Self and City in the Thought of Saint Augustine

Self and City in the Thought of Saint Augustine explores the analogy between the self and political society in the thought of St. Augustine of Hippo. This analogy is an important theme in the history of political thought. Attempts have been made to understand the state by examining the soul (since Plato), the body (as in medieval theories of the body politic) and the person (surviving to this day in such concepts as international legal personality). This book aims to reinstate the Augustinian part of the story. It argues that Augustine develops three analogies between self and city, as a society ordered by love: self-love in the case of the Earthly City; divided but improving love in the Pilgrim City; and love of others and of God in the City of God. It supplies thereby an overview of Augustine's intellectual 'system' as it touches upon theology, psychology and anthropology, as well as politics, and also provides a new interpretation of Augustine's important definition of the republic.

Offers insights of interest to Augustine scholars across a wide array of disciplines such as political science, theology, philosophy, history, and classics Provides a new interpretation of Augustine's important definition of the republic Written to be accessible to upper-level undergraduates whilst rigorous scholarship and original interpretations mean that it will also appeal to graduate students and peer researchers

Auteur

Ben Holland is Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Nottingham, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is the author of The Moral Person of the State: Pufendorf, Sovereignty and Composite Polities (2017).

Texte du rabat

Self and City in the Thought of Saint Augustine explores the analogy between the self and political society in the thought of St. Augustine of Hippo. This analogy is an important theme in the history of political thought. Attempts have been made to understand the state by examining the soul (since Plato), the body (as in medieval theories of the body politic) and the person (surviving to this day in such concepts as international legal personality). This book aims to reinstate the Augustinian part of the story. It argues that Augustine develops three analogies between self and city, as a society ordered by love: self-love in the case of the Earthly City; divided but improving love in the Pilgrim City; and love of others and of God in the City of God. It supplies thereby an overview of Augustine s intellectual system as it touches upon theology, psychology and anthropology, as well as politics, and also provides a new interpretation of Augustine s important definition of the republic.

Contenu

1. Introduction: St Augustine of Nottingham.- 2. The Goodnes of All That Is.- 3. The Prideful Soul and the Pilgrim City.- 4. The Unself and the Pilgrim City.- 5. The Saint and the City of God.- 6. Conclusion: Distension, Attention, Extension, Intention.