Reflections on Augustine Spirituality by   Donald X. Burt, OSA

Friendship and Society:
Introduction to Augustine's Practical Philosophy
 

INTRODUCTION

Augustine's life and thought were driven by his search for happiness. He was convinced that if happiness was ever to be achieved, it could only be through possession of some really existing good that would permanently satisfy the basic desires that he shared with the rest of the human race: the desire for life, meaning, and love. He would have agreed with Kant that, as we search for happiness in this present life, we ask three fundamental questions: "What can I know?" "What can I hope for?" "What should I do?"¹ Thus, speculative philosophy (the description of the real world inside and outside each individual) must precede practical philosophy. We must discover what the real world is like, especially ourselves and God, before we can have reasonable hopes. We must at least know ourselves and God before we can determine how we should act now to be true to our human nature and thereby achieve union with God. In a previous book I have examined Augustine's speculative philosophy; the pages that follow will examine his practical philosophy: his philosophy of history, his ethics, his social and political philosophy.²

After some introductory thoughts on the "human predicament," the story of the divisive alienation and healing affection seems to tear us apart and then force us together, Augustine's philosophy of history will be considered. This establishes the context in which the humans must work out their pursuit of happiness. There are many questions to be considered here. Where did I come from and where am I going? What are the forces with determine the making of my history and the history of the human race? Is human history going in a definite direction or is it I simply moving in circles? Do I have some control over my destiny or is it in the hands of some blind fate or, worse still, is it controlled by some malevolent force?

In ethics one considers whether there are some acts that I should do and others that I should not do. It is claimed that "I must do good and avoid evil," but this principle makes sense only if I can give reasonable answers to the questions "Why must I do good?" and "What makes an action to be good?" Furthermore, even if I can answer these questions I have still not solved the problem of how to make myself a truly good person. Ethics thus must also ask which virtues are the essential building blocks of good character, that highest example of the human person: the magnanimous and magnificent human being who is both great-souled and able to do great things.

One's social and political philosophy begins with the fact that we humans are thrown together with others of our kind. How should we deal them? Should we seek to be united by some bond of friendship? Should we follow the example of John Galt in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged, treating others with polite selfishness. Or should we take seriously Sartre's dictum: "Hell is other people" and try to live our lives in splendid isolation, dealing with others only to the extent that it is necessary to preserve our own living well? The argument of this book is that at the root of Augustine's practical philosophy is the love of friendship. The ideal relationship of human with human, of humans with God, and indeed of body and soul in each individual is a relationship of friend to friend.

This theme is carried through Augustine's discussion of the family and the state. The questions that arise are numerous. Is the institution of marriage a good thing or (as the Manicheans thought) an instrument for increasing the amount of evil in the world. What is the purpose of the family, to simply find one's best friend or to contribute to the continuation of the race. Where does the authority of the family come from? What is the basis for the claim that someone is in charge, and does such a claim automatically lessen the dignity of those who must obey. Is the married life the "best" way to live a virtuous human life?

Granted that the family is a "natural" society in that it fulfills a natural need, can the same be said of political society? Is the state a necessary evil in our present wounded condition or is there something about it that would make it necessary even in a society of sinless and perfect human beings? What are the powers of the state and are there any limits on them? Where does the authority to rule come from? What are the characteristics of the ideal ruler? Is there a "best form" of government? How should I and the state react to the fact of violence in human society?

Augustine's answers to these and many other questions will be examined in the pages that follow. Together they constitute his practical philosophy, his thoughts on how to deal with life during these times of our lives as we continue our ever moving journey to that eternal home, "The City of God."

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NOTES

1. Critique of Pure Reason, A 805, B 833.

2. Donald X. Burt, Augustine's World: An Introduction to his Speculative Philosophy (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1996).

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