Plato And Augustine Of Hippo Philosophy

Both St. Augustine’s Confessions and Confucius’s Analects are significant teachings that have influenced people around the world not only in ancient times but in current history as well. Both doctrines provide discussion on the ethical values of society back in the ancient time they were written and lead us to discover similarities between the two beliefs. Although we find these connections, there are significant differences between St. Augustine and Confucius’s views on life and beliefs since they were living in different time periods and environments. Their experiences are the influencers that have impacted to the way that philosophies and traditions have grown today between the West and the East. I agree that Confucius celebrated social

Aurelius Augustinius, St. Augustine, was born in 354 A.D. in Tagaste, a town in North Africa. Born just over a century before the fall of Rome, Augustine would live his entire life within the Roman empire. Augustine was a great Christian thinker and wrote numerous works which survive today, and offer us a vivid glimpse into the period. His works and thoughts on Christ, the nature of God, the role of the Church, and myriad other topics, shaped much of medieval thought. He would remain a major influence for 1000 years after he died. Two of his works stand out as possibly the most important of his writings: City of God, and Confessions. Augustine's Confessions is the first ever

Augustine of Hippo was a fifth century, African thinker who began writing shortly after the sack of Rome in 410 A.D. (Augustine of Hippo 10/10). He created a metaphor to explain the conquering of Rome by the Germanic tribes, his metaphor of two cities: the city of God and the city of man. Cities of man are earthly cities where sin reigns freely that are all destined to fall (Voices of Christianity 106-107). Rome was built on lust for power, and was thus destined to fall. The city of God is the triumph of good over evil, where sin can be overcome and justice will reign, and destined for salvation (Voices of Christianity 101-102). The city of God is eschatological, meaning it is already and not yet and that heaven will be brought about on earth (Augustine of Hippo 10/10).

Following events, which went on to take place further, established his dislike for the government form, thus resulting his propositions of a Utopia in The Republic. At a young age, Plato began to follow the great philosopher Socrates, which instilled his ultimate desire to pursue philosophy, rather than his destined profession in politics. Plato had grown close to Socrates and his teachings; this close connection was a cause to Plato’s finalizing opinions of Democracy. In 399 BCE Socrates was executed by the newly leading Democratic leaders of Athens, and was voted by a majority to be put to death. Plato turned in disgust from contemporary Athenian politics afterwards and went on to be the founder of the Academy; a gathering place, which one could consider a school, that housed great scholars and their revolutionizing thoughts on Mathematics, Philosophy, and Theoretical Astronomy. Due to the events of Plato’s life, he was able to develop the most profound and employed ideas associated with western civilization. His influence had such great impact that his principles are often used in modern-day establishments, from government forms, to fundamentals pertaining to philosophy, the impacts of socialization, as well as religion. To begin an analysis of principles, there must be an understanding of human nature and his personal thoughts regarding the topic, in having that basis of knowledge one could further understand how the basic

The theological issue that most perplexed Augustine in his youth was that his mother Monica was Christian. He had turned his back on Christianity in his days as a youth and always tried to hide his views about Christianity. His mother never give up and always prayed that one day he would return Christian. I believed his Mother prayers had a lot to with him converting to

Plato was born into an aristocratic family and later became a disciple of Socrates, eventually witnessing the philosopher 's execution in 399BC, he feared for his safety and went travelling to Italy and Egypt. He returned to Athens after his travels and founded the first European university, the Academy. There, astronomy, biology, mathematics, politics and philosophy were taught, with Aristotle as the most famous student. He also compared the state and the individual, stating they both consisted of three parts: the desiring, the spirited and the rational. If they are all in harmony but ruled by the rational you have justice. He went further to construct many statements that have been quoted throughout history in reference to issues of the times, one being ‘ The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men’

As a small child Augustine started to sin. As a child your aware that it is wrong but you don’t quite understand all the right and wrongs in life. Out of all his life he stated that his teenage years were the most sinful time of his life. During this time Augustine starts to deeply regret some of his sins.

