READING PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS

CRITICAL COMMENTARY AGAINST ACADEMICS, FROM SAN

AUGUSTINE

Student: Nikolas Vaca Pereira

Teacher: Rocío Carolo
Submission date: May 2, 2022

DEVELOPMENT

I. Introduction

Tomorrow I will find him. You'll see how it becomes evident to me and I catch him. Look, Fausto will come and he

He will expose everything. What great men the ones from the Academy are! Is it not possible to achieve any
certainty to guide my life? On the contrary, let us seek more diligently and not despair.1.
We begin this work contemplating the courageous attitude of Saint Augustine, in which, throughout
his life, he will fully dedicate himself to the pursuit of truth.

In this small work, we will comment on one of the philosophical works of the virtuous Saint Augustine.
What else can he do, besides capturing the chilling events of his life that influence his conversion?
total to Catholicism, to present to the general public its philosophical thought, its gnoseological conception
Regarding things, and the statement made about the capacity that man has to be able to
to know God completely. The work we are talking about is Against the Academics.
In the course of this work, we will see general aspects of the work, as well as the ideas.
main points that Agustín wanted to convey with this marvelous work.

It is important to take into account the issues that arise in the youth of San.
Augustine, related to the knowledge of wisdom. Certainly, Saint Augustine was not only seeking or
he was trying to develop an epistemological theory that would respond to the problems of his time and
to the theological dilemmas that constantly arose in Christianity, but fundamentally

1 Saint Augustine, Confessions, VI, 11; Editorial Gredos; Madrid, 2010.

I wanted to give a consistent answer to his anxieties for a certain response, which were going
consuming his life. In other words, Saint Augustine wants to completely discover and understand the meaning of his

life; and this, first of all, he will discover in God, who grants Saint Augustine what he longed for so much.

It is worth mentioning that one of the events that catapults St. Augustine to acquire the spirit
investigative for wisdom, it was at the moment he knew and came into his hands the
Hortensius by Cicero. It is, therefore, through this work that Saint Augustine acquires in his life and his

personality the character of living in doubt about things; man lives daily with the
truth and falsehood in such a normal way that one no longer knows what is true and what is wrong, for
what one should experience according to the probabilities they have of these.

However, we can know almost nothing about the Hortensius, as, unfortunately, it is a
lost work. But what we know – in the Augustinian context we are talking about – about
Cicero's thought is thanks to the secondary source, which is Saint Augustine himself.
Nevertheless, it is interesting and, to some extent, illogical, that Cicero grants in his work the problem
of knowledge to the Academy; that is to say, it seems confusing to understand that the Academy has
promoted some kind of arguments that have cast doubt on the truth, that is, doubt
gnoseological. For it is necessary to take into account that at a certain period the Academy of Plato was
possibly inherited from Carneades or Philo of Larissa, both influenced by skepticism
moderate or probabilism, in which the stance was one of probability and not certainty of
knowledge; and Cicero – along with other historical facts that also influence and are of value in
this time - is situated in this stage of the Academy, where probabilism and all kinds of
subjectivisms were rampant in the philosophy and thought at that time. That is why, to
As a consequence of Hortensius, Saint Augustine acquires such a way of thinking.

Saint Augustine, then, presents the ideal profile of the philosopher, one who undergoes the greatest crises.

existential, moral, anthropological, and ontological, by which, as a great consequence of these,

he aspires to the Good in his life. That is why Saint Augustine will fight against everything that comes his way until

to have come to know the Truth.

II. Against the Academics

Against the Academics is the composition of three books, of which the first consists of nine
chapters; the second, thirteen; and the third, twenty. These books were written in the year 386, dedicated
to a benefactor from San Agustin, named Romaniano, comforting him and encouraging him not to lose the
hope for the search for truth, battled by skepticism2The work is one among others.
of those that bases both philosophy and Augustinian theology. The central theme of this work
it is the certainty of truth: this is able to be known by human beings, and the human being
also, both by reason and by divine intervention (this is the Enlightenment theory of St.
Augustine can fully know the truth. This truth, Augustine will say both in the work as
in all his thought, it is God.

All philosophy leads humanity to find wisdom, that which grants it its image and
higher state, more proper; it is through philosophy that man discovers his capacity
greater: the reason why, distinguishing him from all other creatures, is capable of having
deep notion of their existence; and this deep notion is found in a reality that transcends
every earthly measure. That is why philosophy helps to transcend man towards the divine. Thus, Saint
Agustín believed that all philosophers sought Christ, the wisdom of God.3, but indirectly.

