Graduation Year

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Philosophy

Major Professor

Thomas Williams, Ph.D.

Co-Major Professor

Michael DeJonge, Ph.D.

Committee Member

William Goodwin, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Alex Levine, Ph.D.

Keywords

Autopsychographical, Concsciousness, Conversion, Pedagogic-Apologetic, Theo-Ratiocination

Abstract

There are four aspects of Augustine’s thought in the Confessiones that have been challenged and redefined in this dissertation: the full contextual matrix as to place, setting, and motivation for writing in Carthage North Africa 397C.E.; the genre and structural framework utilized by Augustine in framing this treatise using Plato’s Allegory of the Cave in Book VII of the Republic; “Confession” redefined as confession of sin, confession of faith and confession of truth; and the meaning or purpose for writing in regards to his scriptural philosophy of consciousness and to the redefining of Socratic ratiocination based on humanistic pagan philosophy to that of theo-ratiocination which Augustine found in Scripture.

By theo-ratiocination I mean a necessary Divine illumined consciousness and reasoning as opposed to a “theosophy” which is usually defined as an ecstatic experiencial or subjective Plotininan ecstasy or union with the Divine experience. My term will redefine a rationality that is universal to all created conscious life. By Synchronic – Synthetic - Triunism I challenged both materialist/physicalist (monism) Carnap, Ryle, Quine on mind; and, (dualism) Kantian ideas of a priori (pure reasoning) and a posteriori (empirical reasoning) dichotomy and a divided consciousness. It was shown that Augustine argued for a synchronous (a synchroni) synthetic triunism of consciousness of thought- as opposed to a linear dualism body stimulating mentalistic mind concept. Instead, Past(Memory), Present(Senses), Future(Imagination) synchronically exist in every cognate moment namely, what I will call, Biological(Perception/Body), Mentalistic (Apperception, Mind), and External Illuminative/Inspiration/Concentration (Mentalistic Directive Outside a Controlled Will - Interpretation).

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