Augustine’s Christian–Platonist Account of Goodness: A Reconsideration
Augustine’s metaphysics is a subject little studied, but often much criticized. Among the recent studies of Augustine’s metaphysics, Scott MacDonald’s interpretation of Augustine’s notion of goodness claims that Augustine’s account is incoherent. This suggests a reading of Augustine that is somewhat...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
2002
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| In: |
Heythrop journal
Year: 2002, Volume: 43, Issue: 3, Pages: 328-343 |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Augustine’s metaphysics is a subject little studied, but often much criticized. Among the recent studies of Augustine’s metaphysics, Scott MacDonald’s interpretation of Augustine’s notion of goodness claims that Augustine’s account is incoherent. This suggests a reading of Augustine that is somewhat problematic. This article argues that much of the difficulty that MacDonald claims rests on a misunderstanding of Augustine’s views about the goodness of creation and existence and the corruptibility of created things. Augustine’s position takes for granted an understanding of existence (or being) as a good and the participation of all things in the pre–eminent good, that is God. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-2265 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Heythrop journal
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/1468-2265.00198 |