The Conversion and Therapy of Desire: Augustine's Theology of Desire in the Cassiciacum Dialogues

by Mark J. Boone, Michael P. Foley (Foreword by)

Overview

The first fruits of the literary career of St. Augustine, the great theologian and Christian philosopher par excellence, are the dialogues he wrote at Cassiciacum in Italy following his famous conversion in Milan in 386 AD. These four little books, largely neglected by scholars, investigate knowledge, ethics, metaphysics, the problem of evil, and the intriguing relationship of God and the soul. They also take up the ancient philosophical project of identifying the principles and practices that heal human desires in order to attain happiness, renewing this philosophical endeavor with insights from Christian theology. Augustine's later books, such as the Confessions, would continue this project of healing desire, as would the writings of others including Boethius, Anselm, and Aquinas. Mark Boone's The Conversion and Therapy of Desire investigates the roots of this project at Cassiciacum, where Augustine is developing a Christian theology of desire, informed by Neoplatonism but transformed by Christian teaching and practices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498229401
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	04/21/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	212
File size:	924 KB

About the Author

Mark J. Boone (PhD, Philosophy, Baylor University) is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Forman Christian College. He is also an occasional book reviewer and blog writer and the author of several articles on philosophy and religion. He is online at http://fccollege.academia.edu/MarkJBoonePhD.
Mark J. Boone is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Forman Christian College. He is the author of The Conversion and Therapy of Desire: Augustine's Theology of Desire in the Cassiciacum Dialogues (Pickwick, 2016).

Table of Contents

Foreword by Michael P. Foley
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1 Augustine at Cassiciacum
2 Desiring Wisdom
3 Desiring and Having God
4 The Desire to Know Order and to Be Ordered
5 Desiring God and the Soul
6 The Love of God and Human Beings
Bibliography