Augustine’s View in Human Nature (Very Briefly Summarized)

 Nature (Behind which of course, stands God’s) gives us a General

sense of our duties. Social institutions shapes these to promote
“socially useful” habits such as Justice. But these efforts do not
truly suffice to makes us goods.
 The Most important parts of a person is the inner person, i.e., the
mind
 Ethically, the most important parts of the mind is not the intellect
(or reasons) but the will.
 The orientations of the will determines whether we loves lower
goods (such as bodily goods, wealth, and reputations) or higher
goods (virtue and, above all Gods)
 Although originally neither good nor bad, the human will became
corrupted so that it is in most case inclined to love lower rather
than higher goods.
 Good persons are those whose will and reasons are subordinated
to faith in God and devotions to God’s will (i.e., that we should
live righteously).
 Faith is a gift of grace that we cannot command but only receive
when it comes.
 Yet the wicked actions of persons lacking faith who violet basic
principles of justice come from within them and so they merit
proportionate punishment by Human Authorities.
 God’s grace may work on us when we are studying scripture, but
much study of scripture is no guarantees of receiving it.
 St. Thomas Aquinas Theory of Human Nature
According to St, Thomas Aquinas, the goal of Human existence
is union and eternal fellowship with God. For those who have
experience salvations and redemption through Christ while
living on earth, a beatific vision will be granted after death in
which a person’s experience perfect. Unending happiness
through comprehending the very essence of God. During life,
an individual’s will must be ordered toward right things (such as
charity, peace and holiness), which requires morality in
everyday human choices. A kind of Virtue Ethics. Aquinas was
the first to identify the principle of double effects in ethical
decisions, when an otherwise legitimate act (e.g. self-defense)
may also cause an effect one would normally be obliged to
avoid (e.g. the death of another)
Many in Catholic Church tried to band Aristotle, Aquinas
embrace his though and tried to synthesize it with Christianity.
Aquinas placed a greater emphasis on reason than had
Augustine. Like Aristotle, He believe that knowledge begin with
the sense and that the intellect recognize types or forms of
thing in order to categorize the world.
Like Aristotle, he believe we have a rational soul or structure
which includes perceptions, intellect, reasons and free will. He
identifies the ideas of eudemonia with knowledge and love of
God. [Is it better to know God or love him was a famous
medieval dispute.] The most important virtues are the
theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
 Moral Theology According to St. Thomas Aquinas
“Moral Theology studies the Human person as the image of
God.”
 Moral theology points out man the way to be good image
of God, that is, a good creature and chill of God’s.
 Moral theology points out to us the way to follow Jesus
Christ, the way to be his disciples.

According to St. Thomas Aquinas…

 Man is point of convergence between the corporeal (means
things pertaining to the human body) and spiritual
substance.
 In other words, man is “ one substance body and soul”
 In Thomistic Physics, man is a substantial unity of body and
soul.
 Man is an Embodied soul not a soul using a body. (As Plato
claimed.)
 Man is substantially body and soul, and definitely, only the
soul is the substance while the body is actual.
 Introduction to
Philosophy.

Human Nature
According To
Augustine and
Aquinas.
Reporter:
Jhon Myco Amihan
Sheri Olis
Teacher: Mr.
Mikael Namoc