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Truth and Morality-Comparison of St. Augustine and Descartes on Reason and Free Will-

  • Philosophical Investigation
  • 2005, 17(), pp.219~254
  • Publisher : Institute of philosophy in Chung-Ang Univ.
  • Research Area : Humanities > Philosophy

Jiwhang Lew 1

1관동대학교

Candidate

ABSTRACT

The contrast between St. Augustine who asserts, through divine illumination, the priority of revelation over human reason for the epistemological matter of truth and Descartes who accepts the certainty of God's existence yet emphasizes the intellectual power of reason basically comes from their common view of human free will and truth. They would reject the medieval scholastic philosophy based on Aristotle's idea that truth could be particularly illuminated by the sense impressions of the world, and strongly argue the knowledge of God and the soul as the first stepping-stone for the knowledge of the all the other things. This made them similarly understand human existence, that is, human free will and sin. Denying such self-outside authorities as Scripture and revelation, Descartes's emphasis upon reason, represented by innate idea, should be seen as philosophically secularizing Augustine's view on the relation of faith and reason rather than as completely rejecting it. This article is intended to present the thesis that Descartes develops Augustine's theological concepts of human free will and reason in a philosophical scientific form.

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