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Augustine on human nature - Coggle Diagram
Augustine on human nature
Original sin
Nothing good can come of something bad
Sex is always driven by concupiscence and cupiditas, so is bad (Leibniz' principle of sufficient reason)
Humans are the result of sex
So humans cannot be born good, and thus have original sin
Analogy / quote: St Paul
'Sin entered the world through one man'
Shows that original sin in humans is a result of Adam's disobedience to God
Weakness: Locke
Locke argues that we are born as a tabula rasa, and everything is learnt from experience
If we learn everything from experience, then there cannot be a human nature
If there was a human nature, then it would not be learnt
So there cannot be a distinct human nature
Overcoming: Personal experience
We can observe that all humans, from birth, have a flawed nature
If we were born tabula rasa and this was learnt, there would be variation between people as they won't experience the same things
Thus, we can see that all humans are not born tabula rasa as we have inherited original sin as part of a distinct human nature
For example, toddlers have tantrums when they don't get what they want
Akrasia
Due to the Fall and original sin, humans are in a state of concupiscence, where our cupiditas outweighs our caritas
This means that we are able to know what is right, due to caritas
But we are unable to do good things, due to cupiditas
Thus, humans have a weakness of will, akrasia
Analogy / quote: St Paul
'For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do'
Shows that due to being in a state of concupiscence, we have a weakness of will
Weakness: Sartre
To be human means to be free
Being free means that we are not constrained by any distinct human nature
If we had a human nature, then it would already be determined for us, thus not allowing us to be free
So humans cannot have a distinct human nature
Overcoming: Grace
It may seem that humans are free to do good actions whenever we want, but humans are not free
When we do anything good, it is due to God's grace
Thus, humans are restricted due to our human nature, particularly original sin and akrasia
If we do anything bad, it is due to akrasia