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1 - Introducing the Issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2024

Katherine Chambers
Affiliation:
University of New England, Australia
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Summary

This chapter notes that current scholarship on Augustine’s idea of pagan virtue and current scholarship on his political thought contain different, and conflicting, interpretations of his notions of virtue and vice, or sin. This chapter proposes that to determine which interpretation is correct we need to situate Augustine’s moral thought in relation to the ancient moral tradition of eudaimonism. Oliver O’Donovan and Nicholas Wolterstorff have proposed that Augustine broke with classical eudaimonism, but this chapter argues that their interpretation of the Stoic and Platonic tradition in eudaimonism is incorrect, and that a correct understanding of this tradition leads to the conclusion that Augustine in fact remained faithful to the eudaimonist approach to ethics.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Introducing the Issues
  • Katherine Chambers, University of New England, Australia
  • Book: Augustine on the Nature of Virtue and Sin
  • Online publication: 10 January 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009383790.001
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  • Introducing the Issues
  • Katherine Chambers, University of New England, Australia
  • Book: Augustine on the Nature of Virtue and Sin
  • Online publication: 10 January 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009383790.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introducing the Issues
  • Katherine Chambers, University of New England, Australia
  • Book: Augustine on the Nature of Virtue and Sin
  • Online publication: 10 January 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009383790.001
Available formats
×