Augustine on the Body: Metaphysical, Biblical, and Empirical Approaches
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Special Session
Organizer Name
Marianne Djuth
Organizer Affiliation
Canisius College
Presider Name
Marianne Djuth
Paper Title 1
"An Obedient Servant to Some People . . . beyond the Normal Limitations of Nature" (De civ. dei 14.24): Augustine and the Extreme Body
Presenter 1 Name
Nancy Weatherwax
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Western Michigan Univ.
Paper Title 2
Two Images of God: Augustine on Male/Female Equality in Human Substance
Presenter 2 Name
Robert N. Parks
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Univ. of Dayton
Paper Title 3
Augustine's S.O.S.
Presenter 3 Name
Thomas Losoncy
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Villanova Univ.
Paper Title 4
Augustine's Early Understanding of the Body
Presenter 4 Name
Thomas Clemmons
Presenter 4 Affiliation
Univ. of Notre Dame
Start Date
14-5-2016 3:30 PM
Session Location
Valley I Hadley 102
Description
This session inquires into Augustine's understanding of the body and its metaphysical, biblical, and empirical significance. While it is clear that, for Augustine at least, there can only be a body if there is a soul, more attention needs to be paid to the nature of the body and its role in the development of Augustine's thought. In this session the first paper emphasizes the relation between the body and the will in fallen human beings. The presentation approaches the nature of the body through an analysis of extreme, even grotesque, cases of body/will control, or lack of control. The second paper inquires into whether or not the distinction between representation and substance implies that Augustine held women in a more favorable view than has been previously noticed. The author argues that Augustine did indeed adopt this position. The third and fourth papers, each in its own way, approach the body in Augustine's early writings from the perspective of the soul/body relation and, in one case, accords special attention to the fleshly body of Christ. The fourth paper concludes by briefly discussing how Augustine's view of the body in his early works differs from his mature understanding of it in the De civitate Dei. The session, therefore, come full circle, beginning and ending with Augustine's view of the body in the De civitate Dei.
Marianne Djuth
Augustine on the Body: Metaphysical, Biblical, and Empirical Approaches
Valley I Hadley 102
This session inquires into Augustine's understanding of the body and its metaphysical, biblical, and empirical significance. While it is clear that, for Augustine at least, there can only be a body if there is a soul, more attention needs to be paid to the nature of the body and its role in the development of Augustine's thought. In this session the first paper emphasizes the relation between the body and the will in fallen human beings. The presentation approaches the nature of the body through an analysis of extreme, even grotesque, cases of body/will control, or lack of control. The second paper inquires into whether or not the distinction between representation and substance implies that Augustine held women in a more favorable view than has been previously noticed. The author argues that Augustine did indeed adopt this position. The third and fourth papers, each in its own way, approach the body in Augustine's early writings from the perspective of the soul/body relation and, in one case, accords special attention to the fleshly body of Christ. The fourth paper concludes by briefly discussing how Augustine's view of the body in his early works differs from his mature understanding of it in the De civitate Dei. The session, therefore, come full circle, beginning and ending with Augustine's view of the body in the De civitate Dei.
Marianne Djuth