THEOLOGY

Theology

To what extent was Augustine influenced by Plato's writings? Give examples of how Platonic thought "found a home" in Augustine's theology.

Augustine Aurelius was the Bishop of Hippo who is considered as one of the greatest and most influential theologians. He was a church writer par excellence who dealt with many theological issues faced by the Churches of his time. He influenced the politics of Rome as a bishop and was considered a great man. The question arises whether Augustine deserves this stature of prestige or was his work merely an influence of Plato, who was a Greek philosopher and a student of Socrates. If we look at the works of Augustine, we find that it is heavily influenced by Neo-Platonism. Neo-Platonism is based on the teachings of Plato this concept links Christian doctrine with the classical philosophies of Roman and Greek societies. The theories laid down in similarity with neo-Platonism included the existence of immaterial substances, dependence on God, the absence of good and others. Augustine also “confessed” in the Book 7 that the teachings and writings of Plato helped him in understanding the dependence of entire universe to an infinite God and the existence of evil. Thus we can say that there is evident presence of Neo-Platonic echoes within the works of Augustine although the theologian himself produced original works but to a great extent, it was influenced by Plato (Heidegger, 2002).

Utilize the thoughts of 3 philosophers to analyze how necessary the link is between happiness and virtuous living

Happiness is a consequence of acting virtuously. Virtue, in itself, is a mean to achieve long term happiness. While we sometimes attribute happiness individually, it is to be understood that virtue is the only mean to achieve happiness of the society as well as for one's self. Several philosophers have reflected ...