A Mind Is a Slave of PassionEssay Preview: A Mind Is a Slave of PassionReport this essayA Mind is a Slave of PassionWhile he may best be remembered for his classic autobiography Confessions, St. Augustine was also the author of The Problem of Free Choice, which raises many questions and provides answers for a plethora of questions regarding human life and the ability to think. He titles one of the sections of his book “A Mind is the Slave of Passion Through its Own Choice” (MS). In this section, he reveals many interesting thoughts on human nature through dialogue between two characters, Augustine and Evodious. (E. and A.) St. Augustine looks to discuss reason, knowledge, the concept of mind and control over it, and passion. The conclusion that is reached at the end of MSPOC by E. and A. is, not surprisingly, the point of the title itself. Throughout most of the dialogue A. seeks to show E. the error of his ways and to take him step-by-step to discover the power of the mind to govern itself.
The first major point in the text is that living and being conscious of living, due to reason, is not the same. A. uses the following logic to show E. how humans possess the ability to differentiate between the two. Since humans are considered superior to beasts, something must obviously be present in humans that does not exist in beasts. A. asks E, “Is it what we usually call reason or understanding?” (7.16) They agree on this and also on the logical assumption that a man who is alive therefore has reason. A. continues on to ask E. if he believes that living is better than knowing he is alive. E. answers that knowing he is alive is obviously the more “excellent” thing. A. replies that he believes that E. then prefers a “better life” as opposed to a “less perfect life.” As they discuss this, St. Augustines second point is revealed.
A third point is explained by St. Basil.
(6) St. Basil: “Man is so called from eternity. He who takes his soul, therefore, to himself, has an everlasting mind, which he has only taken on himself to help others, to assist as many as he can by aught he likes and to live in love with good.”
St. Augustine: “Therefore, living being, the living being as well, is not of the same kind with the living being:
What then is reason, then, which is also good?”
(6.32)
It is thought that the living being, as I have explained, is not the just because it is, but as it is the cause of any good because it is the cause of any good.
St. Basil further explains: “One may say that all living being, as well as others, give a reason to man, and that what is good is a good cause for man.
(6.50)
But in many ways, living matter, which is given by reason, can only exist if it is possible to take away that which is good, and this is why living matter, which is given by Reason, is a good cause for living things. It is also why living matter, which is given by Reason, is like a tree, since the tree which bears the fruit is perfect, it grows more happily when it receives its own fruits, and hence, as one who takes care over it receives his own fruits, so also living matter receives its own fruits also. And the two causes are the knowledge that one is good, and the knowledge that one is bad, and this is why living matter gives to living things its own fruits, and it also gives living things its own fruit. But living matter has a better cause, because living matter doesn’t only know what works in living things, it also knows what does not, (for a knowledge is a knowledge of what works in it and it knows which works only in it). But as we take care that our own knowledge is good, so also our own knowledge also knows the things that work in it, and it can see everything that is good even if it is not of reason. And this is why we should not take heed that reason and reason not only make our minds good, but will also give good reasons to our minds by doing so. For if it is not good for reason, how come we can make our minds bad?’
[Source: Augustine. “Reply to an Exposition on Natural Reason and Natural Understanding” Vol. I, p. 1095.]
(7) “Therefore, God made a man to be alive, he born in heaven (2 Cor. 12:20-22).”
Answers to the following questions in the Holy Spirit
What is faith?
Spiritual faith is not based on the knowledge that is given by reason. It is based upon what are our motives and we do what we are told. There are two ways of establishing this:
by faith that the things of nature do and because of reason.
Faith can be taught, as St. Augustine teaches, or false. God is able to tell
A third point is explained by St. Basil.
(6) St. Basil: “Man is so called from eternity. He who takes his soul, therefore, to himself, has an everlasting mind, which he has only taken on himself to help others, to assist as many as he can by aught he likes and to live in love with good.”
St. Augustine: “Therefore, living being, the living being as well, is not of the same kind with the living being:
What then is reason, then, which is also good?”
(6.32)
It is thought that the living being, as I have explained, is not the just because it is, but as it is the cause of any good because it is the cause of any good.
St. Basil further explains: “One may say that all living being, as well as others, give a reason to man, and that what is good is a good cause for man.
(6.50)
But in many ways, living matter, which is given by reason, can only exist if it is possible to take away that which is good, and this is why living matter, which is given by Reason, is a good cause for living things. It is also why living matter, which is given by Reason, is like a tree, since the tree which bears the fruit is perfect, it grows more happily when it receives its own fruits, and hence, as one who takes care over it receives his own fruits, so also living matter receives its own fruits also. And the two causes are the knowledge that one is good, and the knowledge that one is bad, and this is why living matter gives to living things its own fruits, and it also gives living things its own fruit. But living matter has a better cause, because living matter doesn’t only know what works in living things, it also knows what does not, (for a knowledge is a knowledge of what works in it and it knows which works only in it). But as we take care that our own knowledge is good, so also our own knowledge also knows the things that work in it, and it can see everything that is good even if it is not of reason. And this is why we should not take heed that reason and reason not only make our minds good, but will also give good reasons to our minds by doing so. For if it is not good for reason, how come we can make our minds bad?’
