian faith gave strength to the ontological argument, making it clear that God was a being like no other could exist, someone sublime and supreme, explaining to the believers that knowing the truth was known.
Illustrated God as eternal and knower of the truth
For St. Augustine the human being was able to learn universal truths, even over man's own knowledge, therefore in understanding the designs of God, wisdom was obtained, because he was eternal truth.
He created a theory of human knowledge
Because of his perception of knowledge, I create a theory known as"Divine Enlightenment,"where he mentions that God is able to enlighten and bring knowledge to the human mind by giving it divine truths.
Therefore, whoever knows God and is assured of his universal truth can reveal mysteries.
He defined evil as the absence of humanity
St. Augustine maintained that evil was an absence of humanity in the person, so those who could not be kind and did not give life to this feeling, which was a symbol of putting first being before the opinion and right of others.
As an example he used Lucifer to point out that he thought of his benefit and not of God, which gave life to evil after a selfish action. He therefore invited people to think in terms of everything to live in peace.
Recognized wisdom as a whole that leads to happiness
Based on Plato's philosophy, he understood wisdom as a unique happiness, so he assured that man, knowing the truth, would be happy, because love was also present in him.
He showed redemption as a path of liberation
For St. Augustine of Hippo, redemption was the way to freedom, and this was achieved through love of God.
For this reason, he only affirmed that only by knowing God could the human side be awakened, and the importance of the self be set aside to commit oneself to the common good and feel free.
References
- Kenneth R. Samples. Top Then Things Agustine Contributed to Philosophy part I. (2012). Posted on reasons.org
- Frederick Copleston, A History of Philosophy, vol. 2. (New York, 1993. Retrieved from minerva.elte.hu
- Hal M. Helms (editions). The Confessions of Saint Augustine. (USA, 2010). Retrieved at www.paracletepress.com/ samples / exc-confessions-of-augustine-essential.pdf
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Divine Illumination (2015). Retrieved from dish.stanford.edu
- Beryl Seckington. Divine Illuminations and revelation, the augustinian theory of Knowledge. (2005). Retrieved from augustinian paradigm.com.