History of Philosophy

Philosophy of The Middle Ages

Saint Augustine

At the same time that Eastern Patristics were developing in Byzantium, Western Patristics were evolving in Western Europe. While Eastern Patristics were interrupted by the fall of Constantinople, Western Patristics continued to develop and eventually gave rise to Scholasticism. The most eminent thinker of Western Patristics, whose influence on Western civilization is incalculable, was Saint Augustine (354-430), whose reflections encompassed the most diverse topics of contemporary discourse.

• Augustine argued for the existence of eternal and immutable truth. Even when someone doubts everything, they cannot doubt the very fact of their doubt. With this assertion, Augustine anticipated Descartes' dictum "cogito ergo sum."
• He adopted Plato’s theory of ideas and believed that humans possess knowledge from birth, though the question of how they acquire it remained open. Augustine maintained that God enlightens a person at the moment of their birth and imparts knowledge to them, a view known as the theory of illumination.
• Augustine made a significant contribution to Trinitarian theology. He asserted that the Divine Persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) are equal, and their distinctions are based on their relationships.
• In his social doctrine, Augustine differentiated between two types of civilization: the City of God (a society aligned with God’s design) and the City of Man (a society founded on sin). These civilizations are in constant opposition to one another. The arena of this conflict is the human world, and the Church embodies the City of God within it.
• According to Augustine, the first humans (Adam and Eve) sinned, and all people, being their descendants, inherit this sin. Thus, everyone is born with original sin. Augustine used this explanation to account for human wickedness, despite everything created by God being good, and humans being God’s creation. Since humans inherit their bodies from their parents, and each soul is a separate gift from God, original sin is transmitted from the bodies of parents to the bodies of children. Hence, the body is seen as the carrier of sin, which explains the medieval negative attitude towards the body.
• In 410, the Visigoths attacked Rome, and North Africa, where Augustine was a bishop, was flooded with refugees from Italy. They recounted the horrors of war to Augustine and sought his explanations and guidance on how to act in the face of military danger. Augustine argued that peace, rather than war, aligns with the natural law, and thus, aggressive war is evil. However, a just war is permissible. Such a war aims to restore peace and liberate from the aggressor.
• In Ecclesiology (the study of the Church), Augustine participated in the debate against the Donatists, a group of theologians who believed that grace could only be transmitted through morally perfect individuals. Therefore, priests and community members must be perfect; otherwise, God’s actions through their rituals would be ineffective. Augustine defended the Church’s teaching that it is merely a mediator. Since Christ is the source of grace and He is perfect, His perfection is sufficient for the efficacy of grace. The demands of the Donatists cannot be met because humans cannot be perfect. The focus should be on the perfection of the source, not the mediator.
• Another debate Augustine engaged in was concerning sin and grace. Pelagius argued that Jesus Christ provided people with a law whose observance ensures salvation and set an example of fulfilling this law but does nothing on behalf of individuals. Augustine, on the other hand, argued that humans are too weak to achieve salvation on their own and require divine assistance. Thus, human salvation results from the cooperation of God, who provides grace, and humans, who complement it with their good deeds.

Following Augustine’s death, the debate on grace continued actively. In the 5th century, Prosper of Aquitaine continued Augustine’s position, while Faustus of Riez upheld Pelagius’ stance. Alongside them, an intermediate position emerged—Semi-Pelagianism, initiated by John Cassian.