St. Augustine and the Theory of Just WarThe decline of the Roman Empire gave rise to two problems, which combined to form one of the most perplexing philosophical questions of late antiquity. On the one hand, Rome found itself under constant military threat as various tribes from the north and east encroached along its borders to fill the power vacuum left by the receding Empire. On the other hand, adherents to the Empire's new official faith - Christianity - found themselves without clear guidance as to what military roles their faith would permit; the death of the apostles left them without revelatory guidance, and the New Testament writings were not definitive on the subject. The question, then, became: "Can a Christian answer the empire's call to military duty and still answer a clear conscience before God?" Fifth-century philosopher, St Augustine of Hippo, sought to provide a solution to the two problems. His approach formed the foundation of the 'just war' tradition, which has had enormous influence upon moral-philosophical thought on military issues in the West ever since. This major new study identifies the fundamental Augustinian premises and evaluates them in light of historical, neo-Platonic, and Christian contexts. It also identifies the effect of the Augustinian legacy upon medieval and modern philosophical reflections on the nature of warfare and on how war might be waged justly and morally. |
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Page xii
... City of God appear. Biblical quotations (except for those embedded in quotations from other authors) are from the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible. Saint Augustine and the Just-War Tradition The father of just-war List of ...
... City of God appear. Biblical quotations (except for those embedded in quotations from other authors) are from the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible. Saint Augustine and the Just-War Tradition The father of just-war List of ...
Page 13
... City of God XIX, trans. Henry Bettenson (London: Penguin Books, 1984). Augustine, Letter 138.1, NPNF I, 481. Ibid. Ibid. Swift 1983, 110,111. Ibid., 111. On this latter point, see P. R. L. Brown, 'St. Augustine's Attitude to Religious ...
... City of God XIX, trans. Henry Bettenson (London: Penguin Books, 1984). Augustine, Letter 138.1, NPNF I, 481. Ibid. Ibid. Swift 1983, 110,111. Ibid., 111. On this latter point, see P. R. L. Brown, 'St. Augustine's Attitude to Religious ...
Page 14
... City of God. Indeed, he credits Cicero for introducing him to philosophy via Cicero's now lost work, the Hortentius.2 Augustine's admiration for Cicero as ajust-war thinker is evidenced by the fact that it is to Augustine that we owe ...
... City of God. Indeed, he credits Cicero for introducing him to philosophy via Cicero's now lost work, the Hortentius.2 Augustine's admiration for Cicero as ajust-war thinker is evidenced by the fact that it is to Augustine that we owe ...
Page 19
... City of God, Augustine will argue that the unavoidable consequences of war are not such as to preclude Christian participation in war on moral grounds.) Ambrose 'saw the Roman Empire and the Christian Church as conjoint agencies of ...
... City of God, Augustine will argue that the unavoidable consequences of war are not such as to preclude Christian participation in war on moral grounds.) Ambrose 'saw the Roman Empire and the Christian Church as conjoint agencies of ...
Page 23
... city of Hippo, where he was bishop. The Roman state and army ceased to exist in AD 476,59 a mere 46 years after Augustine's own death. Cicero lived in a Roman Empire that was officially and ideologically pagan; Augustine and Ambrose ...
... city of Hippo, where he was bishop. The Roman state and army ceased to exist in AD 476,59 a mere 46 years after Augustine's own death. Cicero lived in a Roman Empire that was officially and ideologically pagan; Augustine and Ambrose ...
Contents
1 | |
14 | |
3 Augustines JustWar Theory | 44 |
4 NeoPlatonism and the Augustinian Just War | 92 |
5 Christianity and the Augustinian Just War | 121 |
6 Augustines Theory and Beyond | 161 |
Bibliography | 180 |
Index | 191 |
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Common terms and phrases
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