St. Augustine on Knowledge, Faith, and the Love of God

St. Augustine's Epistemology and the Love of the Unknown

In this text concerning St. Augustine, we encounter an epistemological problem that responds to the question: Is it possible to love the unknown?

The Question of Loving the Unknown

St. Augustine argues that one loves what is unknown but believed, and that God is known, contemplated, and perceived by the mind.

Key Augustinian Concepts

St. Augustine defines several key terms:

• To Know: The internalization process by which one finds the eternal ideas, from which judgments about things are made.
• To Love (Caritas): To love as charity, that is, as love for God and men in terms of God. This translates into a disposition of the will by which we become virtuous and not sinners.
• God: The foundation of all existence, the creator (giving shape/being to what exists from scratch according to the eternal, divine ideas).

Life and Conversion of Aurelius Augustine

Aurelius Augustine was born in Tagaste, Numidia (now Algeria) in 354, to a pagan father and a Christian mother. He studied rhetoric in Carthage and taught in Rome. Reading the Hortensius of Cicero sparked his interest in philosophy. He transitioned through Manichaeism and Skepticism.

Manichaeism Defined

Manichaeism is a doctrine asserting that there are two eternal substances or roots: light (good) and darkness (evil), which originate conflict and the mixing of time and the world. Man must fight for the triumph of the Good, which means the separation of the two principles to confine the evil to the wrong place. This struggle to relegate the evil to the earth is what constitutes history and human progress.

In 386, he converted to Christianity. Ordained in Hippo, he died as bishop of that city in 430.

Philosophical Comparisons and the Role of Faith

Augustine versus Plato: Epistemological Differences

The differences between St. Augustine and Plato are significant:

• Anthropocentrism vs. Theocentrism: For Plato, man does not need anything (anthropocentrism); ideas exist objectively by themselves. In Augustine, ideas become eternal truths that can only exist in the divine mind (theocentrism).
• Knowledge Acquisition: For Plato, to know is to remember. For St. Augustine, to know is to be enlightened.
• The Ideal Wise Person: For Plato, the ideal wise person is one who knows the good. For Blessed Augustine, the wiser person is the saint.
• Universal Knowledge: Both seek belief, that is, universal knowledge.
• Source of Knowledge: Knowledge for Plato resides in man, the individual, whereas for St. Augustine, it depends on whether or not God illuminates.

Faith and Reason: Conflict or Cooperation?

Does faith help or hinder reason? Augustine suggests that faith helps us to understand the relationship between God and man. It explains that the human person has a soul, a spiritual principle essentially attached to the body, thus avoiding any kind of Cartesian dualism. Faith helps us, generally, to understand ourselves in depth.

Faith, being supernatural, comes from divine inspiration and the grace of God, and is able to enhance the intelligence and genius of each man.

It is true that men can sometimes be carried away by faith and put aside reason. A dramatic example is a car accident involving an acquaintance or family member. In these situations, anxiety and pessimism can make us rely on faith in a fanatical way. Thus, we consciously or unconsciously create obstacles to what is right.