Augustine Vs. Aquinas Essay

shrine Augustine of Hippo, as he is most commonly referred, of the early fifth coulomb and Saint Thomas doubting Thomas, of the thirteenth century, argon considerably well- go to sleepn for their philosophic and theological discoveries. Even though twain are famous for venturing to shuffle Christianity with their philosophical thoughts, they took completely different paths in doing so. doubting Thomas took an Aristotelian path, macrocosm a strong follower of Aristotle while Augustine, took a Platonic path, considering Plotinus as his mentor. Both delved deeply into the pattern of ethics dichotomy, the forgiving nature, and the hu macrocosms ability to know, and to do, the good. Christianity does hold true to the fact life after expiration exists. (Bray, 2003). Augustines view on the nature of the human organisms states that each singular is trapped by sin in immorality and un honor (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 39). A human being toiletnot access that after-life unless th ey devote themselves fully to divinity. It is only with the process of illumination and divine assistance that an various(prenominal) can be truly fulfilled as a human being. Basically, only d ane the have it away of beau ideal can one reach to the ultimate truth about themselves and learn to see and do the good. Divine assistance is requirement to rid us of vice, turn our hearts towards graven image and enable us to acquire virtue (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 42). He believed that the mans corrupted believes to knowledge stemmed from the Garden of Eden, where mans hurt to be like perfection led to feeling pride and then(prenominal) led to the fall of that individual. When an individual stirs their attention away from the realm of God is when they get plundered by temptations such(prenominal) as pride, power, wealth, fame, and blush human love. He believed that an individual remains disordered if he places his temptations above the love of the God.Wherever the human s oul turns itself, other than to you, it is fixed in sorrows, all the same if it is fixed upon beautiful things external to you(Vaught, 2005). As a result of these jumbled propensitys, or cupidity as he called it, Augustine came to reject a mans desire for common knowledge concluding that such desire drives an individual away from God. This was a complete opposite the Aristotelian printing that all men by nature desire to know (Aristotle, 1966). He believed that these temptations blind an individuals ability to know and to do the good. In simple terms, that which was spiritual was good and that which was of the flesh was evil (Campolo, 2007). As an alternative, Augustine express on divine illumination, conversion and faith, which were the true federal agency of happiness and salvation. (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 40). It is all-important(a) fathom that Augustine was against specifically to the type of knowledge that enticed the lusts of the eyes. In compliance with the views of Plotinus, Augustine well-kept that it is through God that an individual inherits true knowledge. It is imperative for the human being to become reasonable and use that knowledge in limits. It is the only manner that can help them disregard the temptations and strengthen their mind for divine illumination. In his book, Confessions, Augustine states that If we love God first, we will love the well(p) things in the proficient way, our loves will be properly ordered, and we will find fulfillment (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 41).Aquinas on the other hand, believed that human goodness depends on the actions performed by an individual that are in agreement with our human nature, which also defines the morality of an individual. He further rationalizes that an individual consists of a specific cognitive power, which is the intellect that enables us to fully comprehend the goodness of a thing. Human actions are always in pursuit of human fulfillment, which Aquinas believes, is happ iness, even though those actions may not always be right. We desire what fulfills us as human beings although we might be wrong about what fulfills us. The right come acrossing of and orientation towards human fulfillment is the foundation of morality (Crook & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 45). kindred to Augustines temptations, Aquinas refers to external goods such as wealth, honor, fame, glory, and power and states that these are easily secured by evil individuals. These cannot be the highest good because fulfillment is mismatched with evil and wicked people can secure any of these goods (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 45). inborn goods such as relationships, morals, and knowledge have the capability of providingfulfillment since such goods are infinite. Hence, Only God can completely satisfy such desires. Moreover, it is only God alone that is sufficient for human fulfillment.Like Augustine, Aquinas believed that without a divine assistance, an individual is morally incapable to reach G od since each person is in bondance to sin. Without divine assistance, no one can achieve happiness nor can get a vision of God. So we must know God in order to be felicitous but we, by our ingrained powers cannot know God. The hope for attainment of fulfillment lies not in our natural capacities but must lie in supernatural grace to heal us and direct us toward God (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 46).It is really hard to determine which philosopher I would agree with the most. Even though both took different routes in explaining their philosophies, their ultimate goal was to explain human fulfillment, which they further explained can only be attained by means of God. Even though each individual desires for knowledge, both philosophers, in one way and the other, theorized that God is superior to any concept that we humans could understand or apply (Clark & Poortenga, 2003, Pg. 39). God is the main origin of all happiness, parole and knowledge that exists in a human being. I would a gree more than with Aquinass view that a mans natural desire for knowledge is the main supply to fully understand God and his capabilities.All in all, both medieval philosophers cultivated their beliefs significantly influenced by Christianity even though they both satisfied their ideals by approaching them in completely different ways. Aquinas followed the footsteps of Aristotle whereas Augustines views relied upon the influences set forth by Platonius. Sovereignty of the ancient philosophers can clearly been seen in the works of both Augustine and Aquinas, whether it was human nature or the ability of the human knowledge to know and to do the good. Despite multiple differences in theory and the paths taken to explain their theories, it must be taken into consideration that God was the ultimate concept the two philosophers were in agreement with.ReferencesAristotle. 1966. Aristotles Metaphysics. Grinnell, Iowa The Peripatetic Press. Bray, G. (2003). AUGUSTINES KEY. Christian Histo ry, 22(4), 42. Clark, K. J., & Poortenga, A. (2003). The story of ethics Fulfilling our human nature. Upper Saddle River, NJ prentice Hall. Campolo, T. (2007). How Jewish was Jesus? Tikkun, 22(6), 26-28. Vaught, C. G. (2005). Access to God in Augustines Confessions Books X-XIII. Albany, N.Y. realm University of New York Press.