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Body And Soul In The Works Of St. Augustine

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Introduction
For centuries philosophers and theologians debated the complexity of human person to bring a figuration to essential elements of human makeup. The fourth century philosopher, St.Augustine claims in regard to human nature hugely influenced both in the western christianity and western philosophy. According to Augustine the two key elements body and soul are goods that are granted to us from God. Body and soul are universally accepted concepts in the case of being the bases of living creatures. However, when it comes answering the questions such as what is it to be a human being moreover what is basic of human nature, a further investigation needs to occur in order to give true identification to human person. This paper will explore the view of St. Augustine’s on human person and its application to our modern society under the context of free will. St. Augustine believed that rational soul is the ruler of the body. This rational soul gives directions and guidance to body when it comes to reasoning and making moral decisions. On the other hand through body soul is able to discover physical senses and connect with in early manners. Hence,both the soul and the body needs to work …show more content…

In fact being made in the image of God allows us to understand the nature of God where we reach to a high capacity of exploring his grace. In Augustine’s reflection “there is something of the human person which is unknown even to the ‘spirit of man which is in him’...-I nevertheless know something of you which I do not know about myself”(Augustine, 182). This statement explains how one can know about oneself through knowing God because one is made in his image. According to Augustine the full discovery of human person occurs through having the true knowledge about God. Grace makes a way for us to acquire the knowledge about God. However, humans misuse of free will build a barrier for humans to receive the truth of

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