His father was a Pagan and his mother was a Christian. In the first paragraph of the story Augustine writes “You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Augustine, Confessions, p.3). Augustine believes the heart is restless until it rests within God. To be at peace, God needs to be inside a person’s soul. If everyone in a society is at peace, then therefore the society will be at peace.

Aristotle and St. Augustine both wrote philosophical works in order to teach us something that they have learned, in hopes that we will apply it to our own lives. However, Augustine uses a type of autobiographical style in addition to treatise in his works, while Aristotle only uses the treatise style in his works.What were they both thinking when they were writing these famous works? Did they use their respective styles to achieve a goal?

Separated by more than 8500 kilometers but only 52 years, two seminal thinkers have shaped the moral philosophy of their respective cultures. While Western ethical theory has been deeply influenced by Plato’s Republic, Eastern ethical theory has been deeply influenced by Confucius’s Analects. David Haberman describes the Republic as ‘one of the most influential books of all time’ (86). And Bryan Van Norden compares (with considerable fervor) the Analects to ‘the combined influence of Jesus and Socrates’ (3).

St. Augustine was a theologian and philosopher born in Africa to St. Monica. Although he is now known as a an incredibly influential Christian writer and thinker, his early years were defined by rebellion and discord that did not, in the least, reflect Christianity or the values that he is now known for supporting. His early years were freckled with mindless disobedience, wretched behavior, and characterized godlessness that makes his conversion to the faith incredibly remarkable and one that is worth defining in Saint Augustine 's Confessions. His incredible turnaround from a faithless man to a devout supporter of Christianity is significant and is freckled with many major milestones that truly demonstrate his spiritual and internal growth into one of the biggest spiritual icons of the fifth century. These major milestones include his realization that his boyhood was defined by pointless rebellious behavior, even though he grew up in a Christian home, his new found appreciation for philosophy as well as God and his incredible mercy during his years as a student at Carthage,

Augustine begins his autobiography with a prayer and meditation. This is fitting because the main theme of The Confessions is to praise and thank God. He begins by saying that God has, “made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in you.” This is a very good point because it is a reflection of Augustine’s struggle to find piece with himself. Throughout the rest of the book Augustine is constantly changing his beliefs and looking for the truth, his heart is restless. And it is not until he finds the Catholic faith and has his conversion that he finds piece. Augustine like all philosophers is a lover of truth.

At this point in his life, Augustine is recognized for doing many things for the Church as a priest, author, and defender of faith. As an author he wrote Confessions, his spiritual autobiography, and City of God, his great work describing the Christian philosophy throughout history. In this magnificent work,

Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, was one of the greatest philosophers of the roman period. He was raised in a religiously divided home, but through time he found his own truth. He was always an excellent student. He fully mastered the Latin language, however, he never did well with Greek. Saint Augustine was also a man who had a way with words. After his teenage rebellious stage, he found an unorthodox religious group that he decided to become involved with for a while. He traveled the area and ended up staying in Milan for a while. This is where he met Bishop Ambrose and began to listen to his teachings. This caused for Augustine think about his life and ultimately converted him to Christianity. After converting, he wrote books such as: Confessions, The City of God, and De Doctrinia (On Christian Doctrine), along with many others. Saint Augustine was and still is a great Christian influence in the world today.

Socrates did this to show them the difference between truth and what they felt to be true; he would help them see the truth despite their ideas possibly being incorrect 9 (Ethics for life, 13). Most of the time people would not be able to stand firm on their beliefs 10(Britannica). This brought hatred toward Socrates. Eventually they tried Socrates, found him guilty of impiety and demeaning the youth, and executed him in 399 BCE. The reason why the Greeks thought Socrates was corrupting the youth is because he said the gods of Greece were unreliable and lacking 11(Ancient). Plato was emotionally affected by the life and death of Socrates. Socrates work influence Plato so much, he surrounded himself with members of Socrates and became a member himself. Plato’s work was generally stated as “Socratic”, because of how similar his work was to Socrates 12(Britannica).