Physical Pleasure and Moral Action: An Analogy in Augustine’s Thought

Abstract The present essay argues that Augustine’s understanding of the physical mechanism of pain and pleasure bears an analogous relationship to the internal mechanics of his moral psychology. The significance of this analogy is threefold. It corroborates emerging consensus positions regarding Aug...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Knight, Amanda (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2021
In: Vigiliae Christianae
Year: 2021, Volume: 75, Issue: 2, Pages: 155-184
Further subjects:B sense-perception
B Action
B Augustine of Hippo
B Pleasure
B Will
B Conversion
B Moral Psychology
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Summary:Abstract The present essay argues that Augustine’s understanding of the physical mechanism of pain and pleasure bears an analogous relationship to the internal mechanics of his moral psychology. The significance of this analogy is threefold. It corroborates emerging consensus positions regarding Augustine’s moral psychology, including recognizing the significance of Stoic influences as well as construing Augustine’s psychology as monistic; it draws attention to a greater consistency between Augustine’s earlier and later accounts of moral psychology than is typically recognized in scholarship; and it offers a schema that organizes the significant components of Augustine’s moral psychology, like his theory of action, habit, the will, and conversion, in relation to one another within a single conceptual system.
ISSN:1570-0720
Contains:Enthalten in: Vigiliae Christianae
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341469