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Augustine. 354-430 CE. Augustine. Medieval Philosophy (Differences). Ancient/Greek. Medieval/Latin. Augustine (354-430 CE) Aquinas (1225-1250 CE) Christian Book-Scripture Faith-Authority/Reason/Tradition. Plato (424-348 BCE) Aristotle (384-322 BCE) Non-Christian Non-Book
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Augustine 354-430 CE
Medieval Philosophy (Differences) Ancient/Greek Medieval/Latin Augustine (354-430 CE) Aquinas (1225-1250 CE) Christian Book-Scripture Faith-Authority/Reason/Tradition • Plato (424-348 BCE) • Aristotle (384-322 BCE) • Non-Christian • Non-Book • Nature-Reason
Medieval Art (Differences) Greek Medieval Augustine – God/Faith/Scripture Church Christian Art Theo-centric view • Plato – State/Politics • Aristotle – Nature/Metaphysics • Pagan Art
Medieval Virtue(Differences) Greek Medieval Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Love The Other (compassion and other emotions) • Virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice. • One’s Excellence
Medieval The function of hermeneutics: the art of interpretation. Revealed theology is the science of interpretation. What does God Mean?
Medieval (similarities) Augustine was heavily influenced by Plato Neo-platonic metaphysics and epistemology
Medieval (Similarities) Trivium: grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic Quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music Medieval conception of art more like Greek than the modern conception. Theory of Beauty central
Christian Ontology Monotheistic God: omniscient, omnipotent, morally perfect. God as creator (from nothing and freely). God creates only good (Bonum)
Transcendentals The properties of Being, qua being (ens) (1) Truth (Same referent/different meaning) (2) Good (same referent/different meaning) (3) Unity (same referent/different meanings) Beauty?
Christian Epistemology Scripture is truth (“the word of God”). Truth is revealed and known through scripture. Truth is divinely illuminated in one’s mind and known intuitively. Augustine’s Theory of Divine Illumination
Art Art as a human activity (a making). Not the modern conception of art (fine art). Making entails measurement, design and purpose.
Central Questions What is the purpose of the art? What is artistic creativity? How can the content (or subject matter) of artistic creation be evaluated?
Creator - Created Creator is always superior to created. There is only one true creator. Maker is superior to thing made. The ends are always superior (in value) to the means.
Natural vs. Human Makings A bird makes a nest better than a human does. Bees make honeycombs better than humans do. These animals are better makers, so are they superior artists?
Art and Knowledge “It is not by making well measured things, but by grasping the nature of numbers, that I am the more excellent” (183) We can infer that the excellent artists requires knowledge of what he or she does. What makes one an excellent artists is that he or she understands the relationship between the design and the product. Good art requires some degree of intentionality. Thus, it excludes pure instinct, pure inspiration and luck. i
Knowledge and Habits/Skill Notice that knowledge does not exclude skill or nature. So if one makes a thing through habit (acquired through practice) this does not mean that one does not understand or make with intentionality. Notice also the parallel with virtue. If one acts virtuous through natural instinct, there is little moral praiseworthiness in such acts. If one acts virtuous knowing and understanding that this act is designed (it is a means) to an end, then even if the act has become habit one is still morally praiseworthy.
What about Gifts and Talent Would Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine say that there is excellence in making if one makes excellent things because they have a natural talent or gift for making such thing?
Yes and No If the gift is pure inspiration in the platonic sense, meaning that it excludes all understanding than the answer is no (i.e., there is no excellence in making). If, however, the gift includes the gift of mental sight, or the gift of understanding the relationship between what one does and the final product (i.e., understanding the making), then the answer is yes (i.e., there is excellence in making).
Augustine “But why is man superior to brute animals, and why is he to be ranked above them? Because he understands what he does. Nothing else ranks me above the brute animal except the fact that I am a rational animal” (184). Rational Soul=> reason=>reasonable things Purposeful act
Soul Immortal Part (reason): Permanent things, eternal things, God, NUMBERS. Mortal Part (sense): Changing things, mutable things, the PHYSICAL WORLD.
What is Rhythm? Requires motion and time. Natural: phenomena that exhibit change or movement at some level of frequency (microseconds or years) within a simple or complex pattern. Artificial: human created phenomena (e.g., oral, visual) that that exhibit change or movement at some level of frequency within a simple or complex pattern. The time intervals’ frequencies can be divided by contrasting elements or qualitatively different elements that also exhibit a rhythmic kind of proportion.
Rhythms-Numbers Rhythms and proportion are the causes of delight and beauty in human makings. “and in Latin this (rhythm) can be called nothing other than number” (179)
Rhythm Rhythm is founded on the conception of unity, equality, sameness. A______ B____ C__________ A not the same as B A is not the same as C
NUMBERS 3+2=5 Equality (sameness/similitude) The foundation of all these eternal truths is Unity
What is the Concept of Equality? B A Comparative Objective Judgments Consider the concept of circle.
Rhythms and Reason Rhythms are reasonable productions. Reasonable productions are things made by reason and thus by rational beings.
Reasonable Things 1) Actions directed toward an end (Right living) 2) Discourse (Right teaching) 3) Pleasure (Right contemplation)
Analyzing Synthesizing Unity Oneness Union Love and Union (para. 51) Soul and God (Purpose of Art)