The book unfolds through dialogues that St. Augustine has with his disciples, in which
they address topics such as, primarily, truth; then, topics like wisdom and happiness; the
error or flawed reasoning of the truth; the wise man, his characteristics, his experience in front of the
wisdom and its position towards the academics (the term by which St. Augustine refers to the
skeptics); the untenable thesis of the academics; divine intervention as a means of
knowledge in the human being; philosophy as a means to find Christ; and many others
topics related to all these matters.

II. 1. Some of the most relevant issues present in the work

One of the topics that St. Augustine addresses and is worth mentioning in this work is the concept of
wisdom that he brings. We see in the dialogues that Saint Augustine has with his disciples that
differences and oppositions appear regarding their conception of wisdom. In these
debates they have among themselves, we will see that not only the concept of wisdom but also that of
happiness and well-being are fundamentally linked, so that both are the support (or also the purpose)
ontological of the human being. We see, then, the text directly:

-Certainly, we want to be blessed; and if we can be so without the truth, we can

also dispense us from looking for it.
-What do you think of this?, I added. Do you think we can be happy without finding the

2 SAINT AUGUSTINE, Works III, Philosophical Works, Introduction, ch. III; BAC, 1963; p. 15.
3 1 Corinthians 1:24b
 right?
Yes, we can, as long as we look for her, Licencio then replied.
Having asked here for the opinion of the others by gestures, Navigio said:
Licencio's opinion weighs on me. For perhaps happiness may consist in
this same, in living seeking the truth.
Well, define, Trigecio pleaded, the happy life, so that I can gather the suitable answer from there.
What do you think, I said, is living happily, but living according to the best? what
Is there in man?
I do not want to be light with my words, he replied; but it seems to me that you must declare what it is
better than there is in man.
"Who ever doubted," I replied, "that the most noble part of man is that portion of the spirit.
to whose dominion it is advisable that all the others in it submit? And that portion, for
Do not ask me for new definitions, it can be called my heart. If you do not like this opinion,
Look at how you define a happy life or the most excellent part of man.4

We see that the purpose of knowing the truth is happiness. The question lies in
that if happiness is achieved when the human being comes to know the truth, or also when
simply seeking it, but without the need to know it. Nevertheless, whether the truth is reached or not,
the ultimate goal of this pursuit of knowledge of the truth is happiness. This happiness
the ultimate end of man differs from the Aristotelian concept of happiness, in which happiness is achieved
when a man achieves a life in such a way that he manages to adapt it to the mean of reality:
the golden mean in society; the golden mean in its virtues; the golden mean in the intellect; and so on
successively. Therefore, in Aristotle, life consists in its balance. In such a way
on the contrary, happiness in Saint Augustine is more than this; it is not enough for him to link happiness to the

factors of the human being and society, but that, that is, happiness, is the result of all
struggle that human beings go through as a consequence of a constant search for meaning.
things, and these are: why should I seek wisdom?, why the good?, why must I find
a truth through which I can understand my reality, as it really is? And furthermore, does that exist?
Is it true that I search with so much effort? What would happen if this truth does not exist? Would my existence continue?

having reasons to be? In short, when seeking wisdom, that is, the truth, one is seeking an answer
that answers the reason for being of the human being, of living in the world and reality, for which only of
this way can find meaning in everything, and thus, be happy, feeling fully fulfilled.

That is why, in Saint Augustine, happiness is intrinsically linked with wisdom in the
to the extent that it is sought and if it is found. And to whom does this search for truth correspond

4 SAINT AUGUSTINE, Works III, Philosophical works, Against the Academics, I, 2, 5; Madrid, 1963.
for which the human being can be happy, it is anyone who decides to dedicate their own life to this
labor, departing from all common trades in human life. This is explained by citing again
to Saint Augustine:

-I think you have quite realized the issue that was raised between
we to debate. But before we come to the development of its parts, I kindly ask you to pay attention
attention to some observations regarding our matter about life expectancy and the
purposes that encourage us. I believe that our occupation, not light and superficial, but necessary and
To seek the truth with all one's effort is supreme; on this point, Alipio and I agree.
the other philosophers said that their wise man had achieved it; according to the academics, the wise man
he must exert all his effort to find her, and his actions must be directed towards that end; but
since the truth is hidden or covered, or is confusing and indiscernible, to order his life, the
A wise person should adhere to what seems probable or plausible.
Such was also the result of yesterday's discussion. For one assured that man
One becomes happy by discovering the truth, and the other just by seeking it diligently; then he is out.
without a doubt that nothing should take precedence over this occupation. Therefore, I ask you: How are you?

