Thanksgiving Paper

1. Re-read the two page paper on flesh in The City of God (last 2 pages of packet given in class.)
2. Read the ten page paper on De Genesi contra Manichaeos. 
3. Assignment: Write a 4 page paper following these guidelines:

• First 2 pages should be a summary of the ten page paper on  De Genesi contra Manichaeos. Focus in on major themes and be sure to cite quotes directly from the paper. 
• Last 2 pages should be a comparison between the themes in the The City of God paper versus those in the  De Genesi contra Manichaeos paper. These are just places to start or even things to think about- you DO NOT HAVE TO USE THESE QUESTIONS IN YOUR ANALYSIS. 

                                              - Are Augustine's themes and concepts consistent?

                                              - How is flesh playing a role in the internal/external theme?

                                              - How does flesh impact unity?

                                             - Is flesh part of the natural order of things?

                    

PAPERS SHOULD BE EMAILED TO mrjcbecker@gmail.com BY CLASS ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 1ST. 

Flesh in the City of God

1. Read the 2 page analysis of flesh in The City of God. 
2. Write a 1 page summary of the analysis. Times New Roman 12 font, double spaced, no header except Name.
3. Papers should be emailed to mrjcbecker@gmail.com by class time on November 25th. 

Some Background on The City of God- 
"The work of Augustine's most likely to be known to modern students of political thought is The City of God. Although this work was often copied in the middle ages (382 manuscripts have survived), a reading of the whole work was never part of the university curriculum. Extracts from it were included in influential anthologies, such as Gratian's Decretum and Peter Lombard's Sentences. 

Although the members of the two cities have different ultimate values, they may have intermediate ends in common—for example, they all desire peace on earth. Insofar as any particular state serves such common ends it will have the cooperation of members of the city of God. See City of God,XIX.17 (pp. 945–7). As a Platonist Augustine thought in terms of a hierarchy of levels of reality, in which lower levels imitate or reflect the higher levels. 

Augustine's is not a philosophy of “black and white”, of stark opposition between the forces of light and the forces of darkness—this was the Manichean philosophy, to which Augustine at one time subscribed, until the reading of certain works of the Platonists had led him to reject it. According to Augustine there is no absolute evil. Anything evil must be to some extent good, or it could not exist at all. Its evil consists in disorder or misdirection, in its failing to attain all the goodness appropriate to it. “The peace of all things lies in the tranquillity of order, and order is the disposition of equal and unequal things in such a way as to give to each its proper place” (City of God, XIX.13, p. 938). There are many orderings and sub-orderings, and there are therefore different kinds or levels of peace, and (for beings capable of moral choice) different kinds or levels of virtue, justice and happiness." (from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/medieval-political/#CitGod). 

Augustine on Mind/Body, Memory, Hierarchy of beings, Inward Turn....

Read the passages from the Confessions given to you in class.

Identify 5 major themes found in the passages. Post your 5 themes in the comments section of this posting. Explain why you think each theme is a MAJOR theme; use quotes to back-up your claim. If working in pairs, only one posting is necessary but please include your partner's name at the top of the posting.

Philosophy Resources on the Web

Interesting Website (includes a list of philosophy twitter accounts)-
https://lucretius21c.wordpress.com/philosophers-on-twitter/

Philosophy Without Gaps- Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at the LMU in Munich and at King's College London, takes listeners through the history of philosophy, "without any gaps." The series looks at the ideas, lives and historical context of the major philosophers as well as the lesser-known figures of the tradition.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy-  http://plato.stanford.edu/

On-Line Philosophy Magazine- http://aeon.co/magazine/philosophy/

Augustine's Confessions

Choose a passage in Augustine's Confessions (click here) and analyze it by using the theme of faith and reason as your central focal point. What role does faith (theology/religion) play in the passage? What role does reason(philosophy/logic) play? Are faith and reason both being used? Be sure to cite what passage you are analyzing and your analysis should be minimum of 7-8 sentences. Complete analysis in comments section of this post.

St. Augustine- Answer Question in Comments Section of this Post

"Augustine is not only one of the major sources whereby classical philosophy in general and Neoplatonism in particular enter into the mainstream of early and subsequent medieval philosophy, but there are significant contributions of his own that emerge from his modification of that Greco-Roman inheritance, e.g., his subtle accounts of belief and authority, his account of knowledge and illumination, his emphasis upon the importance and centrality of the will, and his focus upon a new way of conceptualizing the phenomena of human history, just to cite a few of the more conspicuous examples." (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/augustine/)

Read Ch. 11 & 12 (Book Ten)- Click HERE. 
1. How is Plato/Plotinus influencing Augustine's epistemology? What is the focus for Augustine in these passages when it comes to knowing?

Read Ch. 9 & 10 (Book 7)- Click HERE 
2. Describe and explain the relationship between God and the soul? What role does God play in humans acquiring knowledge?
3. Why is Augustine using the theme of light/darkness in describing the soul's relationship with God? What does light have to do with epistemology?

Read Ch. 1 & 2 (Book 2)- Click HERE
4. How does Augustine's description of his younger years match up with Plato/Plotinus type language? What causes his soul to be disordered and in disarray? How can Augustine restore order to his soul?