Abstract
Augustine of Hippo (354–430 A.D.) meditated on the transcendent attributes of numbers that accountants so skillfully employ and on the attributes of moral rules. He thereby achieved a profound awareness of their Source in Truth. Nature is also governed by numbers; it is a “melody” that, again, woos one to its Source in Beauty. Whereas some businessmen meditate to clear their minds of clutter so as to make successful business decisions, Augustine persisted beyond the mere absence of clutter. Within the stream of his own consciousness he found a focal point that led to the experience of the presence of a transcendent God in his own deeper self. The “order of love” enables one to achieve balance and a higher freedom wherein one cannot do wrong and possesses the courage to work toward building an earthly city that is just and beautiful, one that facilitates Everyman’s penetration of his own depth.
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Grace Natoli received her Master’s degree and Doctorate from Fordham University, having written dissertations on Augustine the Stoic and on The Actualism of Giovanni Gentile. A recipient of Fulbright and Italian government grants, she studied at the University of Genoa with Michele Sciacca, who was strongly influenced by Augustine. She studied the subjective idealism of Gentile and the objective idealism of Antonio Rosmini and of Sciacca. She is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s University in Jamaica, New York.
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Natoli, G. Augustinian Moral Consciousness and the Businessman. J Bus Ethics 78, 97–107 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9531-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9531-0