초록 열기/닫기 버튼
Passion and its control are one of the most imminent issues in Korean society nowadays. But the situation in ancient Rome was not different from ours. We witness that the exhibition of uncontrolled passions like rage was fairly common in imperial Roman society. In this paper, I will examine the philosophical background of Augustine’s theory of emotions and provide a systematic analysis of it. I hope that Augustine’s approach to emotions will be a helpful advice for many people who are suffering from the problem with passion. By analyzing key terms(for example pathos, propatheia, apatheia, eupatheia etc.) we can get the following conclusions: First, in earlier writings Augustine followed Platonic-Peripathetic and Stoic theories of emotions and employed philosophical terms. But in later writings he deviated from the philosophical framework, focussing on theological terms as “will” and “love” in discussing emotions. He maintains that the alleged virtues of philosophers are in fact vices. According to Augustine, Christ(i.e. the mediator between God and human being) deliberately undertakes human passions in order to implement God’s redemptive plan of saving humans from passions and their sinful conditions. So, in comparison to the passions of Christ, the philosophical controversies over apatheia and metriopatheia become non-essential. Second, as distinct from the Stoic and the Platonic doctrines, Augustine employs two pivotal theological concepts, original sin and grace. In the fallen condition, the overwhelming power of original sin leads to the distortion of the human will, love and rational power. Therefore Humans cannot save themselves through their own powers. But Christ delivers fallen humans from their perverted condition, participating voluntarily in human emotions. Augustine contends that the citizens of the Heavenly City are not only free from mundance passions, but they also enjoy the eternal peace of mind and the freedom from sin. Third, according to Augustine the ultimate cause of the problem with passion is self-love and egocentricity. In that humans cannot provide true passion therapy, only divine grace can transform perverted human will and depraved passions into a gracious emotional state.
키워드열기/닫기 버튼
Augustine, pathos, apatheia, eupatheia, propatheia, Stoic theory of emotions
