Catholic Philosophy

Philosophy and Theology of St. Augustine

Pure Philosophy

St. Augustine was a remarkably prolific writer, primarily focused on theological questions. Some of his polemical works addressed the issues of the day and, as a result of their success, have lost interest; however, certain writings, particularly those related to his disputes with the Pelagians, have maintained their influence well into modern times. I do not aim to provide a comprehensive characterization of St. Augustine's works, but will limit my discussion to what appears significant—either in essence or from a historical perspective. I will consider: first, his pure philosophy, particularly his theory of time; second, his philosophy of history as developed in "The City of God"; and third, his theory of salvation as articulated in his polemic against the Pelagians.

Pure Philosophy

St. Augustine rarely engages in pure philosophy, yet in those instances when he does, he reveals remarkable talent. Augustine marks the beginning of a long line of thinkers whose speculative views were shaped by the necessity to reconcile them with Sacred Scripture. This cannot be said of earlier Christian philosophers, such as Origen; in Origen, Christianity and Platonism coexist side by side without one penetrating the other. In contrast, Augustine's original thought in the realm of pure philosophy is stimulated by the very fact that Platonism, in certain respects, does not align with the Book of Genesis.

The finest of Augustine's purely philosophical works is the eleventh book of his "Confessions." Popular editions of the "Confessions" often conclude at the tenth book on the grounds that the subsequent three books are uninteresting; they are deemed so not because they lack substance, but because they represent a magnificent philosophical treatise rather than a biography. The eleventh book addresses the following question: if the world was indeed created as described in the first chapter of Genesis (a biblical account Augustine defended against the Manicheans), then God must have created the world at the very first opportunity. This is the argument posed by an imaginary opponent of Augustine.

To comprehend Augustine's response, we must first acknowledge that the idea of creation ex nihilo, as taught in the Old Testament, was entirely foreign to Greek philosophy. When Plato speaks of creation, he envisions a primal matter to which God imparts form; the same holds true for Aristotle. Their conception of God is not that of a creator, but rather that of a craftsman or builder. They believe that substance is eternal and uncreated, with only form deriving its existence from the will of God. In opposition to this view, Augustine asserts, as any orthodox Christian would, that the world was created not from a specific matter, but from nothing. God created not only order and structure but also the very substance itself.

The Greek notion that creation from nothing is impossible periodically resurfaced during Christian times, leading to pantheism. Pantheism posits that God and the world are inseparable and that everything in the world is a part of God. This view is most fully articulated in the teachings of Spinoza, though nearly all mystics have felt its influence. This has made it challenging for mystics throughout Christian centuries to remain orthodox, as they struggled to accept the view that the world exists outside of God. However, Augustine sees no difficulty in this matter; the Book of Genesis is entirely clear, and that suffices for him. His perspective on this issue is of crucial importance to his theory of time.

Why was the world not created earlier? Because there was no "earlier." Time was created when the world was created. God is eternal in the sense that He exists outside of time; in God, there is no "before" or "after," only an eternal present. God's eternity is removed from the relation of time; in Him, all times are immediately present. He did not precede His own creation of time, for that would imply that He existed in time, whereas in reality, He eternally exists outside the flow of time. This leads Augustine to a rather intriguing relativistic theory of time.

"What is time?" he asks. "As long as no one asks me about it, I understand without difficulty; but as soon as I wish to provide an answer, I find myself completely at a loss." He is perplexed by various difficulties. The past and the future do not have actual existence; only the present is real; the present is merely a moment, and we can only measure times that have passed. Yet the past and the future indeed exist. Apparently, we are caught in an evident contradiction. The only way Augustine finds to resolve these contradictions is to assert that the past and the future can only be understood as present: "the 'past' must be identified with memory, while the 'future' must be identified with expectation," with both memory and expectation being facts relating to the present. Augustine states that there are three times: "the present of past things, the present of present things, and the present of future things." "Thus, for the present of past things, we have memory; for the present of present things, we have sight; and for the present of future things, we have hope." To say that there are three times—past, present, and future—means to express oneself inaccurately.

Augustine acknowledges that his theory does not fully resolve all difficulties. "My soul burns with a desire to penetrate this mystery, which remains unexplained to it," he confesses, praying to God for enlightenment, assuring that his interest in the problem stems not from idle curiosity. "And I confess to You, Lord, that I still do not know what time is." However, the essence of Augustine's proposed solution is that time is subjective: time exists in the human mind, which awaits, contemplates, and remembers. This implies that there cannot be time without a created being, and that to speak of time before the creation of the world is sheer nonsense.

Personally, I do not agree with Augustine's theory, as it renders time something that exists in our minds. Yet, undoubtedly, it is a highly talented theory deserving of serious consideration. I would even assert that Augustine's theory represents a significant advancement compared to everything we encounter on this topic in Greek philosophy. This theory offers a better and clearer formulation of the problem than Kant's subjective theory of time—a theory that has gained wide recognition among philosophers since Kant's time.

The theory that time is merely an aspect of our thoughts represents one of the most extreme forms of subjectivism, which, as we have seen, gradually developed during antiquity, beginning with Protagoras and Socrates. The emotional aspect of this subjectivism is an obsession with the feeling of sin, which arose later than its intellectual aspects. In St. Augustine, both varieties of subjectivism are evident. Subjectivism led him to anticipate not only Kant's theory of time but also Descartes' cogito. In his "Monologues," Augustine states: "You, who wish to know yourself, do you know that you exist? I know. How do you know? I do not know. Do you feel simple or complex? I do not know. Do you know that you are moving? I do not know. Do you know that you are thinking? I know." This contains not only Descartes' cogito but also Descartes' response to Gassendi's ambulo ergo sum. Therefore, as a philosopher, Augustine deserves a prominent place.