The Fruit of Charity: Using the Neighbor in "De doctrina christiana"
Augustine's treatment of neighbor-love in De doctrina Christiana has been the subject of much criticism in twentieth-century scholarship. Specifically, Augustine is criticized for reducing neighbor-love to an instrumental "use" of the neighbor as a tool in one's personal project...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1996
|
| In: |
Journal of religious ethics
Year: 1996, Volume: 24, Issue: 1, Pages: 47-64 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Augustine's treatment of neighbor-love in De doctrina Christiana has been the subject of much criticism in twentieth-century scholarship. Specifically, Augustine is criticized for reducing neighbor-love to an instrumental "use" of the neighbor as a tool in one's personal project of salvation. This paper argues that careful attention to the relationship between Christ and the uti-frui distinction in book 1 of De doctrina reveals a much different conception of "use." Far from advancing an instrumental treatment of the other, Augustine, when he speaks of "using" the neighbor, is developing language to describe acts of charity. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1467-9795 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religious ethics
|