Augustine's Contribution to Epistemology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Augustine's Contribution to Epistemology - Essay Example Augustine deems the course by which the psyche progresses from the fixation with the object towards deliberation that of the divine as a constitutive part of the cleansing and refinement that is salvation, and as arising in the two-natured Christ, through partaking in Christ’s body.1 Augustine devoted his life to the fundamental quest for truth.2 The epistemological groundwork of his hermeneutic is originated in this expedition for truth.3 Augustine recognizes that Scripture will be understood by a man who possesses an intellectual core. Every human spirit comprehends through the means of enlightenment by a heavenly luminosity. Some men are bestowed with the grace of seeing ideas more clearly while others less clearly. Hence, in the usual course of events, the human intellect does see the divine facts moderately, not immediately in his life.4 The very character of substance hinders the human psyche from the absolute wisdom of the understandable. Augustine adopted the doctrine dated back from the time of the philosophers, Aristotle and Plato, that certain factors thwarts the soul in his search for truth and knowledge. In reference to the bible, Augustine supposes that matter deters the exact forethought for veracity. Moreover, he believes that being endowed with the birthright of original sin from Adam and Eve hinders humans to be guided by the divine light, which, in turn, will help them clearly perceive reality. Original sin darkens the path of human intellect towards certainty. Augustine believes that the corruptible body impedes the quest for knowledge and the main vice that dominates the soul is pride.5 Humility, through the Incarnation and the words of the Holy Scripture, heals pride. The Incarnation facilitates the dialogue between humans and God. Philosophical and biblical reasons predominate Augustine’s speculations of his works. However, the human psyche does not perceive truth directly. Augustine gave emphasis that the human inability to see the truth precisely in his life renders God and truth ineffable; hence, his theology accentuated that God is known better by not knowing him.6 Furthermore, celestial origin is beyond description and human words are simply unsuccessful in clearly describing it. Men utilize remarks, unsuitable they may be, just to say something rather than nothing.7 Moreover, Augustine highlights that such events can never be known.8 Beliefs an individual has known cannot be modified by a more complex fact unless that individual views that reality with his own eyes. Thus, faith continues an individual’s pursuit for wisdom. This insinuation of reliance is astonishing for Christians since their religion is rooted in a variety of historical occurrences. Now and then, some people believed that Augustine’s great contribution to epistemology is to rescue the cognitive status of belief.9 Although substandard to wisdom, it is nevertheless essential to human life in general, but especially i n religion.10 For the reason that Christianity is founded on the works of authors from long ago that individuals in this present time barely even know, what they only did was to believe in what they have written. Augustine associates ontology to epistemology for the reason that teaching and learning are spliced into being.11 For instance, language is often already a part of being, and such it is inseparable to its mnemonic function—teaching and learning.12 Thus, in Augustine’