"Augustinianism" may be described as that complex of philosophical ideas that reflected to a greater or lesser degree the philosophy of Augustine. Many of the philosophers who came after Augustine not only restated his leading ideas but also frequently modified them with their own interpretations. Such interpretations were often the result of the impact of other schools of thought, notably the Avicennian and the Aristotelian. Occasionally doctrines that were only implicit in Augustine—for instance, the plurality of forms and universal hylomorphism—were made explicit and assumed considerable importance. Thus there originated in the medieval period what has been termed the Augustinian tradition, which in the later years of its development was closely identified with the Franciscan order. Such a tradition dominated medieval thought to the time of Thomas Aquinas. After Thomas it gradually disintegrated owing to the impact of Thomism and a resurgent Aristotelianism, and no longer represented a distinctive school or tradition. It continued, however, to be influential to the extent that it inspired or characterized in varying degrees later medieval and modern philosophers. The principal theses of Augustinianism will be discussed under seven headings.
Faith and Understanding
The relationship between faith and understanding (or reason), with the implications of such a relationship for philosophy and theology, and the conception of Christian wisdom and Christian mysticism are central in the structure of Augustinian philosophy. One of the most influential and significant expressions of the relation between faith and understanding in Augustinian thought is summarized in the famous maxim of Anselm: Credo ut intelligam (I believe in order to understand). Peter Abelard similarly expressed the idea of the primacy of faith over understanding in his comments on the function of philosophy: "I do not want to be a philosopher if it is necessary to deny Paul. I do not want to be Aristotle if it is necessary to be separated from Christ. 'For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved.'" With Roger Bacon the relationship of philosophy and theology is profoundly Augustinian. A conservative theologian despite his enthusiasm for scientific method and experimentation, he was convinced that the highest wisdom is found in Scripture and that philosophy exists only to explicate that wisdom. A similar theme is developed by Bonaventure in his De Reductione Artium ad Theologiam. He declared that all the sciences and philosophy should be subordinated to theology, which in turn must be subordinated to faith and the love of God; for faith alone enables man to avoid error and attain a union with God. Other philosophers of the Middle Ages who accepted this primacy of faith over reason and the complete subordination of philosophy to theology were Alexander of Hales, John of La Rochelle, Matthew of Aquasparta, and Roger Marston.
Psychology
The Augustinian psychology is characterized by the definition of man as a soul using a body and the implication of this definition for the relation of soul and body. The soul is regarded as an image of the Trinity and is said to have a direct knowledge of itself. Hugh of St. Victor is notably Augustinian, not only in his mysticism but also in his identification of the soul with man and his belief that we have a direct knowledge of the soul and its spirituality. The union of soul and body he described as one of "apposition" rather than composition. Similarly, William of Auvergne is Augustinian in his account of man as a soul using the body, his affirmation of the presence of the soul in all parts of the body, and his statement that: "No knowledge is more natural to the soul than the knowledge of its own self." The mysticism of Bonaventure is characterized by the notion of the journey of the soul to God, the presence of the Trinity in the soul of man, and the direct knowledge the soul has of itself. This principle that the soul has a direct knowledge of itself is characteristic of both the Augustinian psychology and the Augustinian theory of knowledge. It has been termed the "principle of interiorization." Augustine expressed it: "For what is so present to knowledge as that which is present to mind? Or what is so present to the mind as the mind itself?" In modern philosophy the principle of interiority was to have significant influence upon writers like René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Tommaso Campanella, and Maurice Blondel.
