The Fruit of Charity: Using the Neighbor in "De doctrina christiana"

Augustine's treatment of neighbor-love in De doctrina Christiana has been the subject of much criticism in twentieth-century scholarship. Specifically, Augustine is criticized for reducing neighbor-love to an instrumental "use" of the neighbor as a tool in one's personal project...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Baer, H. David 1968- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 1996
In: Journal of religious ethics
Year: 1996, Volume: 24, Issue: 1, Pages: 47-64
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary:Augustine's treatment of neighbor-love in De doctrina Christiana has been the subject of much criticism in twentieth-century scholarship. Specifically, Augustine is criticized for reducing neighbor-love to an instrumental "use" of the neighbor as a tool in one's personal project of salvation. This paper argues that careful attention to the relationship between Christ and the uti-frui distinction in book 1 of De doctrina reveals a much different conception of "use." Far from advancing an instrumental treatment of the other, Augustine, when he speaks of "using" the neighbor, is developing language to describe acts of charity.
ISSN:1467-9795
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religious ethics