Augustine 354 430 ad Born in the city

Augustine (354 -430 ad) Born in the city of Tagaste near the city of Carthage (in modern day Algeria) in N. Africa Christian mother (Monica) Pagan father (Patricius, who ultimately adopts Christianity) Citizen of the Roman Empire Christianity the official religion of the Empire since the edit of Constantine (313 ad) 1

Educated in Carthage masters rhetoric rejects Christianity embraces sensuality Mistress & Adeodatus Accepts Manichæism two opposed fundamental forces for good and evil (compare the four forces of contemporary physics: weak; strong; electromagnetic; gravity) conflict manifested in all things Explains the inevitability of human moral failing and the existence of evil 2

Becomes noted rhetorician Moves to Rome as a teacher in 384 Meets and studies w. Ambrose in Milan rejects Manicheanism & accepts (neo) platonism after intellectual struggle adopts Christianity in 387 3

Returns to N. Africa & becomes bishop of Hippo Writes extensively in philosophy and theology Recognized as a “Father of the Church” Influenced much of medieval philosophy and anticipates important ideas in modern philosophy 4

Knowledge and Illumination Distinguish knowledge of sensible particular (contingent) objects nonsensible laws of science (or platonic forms) universality necessity 5

Experience limited by space and time results in knowledge of the sensible, contingent particular cannot produce knowledge of the universal and necessary We do have knowledge of the universal and necessary. How? 6

An Example of Illumination Trickster secretly tells Confederate the answers to questions that Confederate could not otherwise know e. g. “What are the four numbers written on the paper hidden in my desk? ” 7

Trickster & Confederate publicly perform their trick for Witness Trickster asks the question Confederate “miraculously” answers correctly and amazes Witness concludes Confederate could not have known the (hidden) answers through sensation Trickster must have informed (illumined) Confederate That’s the only way Confederate could have know the answers 8

Moral of the Story Confederate has knowledge beyond the bounds of sensation Only communication suffices to explain Confederate’s knowledge Certainly, Confederate’s knowledge acquired & not innate 9

Illumination Thesis: the only way to explain how a person can have knowledge of universal and necessary scientific laws/forms is to hypothesize that God informs or “illuminates” the person and thereby gives that particular person knowledge of the forms Notice that Illumination involves communication between God and particular individuals Rejection of Platonic Nativism since knowledge of the forms is not common to all persons The process of illumination is unspecified 10

Rejection of Platonic Nativism Illumination is not innate because knowledge of laws/forms is differentially acquired during the course of life different people learn different science/forms at different times whereas innate knowledge is common to all and inherent in all throughout life 11

Arguments for Illumination Argument from Hierarchy The universe is hierarchically organized, with forms at the top and above people Nothing can act upon anything higher in the hierarchy So, people cannot act on forms 12

So, people cannot come to know the forms by acting upon the forms through study Nevertheless, some people do come to know some forms This knowledge must result from the action of something at least as high in the hierarchy as the forms But nothing is higher than the forms 13

Hence, it is the action of the forms upon people that causes knowledge Augustine holds that God = the forms God is the summation of the forms God is the self-knowing creator who creates the universe by establishing (in matter) the forms which exist as ideas in God’s mind So, an individual’s knowledge of the forms is the result of God’s communicating about the forms with the individual knower. God’s communicating with a person is God’s informing the person. 14

Argument from Language To know a language is to know the meaning of words in the language Meaning distinguishes between coextensive properties contrast “triangular” & “trilateral” A language learner cannot distinguish co-extensive properties in experience by ostention So, meaning & language cannot be learned experientially 15

Since language is mastered differentially, it is not innate but rather taught The only possible teacher is God; it takes a miracle = illumination (some nonsensory process) to explain the acquisition of language 16

Necessity and Universality (redundant) Some people learn scientific laws or forms with full necessity and universality Sensation alone cannot provide such knowledge since it pertains only to the particular Sensation must be supplemented by the universal principle of induction authorizing inference from the particular to the general Illumination must be the source of such knowledge of the principle of induction 17

Problems w. Illumination If illumination is divine intervention, why does learning require our effort and work? why does God illumine evil people? what is the exact process of illumination? how do you know when you’ve been illumined rather than deceived? 18

Creation Ex Nihilo The universe changes constantly To change is to become something from what was not e. g. if a leaf changes from green to red, it becomes red from what was not, i. e. what was not red So, change requires that something come from nothing, i. e. that something comes from what was not. 19

It is impossible under purely natural processes that something come from nothing. So, there must exist something – God – that never changes and miraculously creates each momentary stage of the changing universe from what was not = nothing (ex nihilo). To create ex nihilo is to create without using matter; it is to create simply by decree, command or thought. 20

Since God creates the universe ex nihilo, God is responsible for everything in the universe – both good and bad In creating the universe, God foresees or knows the entire history of the universe in full detail So God knows everything that each person does before he/she does it 21

Creation Ex Nihilo and Evil (i) By hypothesis, God is perfect = benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient (ii) Assume: Evil exists (iii) God created the universe ex nihilo So, God is responsible for evil (assuming evil exists) 22

But if God is perfect, God could not be responsible for evil Now we have a contradiction = God is & is not responsible for evil Contradictions are never true and arise in arguments resulting from one or more false assumptions Hence, either (i), (ii), or (iii) must be false 23

Augustine rejects (ii); he asserts that we take to be evil is really good Evil is illusory Recognition of evil is a fallible “theoretical inference”, not observation! Recall: Is perception top down? Suffering is really a good thing it appears evil to us as an inference from a false theory = ignorance of God’s purpose in allowing it 24

Immorality results when people freely choose what, contrary to appearance, is actually good yet not as good as what they might otherwise have chosen immorality is really the lesser of two goods, not the reality of evil 25

The Problem of Freedom & Necessity In creating ex nihilo, God knows the entire career of the universe So, God knows every human action before it occurs What God knows shall occur must occur So, every human action that does occur must occur What must occur is necessary So, every human action is necessary What is necessary is not free So, no human action is free! 26

Fate for Atheists All propositions are true or false So, all propositions about the future are true or false Consider all true propositions about the future the ones about you = your autobiography These propositions now indicate what will happen your autobiography indicates all that you will ever do If the propositions about the future are now true, then what they indicate will happen must happen So, what will happen, must happen What must happen is necessary 27

So, whatever will happen is necessary Hence everything that will happen according to your autobiography is necessary Whatever is necessary is not free So, nothing in your autobiography is free Hence you are not free & neither is anyone else Human freedom is illusory 28

Augustine on Freedom Compatibilism maintains that freedom is compatible with necessity Augustine is a compatibilist: he maintains that God’s omniscience or providence does indeed imply that all human actions are necessary But necessary actions may be voluntary A person’s action is voluntary if the person acts as she wants, decides or wills. A free action is merely a voluntary action. Hence a free action may be a necessary action since voluntary actions may be necessary. 29

What’s Freedom? Augustine holds that freedom is voluntary action, even if the action is necessary But, assume that you’re imprisoned & cannot leave it is necessary that you stay does your staying voluntarily make your staying free? 30

Necessary Volition Augustine holds that freedom is voluntary action, even if the action is necessary But, voluntary actions require volitions Are volitions themselves necessary? If volitions are necessary, are voluntary actions really free? 31