Abstract

Augustine's writings on the nature and operation of grace have earned him his undisputed place at the foundation of medieval theology. His place in the history of philosophy is less secure, partly because in De civitate Dei Augustine appears to have offered his theology as an alternative to philosophy. The general contention of this study is that his theology of grace offers to the history of philosophy an elaboration of the concept of will . Though scholars have long recognized Augustine's originality in the area of the will, the availability of his elaborated insights, particularly in his writings on grace, has suffered from an anachronistic distinction between theology and philosophy. Augustine clearly acknowledges his differences with the philosophi, but his theology of grace nevertheless retains substantial continuity with the task and method of philosophy. ;In an effort to avoid anachronism, I attempt to trace in Augustine's works the internal evolution that leads him to reject pagan philosophy, most notoriously in book XIX of De civitate Dei, where he denies the pagans their claim to the virtues. Despite his criticism of the philosophi, Augustine never loses his fascination for the Stoic assimilation of happiness and virtue. This fascination carries into his writings on grace, for even in his late works he tends to view freedom and happiness as a recovery of virtue. His appeal to grace brings enormous complications to the recovery of virtue, and with these complications he moves beyond his philosophical inheritance. Yet it would be a mistake to interpret his theological elaboration of virtue, freedom, and the will in isolation from his family dispute with philosophy. ;My specific contention in this study is that Augustine's conceptual innovations in the area of will spring from his appreciation of the will's temporal extension. Working from this basic insight, he develops concepts of habit and internal division that differ significantly from Pelagian or Manichaean alternatives, and he uses these concepts to rearticulate the connection between virtue and self-determination