How did the day we had yesterday seem? You all were immersed in your studies.
You, Trigecio, delighted in the poem of Virgil, and Licencio passed the time composing.
verses, a passion that seizes him with such strength, that for him primarily I have wanted to make this
speech, in order that philosophy occupies and claims a more significant place in their mind - for it is time -

the principal that poetic art and all other disciplines.5

The passion or dedication required for the search for truth must be such that - as
we said it before - man dedicates his life to this study; what he has in promise is
the scope of happiness. But in this statement, a doubt arises: then, therefore, the true
happiness – as a result of diligent study of wisdom – is it only reserved for those who,
stepping away from all his means and disappropriating himself of his personal interests more than that of

seeking the truth, they dedicate their lives to philosophy? Saint Augustine is situated in a time when the
ascetic conceptions as a means by which one aspiring to be wise can become so,
They were widespread throughout society. Indeed, Christianity at that time enjoyed monasticism.
Eastern and Western, in which thousands of people left everything to have a deep encounter
with God. On one side, there was Christianity with its ascetic theology, which aimed at
Jesus Christ; on the other hand, there were the philosophical and mystical doctrines that aimed for wisdom
or the person themselves. But what these have in common is that the composition of their arguments
they are similar: the withdrawal from the world to find a truth.

5 Ibid, III. 1, 1.
 In addition, like so many holy and virtuous men, St. Augustine also had a
ascetic experience of abandonment of the world. That is why Saint Augustine affirmed that man does not

one can become wise, and much less find the truth, if one does not have as the only necessity and
the objective is to seek the truth, abandoning all desire for goods, both personal and social6.

The reason why the topic of the consecration of the person has been repeatedly addressed is
the search for wisdom and truth is because this is one of the main arguments that
they validate Augustine's assertion and the existence of truth. Only in the abandonment of everything, and even
of oneself, one can find the meaning of our existence; because what is sought is no longer
dominated by the interests of a culture or society that only wants benefits and pleasures that
satisfy their own will, distorted by a relativism about truth, and which is blinded by
to create, to yearn, and to strive for goals in life that are nothing more than half-hearted answers, and
not even lies; but what is sought is truly pure, free from judgments or beliefs
superfluous humans, manipulated to deceive so many people. That is why Saint Augustine was determined to
to say that his interest in wanting to make his disciples discover that the truth exists is due to the great
love and belief that he has in it, being his only consolation; for which he never sought fame or a high
social or ecclesiastical position, unlike so many people, philosophers, sophists, and skeptics7.

Despite the fact that Saint Augustine evokes a feeling of amazement and respect in the public for him
due to the bravery shown in facing, without any fear, the major problems that threatened
against the direction of his life, this was not the first – much less the last – to experience the
great despair of not finding an answer to understand the meaning of existence. As we have
Thus, Saint Augustine acquires his epistemological conception of doubt from Cicero, and he from the
Greek philosophical schools. These are the ones that entered into the uncertainty of truth.
facing the social, cultural, political, and religious consequences of all sophist philosophy and
Hellenistic schools that flourished at that time. Certainly, not only the philosophical schools but
also all culture entered the nebula of uncertainty and insecurity, as a consequence of
to doubt the truth. This is why the closest outcome that occurred was probabilism in the
knowledge, also providing solutions that are not favorable.

III. Conclusion

Despite the fact that Saint Augustine went through such great psychological torture in his search for
knowledge of the truth, yes, was comforted, radically converting to Christianity. All
6 Ibid, III. 2, 2-4.
7 Ibid, III. 14.
the stage of his conversion can be found in his most solemn literary work, the Confessions.
But our main interest does not have a strong biographical focus, but rather the gnoseological stance and the
brave confrontation against all doctrines and currents that passed throughout the life of San
Agustín, who was sown with the seed of lies, but with no success, like the Manichaeans and
skeptics. The work in which we can learn about most of this matter is in the work that we have
slightly commented now.

Finally, we have been able to view panoramically the events that Saint went through.
Agustin, making him a wise man, revered to this day, who could only find
the full truth in Jesus Christ, and being welcomed by the Church, making him a man who carried
in his words and works the image of Christ, Wisdom of God8That is why, in Saint Augustine
we find the model to follow of the one who wholly seeks the truth, which is why his name
will remain alive.

8 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.