This 35/40 (A* grade) essay on Augustine's view of human nature provides a great learning and revision resource to Religious studies students. It covers the key content and wider knowledge on the topic, showing essay structure and skills required for A* grade essays.
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Assess the view that Augustine is too pessimistic
Augustine’s teachings on human nature are influential especially in western Christian
cultures from its conception in the 4th century to present day. His work maintains its
relevance to this day, especially when looking at the philosophy and ethics behind ills
committed by the human race in the 20th and 21th century such as world wars, nuclear
attacks, genocides etc. however, his views on human nature are unpopular among many
who see them as archaic and morbid compared to some philosophers which favour more
optimistic views on human nature such as the goal of enlightenment. On the contrary, he
arguably provides a realistic assessment of human nature and after considering his specific
teachings and a number of alternatives, I agree that he is defensibly pessimistic (yet
arguably realistic) but I agree more with Marx’s idea of human nature that human nature
itself is a taught and socially constructed idea due to humans simply being products of their
environment.
Firstly, Augustine’s ideas and teachings regarding human nature may be viewed on the
contrary to the title view, and even optimistically through his idea of ‘imago dei’ as he
teaches us that we are made in the ‘image and likeness’ of God, thus implying that we are
directed by our soul, body and reason to a loving relationship with God. Augustine goes on
to describe that prior to the Fall, human nature and our relationship with God is very positive
as there was human will given by God, sexual love being pure and without lust and there
was the ability to act in selfish love, cupiditas, as well as in selfless love, caritas. In his
emergence of pessimism, friendship and love are not entirely destroyed in the fall, although
relationships are made more complicated and strained and despite our sin, God offered
grace and forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ. He further states in his Confessions
that “a light of confidence flooded into my heart and all darkness of doubt was dispelled”
which further alludes to the idea of God’s grace saving us as he describes God’s presence
as he has a religious experience when writing his books. This further justified the view that
Augustine is optimistic as he describes God’s grace with such lavish and positive language.
The offering of redemption allows for us to reach the ‘summum bonum’ despite our corrupt
nature. Pelagius supports Augustine’s argument and states that this does not set us up to
fail, but gives us the potential and even the requirement to be good. This implies that
Augustine’s view on human nature may be leading into more Irenaean/Hick-esque ideas of
soul making as God is giving humanity the opportunity to become more like him despite our
original sin, allowing us to be saved through grace and redemption. Through these points,
one may argue that Augustine is rather optimistic, especially when expressing his teachings
on humanity’s relationship with God before the Fall, thus implying that Augustine’s positive
outlook may have reflected into his further teachings regarding human nature due to his
adherence to the concept of ‘imago dei’.
In addition to Augustine’s pleasant light shedded upon the description of our relationship with
God prior to the Fall and following it through his grace, a philosopher may infer that
Augustine’s critiques and findings on human nature are arguably more realistic than
pessimistic as he provides an accurate account of human nature in which it is true to say
that we have a natural inclination to sin. This is clearly evident through the humanitarian
nightmares of world wars, nuclear attacks and genocides such as complete destrustion of
the Tasmanian aboriginal society at the hands of other humans. This makes his view not
only realistic but helpful in understanding human nature and why we have the ability to sin
and inflict harm on others due to our natural inclination to sin. Niebuhr’s argument on human
nature further supports and builds up Augustine’s view of realism as he claims that the
optimistic vision of the post-Enlightenment thinker has not only failed (through observation of
wars, genocide etc.) but also corrupts the human sense of responsibility. He goes on to say
that human nature and suffering may be necessary to achieve peace in his book Moral Man
and Immoral Society as he says “to the end of history the peace of the world as Augustine
observed, must be gained by strife”. However, he contradicts Augustine by claiming that
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