Augustine

This lucid survey takes readers on a thought-provoking tour through the life and work of Augustine.

• Explores new insights into one of antiquity’s most important philosophers
  
• Topics Include: skepticism, language acquisition, mind-body dualism, philosophical dream problems, time and creation, faith and reason, foreknowledge and free will, and Augustine’s standing as a ‘Socratic philosopher’.

Acknowledgments viii

Translations Used ix

1 The First-Person Point of View 1

2 Augustine’s Life 7

3 Skepticism 15

4 Language 23

5 The Augustinian Cogito 34

6 Mind–Body Dualism 43

7 The Problem of Other Minds 53

8 Philosophical Dream Problems 65

9 Time And Creation 76

10 Faith And Reason 86

11 Foreknowledge And Free Will 96

12 The Problem of Evil 105

13 Wanting Bad Things 115

14 Lying 125

15 Happiness 134

Index 146

"...we are all indebted to Matthews for continuing to draw attention to Augustine's philosophical range and relevance."
Sarah Byers, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

“Matthews is one of the world’s leading authorities – perhaps the leading authority – on Augustine the philosopher. In this book, he provides a series of vignettes of Augustine in philosophical action: arguing against the skeptics, worrying about the nature of time, trying to dissipate the tensions between foreknowledge and free will, and trying to figure out what counts as a lie. There is no one better equipped to spot these issues and subject them to sensitive, sympathetic, yet critical analysis.”
William Mann, University of Vermont

“Matthews’s beautifully clear voice, penetrating eye, and delicate touch bring Augustine’s puzzles and arguments vividly to life for twenty-first-century readers. While there is no better general introduction to Augustine’s philosophical ideas, Matthews’s Augustine holds treasures for scholars and specialists as well.”
Scott MacDonald, Cornell University.

"Matthews style throughout the book is very easy to read. He includes many lengthy quotations whether this be Augustine, Hume, or Zeno... This is a very good book. It will prove useful for all graduate and post-graduate students, as well as any armchair philosopher and theologian!"
Themelios

Gareth B. Matthews is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts. His publications include Socratic Perplexity and the Nature of Philosophy (1999), The Augustinian Tradition (ed., 1999) and Augustine: On the Trinity – Books 8–15 (ed., 2002).

The second volume in the Blackwell Great Minds series, Gareth B. Matthews's Augustine offers students, scholars, and interested readers new insights into one of antiquity’s most important and influential philosophers.

This lucid survey takes readers on a thought-provoking tour through the life and work of Augustine. Topics discussed include skepticism, language acquisition, mind–body dualism, philosophical dream problems, time and creation, faith and reason, foreknowledge and free will. The book concludes with a consideration of how Augustine could be both a religious believer – indeed, a prominent theological dogmatist – and also a Socratic philosopher.