Augustine on Temporal Law and Virtue

Augustine is typically interpreted as having believed that temporal laws cannot help people become virtuous and thus are not deficient for failing to do so. In this respect, he is seen as out of step with much of ancient political philosophy and a precursor to modern liberal legal theory. However, e...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Alimi, Toni (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group 2024
In: Political theology
Year: 2024, Volume: 25, Issue: 1, Pages: 9-31
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Augustinus, Aurelius, Saint 354-430 / Political theology / Roman law / Torah / Virtue
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
VA Philosophy
XA Law
Further subjects:B Augustine
B Roman Law
B Virtue
B Mosaic Law
B LEGAL PHILOSOPHY
B Liberalism
B Habituation
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Augustine is typically interpreted as having believed that temporal laws cannot help people become virtuous and thus are not deficient for failing to do so. In this respect, he is seen as out of step with much of ancient political philosophy and a precursor to modern liberal legal theory. However, examining Augustine’s analyses of two temporal legal systems – Roman law and Mosaic law – reveals this interpretation to be false. Augustine believed that laws should help their followers become virtuous and offered a mechanism by which this happens. The standard interpretation has overlooked these concrete analyses in favor of Augustine’s programmatic claims about law. This paper therefore not only corrects a misreading and proposes a novel reading; it also suggests an alternative method for studying ancient legal thought.
ISSN:1743-1719
Contains:Enthalten in: Political theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/1462317X.2023.2207771