It’s easy to dismiss Augustine of Hippo as an ancient Theologian with nothing to share with our modern, secular, age. I dismissed him, on those grounds, for a long time.
But maybe we shouldn’t.
Outside of his fart jokes and obsession with sex, Augustine is surprising in complex, historically impactful ways. It’s Augustine’s concept of human nature, and his debate with the followers of a contemporary – Pelagius – that have shaped our thinking in Philosophy and Politics today more than one could expect.
On human nature
Before and outside of the Christian era, the concept of “Good” and “Bad” was more cultural than moral. More relative than universal. It was more “us” and “them” than “Good” and “Bad”.
Caring for you and your kin seems to have been the mantra of Heroic-age Greece, of Ancient Egypt, of the Roman Republic. Values, morals and politics were local, and included only the local people. Outside of your own folk lived the barbarians – good for fighting and enslaving. With local gods, you get local moral and political principles.
It took a belief in a universal monotheistic God to believe in a universal morality and a universal human nature. With the birth of Judaism, then the rampant popularity of Christianity, the concept of the essential human self was popularised and judged. If there is only one God, then there might be only one human and only one way that they should be.
Are we fundamentally inclined towards the light or the dark? Towards good or ill? The question of the duality in human nature seems as old as time. But I believe it’s only a little older than Augustine.
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was a prolific Christian theologian, bishop, and philosopher widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Western Christianity. His writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and were a cornerstone of medieval theology and the Protestant Reformation.
Augustine didn’t begin the debate (the Manicheans were proponents of the idea before him), and he wasn’t the only person to argue about it (the Pelagians were his fierce opposition). But he was, in historical terms, the one who won the argument.
Check out this video on Augustine
Humans - good or ill?
The argument was between Augustine and Pelagius. Set against the backdrop of a newly de-criminalised Christianity in Ancient Rome, they debated the nature of man’s soul. They held contrasting views on whether humans are naturally good or evil:
- Augustine believed that humans are inherently sinful and morally corrupt due to the original sin inherited from Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden.
- He emphasized the concept of “total depravity,” asserting that human nature is fundamentally corrupted to the core, and people cannot achieve salvation through their own efforts.
- Augustine argued that divine grace and predestination are necessary for individuals to be redeemed and achieve salvation.
Pelagius, on the other hand, held a more optimistic view of human nature. He believed that humans are born morally neutral or with the capacity to choose between good and evil.
Pelagius rejected the doctrine of original sin and the idea that humans inherit guilt from Adam and Eve’s sin. He argued that individuals are responsible for their own actions and moral choices.
According to Pelagius, salvation is attainable through human effort and free will. He believed that people could lead virtuous lives and achieve salvation through their own choices and actions.
Augustine believed in the inherent sinfulness of human nature and the necessity of divine grace for salvation, while Pelagius had a more optimistic view, asserting that humans have the capacity for moral choice and can achieve salvation through their own efforts. These differing views on human nature and the role of divine grace were central to the theological debates of their time, and have informed our dialogue on human nature for thousands of years.
From Augustine to Hobbes, from Pelagius to Rousseau
The intellectual inheritors of this debate were Hobbes and Rousseau, writing in the 17th and 18th Centuries.
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