Saint Augustine

Aurelius Augustinus [more commonly St. Augustine of Hippo, often simply Augustine] (354430 C.E.):rhetor, Christian Neoplatonist, North African Bishop, Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church.
St. Augustine of Hippo is one of the fathers of modern Christian thought. However, he started out as a rowdy kid and a sexually frustrated teenager. He kept a mistress and was fascinated by sex. Yet he grew up to become a celibate Christian philosopher. He found philosophical problems everywhere he looked, and his writings address many of them. What was sex like in the garden of Eden? How do I know what time is?

Neoplatonism (also called Neo-Platonism), is the modern term for a school of mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century, based on the teachings ofPlato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas. Neoplatonism focused on the spiritual and cosmological aspects of Platonic thought, synthesizing Platonism with Egyptian]and Jewish theology. However, Neoplatonists would have considered themselves simply Platonists, and the modern distinction is due to the perception that their philosophy contained sufficiently unique interpretations of Plato to make it substantially different from what Plato wrote and believed.

St. Augustine looked at previous philosophers to examine their attempt to come to know the truth, and for Augustine the highest truth is God and His creation. With the exception of Plato and the Platonists, some believe that the history of philosophy up to Augustine missed the true point of philosophy. In philosophy, for Augustine, one should come to know that (a) there is a hierarchical arrangement within nature, (b) the rational, immaterial human soul can certainly have knowledge of the pinnacle of this hierarchy, and (c) only God is higher than human reason in this hierarchy.

The highest truth at which philosophy can achieve is the same truth of the correct faith, for Augustine. In fact, he argued that there must be a necessary concordance between the two. If reason and faith dont agree, either the reasoning proceeded incorrectly or the faith was in error. Moreover, he held that both help each other. Faith can help illuminate truths for philosophy and reasoning along the way to knowing God, and reason can help faith in understanding the perfections of God. The Stages of History Augustine correlated the stages of the Christian life with the stages of history in his Enchirdion. First, humans live in ignorance and according to the flesh undisturbed by any struggle of reason. In history, this is the time between Adams Fall and the first covenant with Abraham.

Second, becoming aware the law of sin, humans without the aid of faith live as a slave to sin but in guilt. This stage corresponds to the time after the covenant but before Gods grace. Third, with an awareness of God, humans fight against sin by being righteous. This stage corresponds to living under the grace of God, i.e., from the Incarnation of Christ up to the age of Augustines writings. Fourth, after this life humans are rewarded for their faith with tranquility of the spirit and resurrection of the body. This stage corresponds to the finding of true peace and the end of history. The City of Man and the City of God In The City of God, although Augustine is interested in the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire, his true concern is to direct attention elsewhere. It is not the earthly causes and effects that are of importance, and his Platonist view becomes apparent. There are two realms: the City of Man and the City of God. The fall of Rome and its causes belong to the City of Man, and the true concern should be with the City of God. Many believe that the point of philosophy and faith should be to turn away from the causes and effects of earthly actions, the rumblings of politics, and the dangers of conquest, while turning toward the City of God. It's believed that one proceeds by following correct reasoning and true faith, and in the final stage, the end of history,

one can achieve tranquility and resurrection. In The City of God, Augustine writes, For man has no other reason for philosophizing than to be happy.