Please join us September 28 for the Maritain Theology Forum! This week Mary Keys (Political Science, University of Notre Dame) will present on "Augustine's Political Thought and Virtues of the Heart."
Each meeting consists of a presentation on a project in theology or an adjacent discipline, followed by a period of comments/questions from other participants. The workshop is designed to give contributors the opportunity to develop ideas and receive helpful feedback on projects/papers in a friendly and low stakes environment.
Lunch is provided for registered attendees.
From Professor Keys:
At the Forum on September 28, I’ll present work in progress on a Cambridge “Element” being prepared for the series on Early Christian Literature, Garrick Allen, editor. The working title is Augustine’s Biblical Commentaries and Political Thought: Insights from the Heptateuch and Sermon on the Mount. I look forward to learning from your ideas, questions, suggestions, and critiques!
Abstract: The primary point of this Cambridge Element is the value of Augustine’s biblical commentaries for our understanding of his political thought, using works little studied in this context, Augustine’s writings on the Heptateuch and Sermon on the Mount, alongside his City of God. I use the term “political” broadly—in a manner typical of the classical and early Christian periods—as encompassing social life, civic organization, and the virtues of the good human being and citizen. In this Cambridge Element, I will offer an overview of recent scholarship on Augustine’s political thought, at the intersection of rhetoric, prose style, and philosophic and theological reflection on themes of citizenship and good government. I anticipate giving special attention to facets of Augustine’s sermons and other biblical writings emphasized in this broad swath of secondary literature, as well as directions for future work they reveal. I will extend and add to this tradition of recovery of sources, focusing first on Augustine’s writings on the Heptateuch and the political thought they contain, and next on his reflections on the Sermon on the Mount—especially the Beatitudes—and their social and civic dimensions. My focus throughout will be on the biblical theme of the heart (Latin cor), currently also of great interest in political theory and philosophy. In his commentary on Exodus, Augustine follows the biblical text in highlighting Pharaoh’s hardness of heart; in his commentaries on the Beatitudes and other biblical texts, Augustine explores purity of heart. Whether read alone or together with The City of God, these passages offer probing reflections on traits of the heart typical or productive of tyranny on the one hand—of good citizenship and virtuous civic leadership on the other.