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Augustine on Human Nature - Coggle Diagram
Augustine on Human Nature
The Fall and Original Sin
The Fall: Adam & Eve’s relationship prior to the fall. Augustine points out that In the garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve to ‘go forth and multiply’, implying they had a sexual relationship.
Augustine theorises that they had perfect rational control over themselves; they were not controlled by sexual desire.
Augustine says we were ‘seminally present’ in the loins of Adam; we became cursed or ‘vitiated’ by the sin, which is why we are all born with original sin too.
After the fall, original sin, a corruption in human nature giving us an irresistible temptation to sin.
Concupiscence – when our bodily desires overwhelm our reason.
God doesn’t punish us because of the actions of adam and eve – God punishes us because we are sinful beings – because we are born with original sin.
It’s not God’s fault, it’s Adams’. So, Augustine argues that predestination is not unjust of God, since we are corrupted by original sin and so if we go to hell it is deserved.
Augustine’s view of original sin means that we are incapable of being or doing good.
If we really were so corrupted by original sin, like Augustine thinks, then God would know that and wouldn’t bother commanding us to be and do good – if that were really beyond our ability.
Humans can do good – IF God has granted them grace! So the commands in the Bible are for those people, those who have received grace and are thereby able to be and do good.
Defence of Augustine
Maybe the fall isn’t accurate – but original sin still does seem accurate if you look around you at how terrible humans can be.
G. K. Chesterton argues original sin can be seen in the street – it is observable.
Many philosophers, such a Hobbes, have observed human behaviour and concluded that human nature contains an orientation towards evil and violence.
There is evidence from psychology which justifies Augustine’s view of human nature, such as the stanford prison experiment. It showed that power has a corrupting influence when participants were given roles of authority like being a prison guard.
Grace and Predestination and its
Criticisms
:
The corruption of original sin means we are incapable of being good enough to deserve heaven through our own efforts.
So, original sin damns us to hell.
God, in his mercy, decides to save some people even though no one actually deserves it. God grants grace to some ‘elect’ people.
Receiving grace also allows people to be and do good actions.
Predestination makes punishment unjust.
If we have original sin and are thus completely unable to avoid doing evil, it would surely be unjust for God to punish us for our sinful behaviour.
It’s not ethical for all humanity to be blamed for the actions of Adam and Eve.
Criticisms:
Scientific evidence against the fall – we evolved, Genesis cannot be literally true, genetic diversity shows we couldn’t have all come from two ancestors.
Augustine doesn’t understand reproduction – we weren’t all present in Adam’s loins.
The doctrine of original sin is not true, undermining all of Augustine’s conclusions.
Humans have progressed since Augustine’s time.
Steven Pinker attributes to the power of human reason that violence has decreased in modern times, even considering the 20th century.
If Augustine were correct that original sin caused an irresistible temptation to sin, then human behaviour could not have morally improved, yet it has.