Augustine's Confessions
The story of a divided self and the process of its unification
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13824519 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Donald Capps (Princeton Theological Seminary, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 127-150 |
| Publication date | 2007-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archive for the Psychology of Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0084-6724 • E-ISSN: 1573-6121 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1163/008467207x188667 |
| OpenAlex | W2052631016 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 8 |
The goals of this paper are twofold. The first is to show that William James’ (1902/1982) discussion in The Varieties of Religious Experience of the divided self and the process of its unification offers an invaluable lens through which to understand the conversion experience of Augustine (c.a. 397-400/1960) as presented in his Confessions. The second is explore the question of how Augustine became a divided self, a question that James chooses not to speculate about because he is suspicious of theories of causality, especially those that have little if any empirical evidence in their support. To explore this question, I will discuss E. R. Dodds’ (1927-1928) article, “Augustine's Confessions: A Study of Spiritual Maladjustment.” 1 He was Professor of Greek at the University of Birmingham at the time that the article was published, and later Professor of Classics at Oxford University. Dodds believes that the origins of Augustine's divided self “are to be looked for in his family history” (p. 44) and he makes what I consider to be a persuasive case in support of this belief. Significantly, his discussion of Augustine as a divided self has distinct resonances with James's own discussion, suggesting that he was almost certainly aware of James’ earlier work
Art · Causality (physics · Epistemology · Literature · Self · Unification · Augustinian Studies and Theology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classics · History · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
The will to believe
The varieties of religious experience
The Father
The “Reversal of Generations” Phenomenon as Illustrated by the Lives of John Henry Newman and Abraham Lincoln
A Psychoanalytic Study of the Confessions of St. Augustine
The principles of psychology
The Hunger of the Heart
Continuities between the Life and Thought of Augustine
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |