God, Truth, and Free Will in Augustinian Philosophy

Saint Augustine's Philosophy: God and the Search for Truth

The central issue of highest concern to Saint Augustine is the philosophical subject of God. God's existence is a theological truth, serving not only as the foundation of knowledge but also as the ultimate end toward which human life is directed. Saint Augustine argues that we find God inside the human being. This internal search directs us to eternal truths, which, in turn, lead to the demonstration of God's existence.

The basis of such immutable truths cannot reside in changing created things but must be found in an eternal and immutable being—that is, in God.

Theory of Knowledge and Christian Wisdom

In his theory of knowledge, the philosopher is concerned with establishing the conditions under which the knowledge of truth can be attained, aligning with the Christian ideal of Christ and the search for true happiness through wisdom. For Saint Augustine, absolute truth is Christian truth, and this path leads to true happiness. The subject of science is reason, but above all, wisdom and faith. He arrives at Christianity through faith but then seeks to understand it through reason. According to Saint Augustine, reason should illuminate the truth of the sensible Christian order.

Three Types of Superior Knowledge

Augustine outlines three types of knowledge, the highest being superior reasoning, which he views as wisdom and authentic philosophical knowledge—the knowledge of universal and necessary ideas.

Divine Illumination and Eternal Ideas

These eternal ideas reside in the mind of God and can be known only through the Divine Illumination that God grants the soul, which is the highest activity of reason. For eternal ideas to be intelligible, we require this divine illumination.

This concept is taken from Plato, according to which the Idea of the Good is like the sun of the intelligible world, illuminating things and making them visible. Likewise, God illuminates the ideas, making them intelligible (understood).

Categories of Intelligible Ideas

These ideas can be of three types:

1. Logical and metaphysical truth.
2. Falsehood (or error).
3. Mathematics (numbers, figures, etc.).

Augustine's Platonic orientation led him to assert that truths are not sought in the outside world through the senses but through internal human reflection. Immutable and absolute truths are found within the interior self. These truths are superior to humans, and we need divine help to understand them. According to Saint Augustine, only a superior being can place these eternal and unchanging truths within us, and that being is God. This manifests the preeminence of human knowledge.

The Human Being, Free Will, and Morality

The human being consists of a body and a soul, created in the image and likeness of God. Finally, the human being has the ability to choose between good and evil; this is free will (libre albedrío).

People need God's help to do good; however, to do evil, we do not need anyone's help. (This concept is discussed in City of God regarding right and wrong.)