Augustine and Aquinas: History, Society, and Philosophy
Saint Augustine
History
This period marks the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, divided into East and West. The Franks and the Germans invaded Gaul, leading to numerous barbarian attacks. An economic crisis ensued, and the Visigoths sacked Rome. Christianity was declared the official religion and spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire, significantly impacting the underprivileged.
Socio-cultural Context
Hellenism emerged after the death of Alexander the Great, leading to the decline of the Polis. A cosmopolitan society developed, with individuals seeking security and happiness through introspection. This gave rise to moralist schools like Stoicism and Epicureanism, which aimed to address the meaning of life. Notable poets included Porfirio and Ausonius. Prominent Christians included Augustine, Ambrose, Damasus, and Anastasio. Christians formed the basis of religion, structuring the hierarchy of powers with the Church positioned above the Empire. Patristics flourished. There were numerous controversies over Christian dogmas and struggles against heresy, alongside political, economic, and spiritual crises within the empire.
Philosophical Influences
Key currents and philosophers that influenced Augustine include:
- Manichaeism: The doctrine positing two deities controlling opposing realities: good and evil.
- Neoplatonism: The belief that reality originates from a higher, pseudo-divine, and unique principle: The One. Lower realities emanate from and are degraded from this source, implying that corrupt reality is ultimately divine.
- Plato: Augustine adopted Plato’s anthropological dualism with its negative view of the body, the concept of Platonic ideas, reminiscence, the notion of the soul’s immortality, and Plato’s moral intellectualism.
Saint Thomas Aquinas
History
Efforts were made to unite Europe under a single political power (the Roman Empire) and religion (Christianity). Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the territory fragmented into several kingdoms, marking the beginning of the Middle Ages.
Socio-cultural Context
The Hellenistic culture came to an end. The Church gained control over culture and the economy. Philosophical perspectives were dominated by the doctrine of Augustine. Numerous universities were established as institutions belonging to the Church, operating under their own legislation and often divided into faculties such as Arts (Technical), Decretales (Law), Physics (Medicine), and Theology (Religion). Feudal society was primarily rural and divided into three tiers.
Philosophical Influences
Aquinas was influenced by numerous past and contemporary philosophers:
- Plato: Aquinas built upon Plato’s theory of ideas.
- Aristotle: Aquinas adopted Aristotle’s theories of reality, knowledge, politics, and ethics. He rejected anthropological duality, believed that God is the first cause, efficient and final, and the unmoved mover. These concepts were Christianized and widely used by philosophers and medieval Christians.
- Avicenna: Avicenna argued that the world arises from emanation, that God is necessary, and the cause of possible beings.
- Anselm of Canterbury: Anselm concluded that a higher being includes existence (God). Without relying on faith, he revolutionized society by demonstrating that even atheists, believing in the concept of God, must acknowledge God’s existence.