Augustine - Famous Philosophers

Augustine

Introduction

Saint Augustine (November 13, 354 – August 28, 430) , Bishop of Hippo, in Algeria, was a philosopher and theologian.

Augustine, a Latin Father and Doctor of the Church, is one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. Augustine was radically influenced by Platonism.

He framed the concepts of original sin and just war.

Augustine as depicted by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1480

Works

Augustine was one of the most prolific Latin authors, and the list of his works consists of more than a hundred separate titles.

They include apologetic works against the heresies of the Arians, Donatists, Manichaeans and Pelagians, texts on Christian doctrine, notably De doctrina Christiana (On Christian Doctrine), exegetical works such as commentaries on Book of Genesis, the Psalms and Paul's Letter to the Romans, many sermons and letters, and the Retractationes (Retractions), a review of his earlier works which he wrote near the end of his life.

Influence on St. Thomas Aquinas

For quotations of St. Augustine by St. Thomas Aquinas see Aquinas and the Sacraments and Thought of Thomas Aquinas Part I.

On the topic of original sin, Aquinas proposed a more optimistic view in which human faculties of reason, will, and passions retained their natural powers even after the Fall.

Influence on Protestant reformers

Contrary to the Eastern fathers, Augustine taught that original sin weakens the human capacities, such as the will. Protestant reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin emphasized the detrimental effects of the original sin on the will, arguing that it completely destroys liberty.