Köckert C (2025)
Publication Type: Book chapter / Article in edited volumes
Publication year: 2025
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Edited Volumes: Augustine's ‘Confessions'
ISBN: 9781316511107
DOI: 10.1017/9781009036597.005
This chapter emphasizes narrative as a vehicle for psychological analysis. It begins by noting the prominence of emotion in the Confessions; Augustine himself tells us in the Reconsiderations that the work is meant to arouse not just the mind but also the heart toward God. It argues that the Confessions contributes to ancient philosophical debates about the character of the emotions and how they should be controlled and moderated. The work presents a “therapy of the emotions” that is sometimes aligned with, and sometimes in critical tension with, the philosophical spiritual exercises proposed by earlier writers. Augustine is, in certain respects, more hopeful about progress in virtue than his philosophical predecessors; he presents his therapy of the soul for everyone, not just those with fortunate natural proclivities. Yet he insists that such progress can be made only by God’s grace. The techniques of ancient philosophy are, in themselves, unavailing for moral transformation.
APA:
Köckert, C. (2025). Augustine’s Therapy of Emotions: The Confessions as a Christian Guide to Care for One’s Soul. In Augustine's ‘Confessions'. Cambridge University Press.
MLA:
Köckert, Charlotte. "Augustine’s Therapy of Emotions: The Confessions as a Christian Guide to Care for One’s Soul." Augustine's ‘Confessions'. Cambridge University Press, 2025.
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