Augustine of Hippo: Faith, Reason, and the Two Cities
Augustine of Hippo
Relationship between Faith and Reason
The wise want to understand to believe. Augustine separates the domains of faith and reason, stating that faith should not interfere with science. However, he argues that reason and faith are complementary, converging on a single truth. In any discrepancy, faith precedes reason. The starting point of all knowledge is self-knowledge, revealing our capabilities and limitations. Faith guides reason and encourages us to overcome our limitations.
Reason cannot fully grasp the truths of faith. Therefore, philosophy serves theology.
Theory of Knowledge
Understanding is knowing the rational world order. There are two types of knowledge:
- Sensitive knowledge: observation of the external world through the senses.
- Rational knowledge: access to wisdom and self-knowledge through rationality, leading to a loving union with God. This reasoning can be lower, achieving wisdom through denial of the senses, or higher, identifying ideas from within through internalization, revealing God’s existence through self-transcendence and the study of our soul.
God
God exists because He has placed His ideas in our minds, and because most believe in Him. God is the cause of the universe:
- God as creator/efficient cause: God gives meaning to society and creates the world in a logical order by natural law, which only God can break through miracles.
- God as the formal cause: God creates ideas in His mind and our soul, which we know through internalization. Since ideas share the same qualities as God, Augustine proves God’s existence.
- God as the final cause: God is the aspiration of reality.
Anthropological Theory
Augustine divides the body and soul (dualism), neglecting the body. The body leads us astray, while the soul guides us towards goodness. Augustine addresses several issues:
- The problem of evil: Evil is the absence of good, created by the freedom of choice God gives us. God provides superior goods to those who choose goodness and obedience. Sinners feel guilt and punishment.
- Freedom: God’s omnipotence is compatible with human freedom of choice. It is our choice, though He knows it beforehand.
- Responsibility and Salvation: God gives humans rationality to know good and evil. Humans are responsible for their choices.
- Soul: The soul has three capabilities that reveal reality, truth, and goodness:
- Memory: used to find our identity by becoming aware of our stay in time to preserve our experiences.
- Understanding: knowledge of the rational world order.
- Will: the capacity to overcome the limits of human knowledge, following the path toward divine perfection, leading to loving communion with God.
Political Theory (of the Two Cities)
Augustine’s two cities represent mystical realities that separate humans based on their life choices, which will be judged in the Final Judgement. The two cities are:
- The earthly city (Babylon): represents humans who have clung to inferior goods, away from God. They are sinners and will be punished.
- The City of God (Jerusalem): represents humans who have chosen the right path, cultivating superior goods and spiritual obedience to God. They are rewarded with salvation by divine grace, achieving loving communion with God.