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ISBN 10: 0791464091
ISBN 13: 9780791464090
Author: Carl G Vaught
This is the final volume in Carl G. Vaught's groundbreaking trilogy reappraising Augustine's Confessions, a cornerstone of Western philosophy and one of the most influential works in the Christian tradition. Vaught offers a new interpretation of the philosopher as less Neoplatonic and more distinctively Christian than most interpreters have thought. In this book, he focuses on the most philosophical section of the Confessions and on how it relates to the previous, more autobiographical sections. A companion to the previous two volumes, which dealt with Books I–IX, this book can be read either in sequence with or independently of the others.
Books X–XIII of the Confessions begin after Augustine has become Bishop of Hippo and they are separated by more than ten years from the episodes recorded in the previous nine books of the text. This establishes the narrative in the present and speaks to the "believing sons of men." Augustine explores how memory, time, and creation make the journey toward God and the encounter with God possible. Vaught analyzes these conditions in order to unlock Augustine's solutions to familiar philosophical and theological problems. He also tackles the frequently discussed problem of the alleged disconnection between the earlier books and the last four books by showing how Augustine binds experience and reflection together.
Introduction: The Ascent of the Soul
1.1 The Confessions as a Spiritual and Intellectual Journey
1.2 The Structure and Purpose of Books I-IX: The Narrative of Conversion
1.3 The Significance of the Shift to Books X-XIII: From Memory to Metaphysics
1.4 The Central Question: How Does the Soul "Access" God?
1.5 Thesis Statement: An analysis of Augustine’s theological anthropology and his metaphysics of memory, time, and creation as the pathways to divine knowledge and communion.
Chapter 1: Memory as a Locus of the Divine (Book X)
2.1 The Grandeur of Memory: A "Spacious Palace"
2.2 The Contents of Memory: Sensations, Images, Knowledge, and Affections
2.3 The Search for God in Memory: The Inability to Find God as a mere mental object
2.4 The Paradox of Memory: Remembering God Whom He Never Knew through the Senses
2.5 The Role of Christ as the Mediator and the sensus interior
2.6 Summary: Memory as the Ground for Self-Knowledge and a Pre-Condition for Knowing God.
Chapter 2: The Trinity and the Human Mind (Book X, continued)
3.1 The Trinitarian Structure of the Soul: Being, Knowing, Willing (esse, nosse, velle)
3.2 The Mind as an Image of the Trinity (imago Trinitatis)
3.3 The Search for Beatitude and the "Joy of Truth" (gaudium de veritate)
3.4 The Interplay between Self-Love and the Love of God
3.5 The Role of the Will in Directing the Soul towards God
Chapter 3: The Metaphysics of Time and Eternity (Book XI)
4.1 The Transition from Memory to the Doctrine of Creation
4.2 The Famous Question: "What was God doing before He made heaven and earth?"
4.3 The Rejection of a Temporal Beginning and the Co-Eternity of Time and Creation
4.4 The Subjectivity of Time: Past, Present, and Future as Dimensions of the Soul
4.5 The "Distention" of the Soul (distentio animi): The Problem of Human Temporality
4.6 The Solution: The Eternal "Present" of God's Word
4.7 Summary: Time as a created dimension that points to the timelessness of God.
Chapter 4: The Act of Creation and the Twofold Heaven (Book XII)
5.1 The Interpretation of Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
5.2 The "Formless Matter" (materia informis) and the Creation of the Earth
5.3 The "Heaven of Heavens": The Unchanging, Spiritual Creation
5.4 The "Unformed Form" and its Progression towards Form
5.5 The Literal vs. Allegorical Interpretation of Scripture
5.6 The Concept of God's Word as the Archetype and the Source of all Forms
5.7 Summary: Creation as a hierarchical ascent from formless matter to spiritual substance.
Chapter 5: The Church, the Spirit, and the Sabbath Rest (Book XIII)
6.1 The Allegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1 and the Church
6.2 The "Waters Above" and the "Waters Below": The Distinction between the Spiritual and the Temporal Church
6.3 The "Firmament" as the Holy Scripture: Dividing the Spiritual from the Carnal
6.4 The Role of the Holy Spirit in Bringing Creation to Completion
6.5 The Sabbath Rest: The Goal of Creation and the Final Communion with God
6.6 The Eschatological Dimension: The Final Rest in God
6.7 Summary: The journey from creation to redemption, culminating in the rest of the saints in God.
Conclusion: The Journey Completed?
7.1 Review of Augustine's "Access Points" to God
7.2 The Interconnectedness of Memory, Time, and Creation in the Confessions
7.3 The Role of Christ and the Church as Mediators
7.4 Augustine's Enduring Legacy for Christian Theology and Philosophy
7.5 Final Thoughts on the Openness of the Spiritual Journey
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Tags: Carl G Vaught, Access, Augustine