Epistemology
The Augustinian theory of knowledge had an extensive influence upon medieval philosophers, but it was frequently compromised with Aristotelianism. This was particularly true with respect to the Augustinian theory that sensation is essentially an act of the soul. However, the theory of the divine illumination, in conjunction with the doctrine of exemplary ideas, and the concept of truth as identified with God and present to, but superior to, all minds had a much stronger influence; but it, too, was often qualified with an Aristotelian theory of knowledge. Anselm held that truth is based on the Divine Ideas that are one with God. William of Auvergne accepted the doctrine of divine illumination but interpreted it as giving us an intuitive knowledge of the intelligible forms. Robert Grosseteste combined the Augustinian theory of the divine illumination with an empirical approach in science; he regarded truth as the conformity of a thing with its divine exemplar. Roger Bacon considered divine illumination as an inspiration, and he compared the divine action in illumination to that of the active intellect. Alexander of Hales combined the theory of divine illumination with an Aristotelian theory of abstraction. John of La Rochelle also combined the two theories of knowledge, especially the notion of the active intellect and the divine illumination. Bonaventure and Matthew of Aquasparta also modified the Augustinian theory of knowledge. The former accepted an Aristotelian account of sense knowledge and abstraction, of the existence of a possible and an active intellect, as well as the Augustinian concept of the necessity of the divine illumination for the attainment of truth. Matthew modified the Augustinian theory of sensation. On the other hand, Roger Marston and Peter Olivi followed closely Augustine's theory of knowledge. Among modern philosophers, the Augustinian doctrine of divine illumination was particularly influential with such philosophers as Nicolas Malebranche, Antonio Rosmini-Serbati, and Vincenzo Gioberti.
Rationes Seminales
The conception of the rationes seminales (physical powers or "seeds") that Augustine postulated as potentially present in matter in order to explain the origin of creatures after the creation of the six days reappeared most markedly in the philosophical systems of the Augustinians of the thirteenth century.
Hylomorphism and Plurality of Forms
Hylomorphism and plurality of forms were doctrines that were developed from the thought of Augustine. The latter is said to have appeared first in Grosseteste's metaphysics of light and his analysis of bodies as possessing a number of different forms—for instance, the forms of elements, plants, animals. The highest form possessed by any body he held to be light, which was designated as the "form of corporeity." This notion of a plurality of forms was widely accepted by Augustinians after Grosseteste and is particularly prominent in the philosophies of Bonaventure, Raymond Lull, and John Duns Scotus. Generally it appears with its corollary universal hylomorphism, which states that all creatures are composed of matter and form. Thus angelic beings and human souls were said to be composed of a form and a spiritual matter. These doctrines enabled philosophers like Bonaventure and Duns Scotus to maintain more effectively their conception of the completeness of the substantial character of the human soul apart from the body. The Franciscan school strongly supported both doctrines. Robert Kilwardby and John Peckham in particular appealed to the plurality of forms in their vigorous opposition to the Thomistic doctrine of the oneness of man's substantial form.
The Meaning of History
Augustine rejected emphatically the cyclical conception of history as expressed in the Christian revelation and the doctrines of the Incarnation and salvation. History is a part of the divine plan and providence, and reflects the presence of the divine reason. The divine dispensation of grace gives hope to humankind and makes it possible for him to attain his eternal beatitude in the City of God after his pilgrimage in the earthly city. Few medieval philosophers escaped the influence of this Augustinian conception. It is particularly noticeable in the work of Dante Alighieri and in Roger Bacon's idea of a Christian republic. It influenced such later philosophers as Campanella, Jacques Bossuet, and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. And it is indirectly represented in modern secularized versions of the idea of progress and social utopias.
Ethics of Charity and Superiority of the Will
The ethics of charity and the principle of the superiority of the will over the intellect in man as formulated by Augustine were important in the development of religious thought. The former, with its correlative doctrines of grace, election, and predestination, is essentially a religious ethic. It found universal acceptance within the Franciscan school and exerted considerable influence on all medieval theology and ethics. It affected such later thinkers as Martin Luther and John Calvin. The principle of the primacy of the will is reflected in Bonaventure insistence upon the need for moral as well as intellectual illumination. Richard of Middleton held that the will is a faculty that determines itself without being determined by any other faculty. Duns Scotus asserted that the will is free, whereas the intellect is determined by that which is known. The will is the nobler of the two faculties and commands the intellect.
