A moral como ponto de integração entre a finitude e a transcendência do homem, segundo Santo Agostinho

Abstract

Saint Augustine s thought traces the path of his spiritual evolution; a man in search for the truth of his own life. As we shall see, it concerns an intelligence open to his faith and a will open to Grace. In this, Augustine will struggle against other thinkers like Mani and Pelagius, using the language and the ideals of other traditions, like Platonism, neo-platonism and Christian authors, like Saint Paul. Only after dealing with these different currents of thought, he becomes Christian and tries to base his own philosophical work, termed by himself as Christian philosophy. There, he searches for the notion of truth, which he had tried to find for so long in many unfruitful ways. In his own perception, it was in Christianity and the biblical revelation that he has found the truth in an uncontested way, manifested and granted through the authority of the Church and founded in Christ, the Son of God. Experiencing this discovery, Augustine will make of his life and teachings a path to help other people to live the right life, teaching them humility, continence, and love to one another. In Augustine we find a model capable of return the souls to themselves and to lead them to God.