Augustine

Abstract

Augustine (354–430 CE) was born in North Africa and, except for a five-year sojourn in Italy, lived out his life there. He is important for having defined the Christian heresies of Donatism, Manicheanism, and Pelagianism. His prodigious literary output includes Confessions, City of God, On the Trinity, and no fewer than five different commentaries on the first verses of Genesis. Augustine was the first important western philosopher to philosophize from a distinctively first-person point of view. His works include important replies to the threat of skepticism (“If I am mistaken, [still] I am”), a significant discussion of language acquisition, an epistemological theory of “illumination,” arguments for mind–body dualism, and the analogical argument for other minds. He has been credited (and debited) with introducing the notion of the will into philosophy. He made famous the problem of whether God’s foreknowledge is compatible with human free will. His subjective account of time has been particularly influential. His ethics gives important emphasis to the agent’s intention. Although he did not invent just war theory or the philosophy of history, he made significant contributions to both.