Augustine: On the Trinity Books 8-15

Description

An appropriate motto for Augustine's great work On the Trinity is 'faith in search of understanding'. In this treatise Augustine offers a part-theological, part-philosophical account of how God might be understood in analogy to the human mind. On the Trinity can be fairly described as the first modern philosophy of mind: it is the first work in philosophy to recognize the 'problem of other minds', and the first to offer the 'argument from analogy' as a response to that problem. Other subjects that it discusses include the nature of the mind and the nature of the body, the doctrine of 'illumination', and thinking as inner speech. This volume presents the philosophical section of the work, and in a historical and philosophical introduction Gareth Matthews places Augustine's arguments in context and assesses their influence on later thinkers.

Gareth B. Matthews, Professor of Philosophy, University of Massachussetts, Amherst, has written widely on Augustine and on medieval philosophy generally.

'Augustine as a philosopher rather than a theologian ... an unusual and refreshing approach ... McKenna's translation is eminently readable, while remaining close to the original meaning of the text ... This book contrives to restore Augustine to his place among philosophers without denying his status as a theologian.' Philosophical Writings 'This book is well worth reading not only as an impressive display of the intellectual powers of a giant of western thought, but also as a reminder that the middle ages were not the philosophical desert that so many contemporaries seem to think they were.' Practical Philosophy