AUGUSTINE’S ANTHROPOLOGY: HOMO CAPAX DEI1

Abstract

The basis of Augustine‟s anthropology is the fact that the human person is created in the image and likeness of God. Which is to say that man is always before God, and God is always present in man. This implies the absolute unity and the spiritual nature of the human soul, because the soul for Augustine is immortal with three basic functions: being, understanding, and loving. These correspond to the three human faculties: intellective memory, intelligence, and will. The will takes precedence because it signifies love in the human person, and it is free. However, even with free will, the human soul is restless. This restlessness prompts the soul to search for meaning, and ultimately God. This divine illumination in man is the source of a spiritual restlessness that remains with man until he is united with God after death. After his sojourn through various philosophies and theologies, Augustine came to a view of an anthropology that is thoroughly Christian as we see in the first lines of his Confessions: “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” This was meant to discern a way of using basic human nature most profitably in accord with what God intended.