St. Augustine's Philosophy of Soul and God

The Body and Soul

Departing from the Pythagorean idea of the body as the soul's prison, St. Augustine, influenced by the incarnation of the Word, exalts the human body. Regarding the soul's origin, Augustine admits uncertainty between the prevailing theories of Tertullian's traducianism (parental generation) and St. Jerome's creationism. He believes, however, that the souls of Adam and Christ were divinely created.

The Soul and God

Central to Augustine's thought are the soul and God. Understanding humanity necessitates inquiring about God, as humanity is incomplete without God. The human soul, mirroring the Trinity, is also one and triune in its capacity for mind, knowledge, and love. "Therefore, the mind, its knowledge, and love are three, yet one; and when perfect, are equal."

The soul allows us to vaguely conceive the divine Trinity. The Father, knowing Himself, generates the Verbum (Son). The relationship between them is the love of God the Son (Holy Spirit). Memory in the soul reflects the Father's eternity; knowledge reflects the Son's wisdom; and love reflects the Holy Spirit.

The Quest for Truth

Augustine's philosophy is a continuous quest for self-understanding and the highest reality: "I want to know God and the soul." He seeks necessary, immutable, and eternal truth, unattainable through ever-changing sensible objects. Even the soul is contingent and changeable. Only God is truth.

The search progresses from the external (things) to the internal (soul), leading to the discovery of truths. Augustine explicitly rejects Platonic recollection and the transmigration of the soul. The inward search ascends from the soul to God.

Eternal Ideas

Eternal ideas, or permanent reasons for things, are untrained, eternal, and immutable, residing in the Divine Intelligence. These encompass logical, metaphysical, mathematical, ethical, and aesthetic ideas.

Skepticism and Truth

Skeptical arguments are valid only for those who seek truth in sensory knowledge. For St. Augustine, truth resides in the intelligible and involves purifying the mind and will, detaching from the world and body. This concept resonates with Platonism.