Comparing Augustine's Philosophy: Augustine, Nietzsche, And Thoreau

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Anna Leone

Philosophy

Ventimiglia

12/17/15

Leone’s Philosophy
Plato, Augustine, Nietzsche, and Thoreau all provide very convincing arguments about what is the right way to live, however from what we have learned this semester, it is fair to say, I do not agree with just one of these philosophers. After listening to the philosophies and theories of each, I can relate best to Augustine and Thoreau’s ideals. Between the two of them, I believe that if I pick out select points made by each, I can come up with the best philosophy for how I should live my own life.
Augustine has a very interesting background regarding his story of sinner to saint. The story of Augustine and the beggar is one that speaks out to

me the most. It is a major revelation when Augustine realizes the drunken beggar is happier than he is because the beggar has freedom. When I first got to college I felt stressed, overwhelmed, and did not enjoy the college experience. One day I saw a girl reading on the ledge of the waterfall by the library and I asked her how she had time to read for pleasure. She told me “Prioritize but make sure you keep doing the things that make you happy, otherwise you will lose yourself.” This was a huge realization in my life. From that moment on when I become stressed or overwhelmed, I’ve learned to take two steps back and do something that helps me find myself again. Augustine’s theory with the beggar applies to my life in that way. I agree that one must be happy to be free because if I were to stop taking time to do
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something for myself I would become captive to all of my schoolwork. Therefore, I wouldn’t truly be free.
The story of Augustine and the beggar also shows that one can become uninterested in the desires they once had. Originally, Augustine was interested in rebelling to find freedom from his parents but as he grew older he realized his new desires were to do his actions while keeping God’s will in mind at all times.
During our discussions regarding evil in the world, some of Augustine’s arguments stood out.

“And I strained to perceive what I now heard, that free-will was the cause of our doing ill.” (The Confessions of Saint Augustine, 1996, p.154) After reading Book Seven, Augustine’s questioning of evil is understandable. If God is truly good, the question lies, where does evil come from? His overall idea that we create most of the evil in the world because of our right to choose, also known as free will, is very accurate. From how I have been brought up and my views on the world so far, I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. I believe that we have free will and with that free will we can either do good or bad in the world, but the choice is ultimately ours. This idea can also be linked to Augustine’s belief that one can be changed through God. If we have the right to choose good or evil, then those choices will shape us overall. For example, if someone decides to choose evil and give into their worst desires, but later on in life decides to choose good, then they have changed themselves for the good with God’s help of free will.
That being said, I do not agree with Augustine’s points that the evil may be a part of a larger good. When the Sandy Hook shooting occurred, I was old enough to

really
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think about what that entailed. One man went in on a random day to shoot and kill twenty-six people; twenty of which were children under the age of eight. As it did with everyone, the event made an impact in my life. Hearing that innocent children that are too young to even know what a sin is, made me think: what is God’s ultimate plan? If he were all good and all mighty then why would he take so many lives from our world? Augustine’s idea is that “Nothing evil exists in itself, but only as an evil aspect of some actual entity.” (Augustine on Evil) To me this does not make sense. I do not believe there is a greater plan that justifies the evil that happens within our society. To put his idea into perspective, it has been reported that within the past 336 days there have been 355 mass shootings in the United Sates (Wing) I cannot accept the idea that God considers these tragedies as a part of his larger plan. For this point, I do not agree with Augustine.
Our last philosopher, Thoreau, has several points that I would want to adapt to my philosophy. First, going along with Augustine, Thoreau also believes that people can change overtime. He refers to this as the Evolving Soul where as Augustine’s theory is called the Christian Soul. Thoreau says that it is okay to be a democratic soul while a person is young but as you grow older they must listen to their spiritual instincts. I believe this is accurate because when you are young, you are still learning and developing to become an adult so you should be able to be led by your desires until you develop into who you are suppose to be. For example, Thoreau believes, if a teen tries drinking alcohol with their friends, they may do it for a while, but eventually their spiritual instincts will reach them and they will realize as they get older that they can not
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act on the same desires they once did as a child. Our spiritual instincts are our guide to our every day behavior and will eventually lead us to the people we will become in our lives. “What old people say you cannot do you try and find that you can. Old deeds for old people, and new deeds for new. Old people did not know enough once” (Thoreau, 1947, p.264) This quote sums up Thoreau’s idea that the young need to have their own experiences in order to grow and become the adults they were meant to become in the grand scheme of things.
Thoreau believes that the good life is something that shifts over time. He believes that we must be free from the laws of convention so one can be obedient to the higher laws, which is the non-material level of reality. His experiment to go into the woods and exclude himself from society for two years demonstrates that one must understand what is really necessary in life. Once you figure out what is truly necessary, you can have more time to be free.
This idea is my favorite out of all of the philosophers. I think that if we limit ourselves to having what is necessary for our survival rather than what is most luxurious then we will have more time to be free and discover ourselves. I have experienced first hand what it is like to feel my instincts pulling me in a certain direction. When I was in high school and went on college visits, I was very nervous about picking a college to attend, like most teens my age. My parents and I visited several schools, some Catholic affiliated and some not. For me, when we stepped onto the campus of Sacred Heart University, I had an immediate gut feeling that SHU would be my home for the next four years. It had all the elements I was looking for, but so did one other school. It took
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several weeks for me to figure out where I wanted to go, but in the end I followed the instinctual feeling I got when arriving at Sacred Heart University. If I had not done this, I would not be where I am today.
Contrary to Thoreau’s thoughts that a materialistic society is not beneficial, I do believe that if someone works hard at something they love to do and wants to treat themselves to a few indulgences, then it is okay. I think this only because if one loves what they do and has a true passion for it, then it is not wasted time. The time that is being used for work is pleasurable not forced therefore, no freedom is being sacrificed.
Between these two philosophers, I have picked the points I relate to most. With the inspiration of both Augustine and Thoreau, the Leone philosophy would consist of a belief in the Christian God, that He will guide you through your journey in life and that you should do things with His will in mind. Also, it is okay to change your ways as you grow, as long as you listen to the spiritual instincts of your soul, which will ultimately lead you to the divine power. “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (The Holy Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:11) This quote sums up my ideal philosophy perfectly. Make mistakes and learn while you are young so you grow into the adult you aspire to be and love what you do, it is then you will find true happiness and freedom.

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Works Cited
"Book Seven." The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Whitaker House, 1996. 154. Print.

"Corinthians." The Holy Bible Containing the Old Testament and the New Testament. Cambridge; Cambridgeshire: Printed by John Field, 1663. Print.

"Great Philosophers: Augustine On Evil." Great Philosophers: Augustine On Evil. Web. 17 Dec. 2015.

Thoreau, Henry David, and Carl Bode. "Economy." The Portable Thoreau. New York: Viking, 1947. 264. Print.

Wing, Nick. "More Shootings Than Days." Huffingtonpost.com. 2 Dec. 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.