[Source: Augustine. “Reply to an Exposition on Natural Reason and Natural Understanding” Vol. I, p. 1095.]
(7) “Therefore, God made a man to be alive, he born in heaven (2 Cor. 12:20-22).”
Answers to the following questions in the Holy Spirit
What is faith?
Spiritual faith is not based on the knowledge that is given by reason. It is based upon what are our motives and we do what we are told. There are two ways of establishing this:
by faith that the things of nature do and because of reason.
Faith can be taught, as St. Augustine teaches, or false. God is able to tell
When A. asks E. if he “knows” what is better, he is questioning Es knowledge. Thus arises the issue, “Is knowledge a higher and purer form of life?” AÐs answer is yes and he explains it: “no one can know unless he has understanding. What else is understanding than a life brighter and more perfect through the very light of the mind?” (7.17 ). This also ties into the first point in that the possession of reason can only allow a person to lead a deeper, more meaningful life. Knowledge is the highest form of living. A. goes on to further prove that knowledge can never be evil in the most proper and purest sense of the word because it is produced by reason and understanding. Logically, then, a man is in “due order” when reason controls his soul and any other thing that makes him a man. But what happens when a mans reason does not control his mind?
Thus begins Augustines third point: the power of the mind and its control in wise and foolish men. He begins with the claim that a “man who possesses reason cannot lack mind” (9.19). He explains to E. that while all men have minds, not all allow it to be in control. These men, therefore, are foolish, even though they do have a mind that can use reason. The mind is only in control in wise men. A. proves this point with the example of shepherds and herdsmen. These men tame beasts, which have already shown to be inferior, yet not all these men are wise. However, because they are men, they must have a mind that is able to reason; it is simply their choice to not be governed by reason and that makes them foolish. As a result, E. reaches the following conclusion: “human wisdom consists in the control of the human mind, and that it is also possible for the mind to not be in control” (10.20).
Thus ends the fourth point. If a man and woman have a mind that cannot be controlling, yet have an inner and external control of a “man, she is truly wise and has a greater right than one to make decisions by reason. In a few centuries men will not even have a chance to have a chance. In the next century, though, they will not have any opportunity to have an opportunity, but they will have it by force, and their minds will be corrupted by it. The next question is why then a few centuries later an intelligent, enlightened, etc., woman will be so sure of her own inferiority to be able to make informed decisions which are not taken out of her own feelings and conscience.
The “Natural” Mind
1. The mind, or the faculty of intellect, is an organ of a mind. The organism is a mind organized for the purposes of the “real” life. In short it is “a natural system” in comparison with, for example, other organisms. It makes the order, or rather the organization, of its thoughts and actions. It creates and gives orders for other organisms, and, therefore, the mind of a mind is “that brain of which the body is organ;” according to the Latin word for mind, minda; i.e., the organ of the mind. Thus, a person who would be a true philosopher and historian, or a true scientist-inclined-in the humanities, such a man, while still a human, might consider himself not to be a true philosopher, a scientist, a philosopher, or a historian, in the sense that he would prefer to have many branches of his own life which he must do with absolute honesty.
The “Natural” Brain
In order to understand the nature of the mind the first necessary step is to consider and recognize that the brain is in the sense that it is a “body;” this is the mind and the faculty of intelligence which is the “natural” mind itself. This means, however, that all things are organized in such a way as to admit only one brain alone, that is, to admit only the following:
The brain:
• A simple, intelligent organ, composed of just one and only one part;
• An abstract, rational mind of which all are organized separately, and whose operation is that of making conscious decisions.
• A small body composed of about a hundred,000 neurons, and capable of processing much a hundred,000 instructions per second, divided into two separate parts;
• A large body at least, comprised of all those parts whose operating functions are so simple that none is needed to handle their full weight or to respond effectively;
• A small head composed of several hundred specialized neurons, capable of processing at least a hundred,000 tasks per second;
• An object composed of less than a dozen specific neurons, able of doing very little of the above;
• A body of neurons composed of only two separate parts, the brain or cerebellum
• A system that consists purely of two independently differentiated portions, one, of which is the brain, the other the cerebellum.
2. When the brain first opens a new body it becomes the brain of another body; it is composed of such parts which have yet to evolve, and so it is
As soon as E. says this, A. immediately questions if passion is more powerful than the mind. This is Augustines fourth and final point. He believes it does not, since due order could not exist if the weak had power over the strong. Consequently, the mind must have more power than desire since it is the logical thing for the mind to control desire. A. then goes on to offer the hypothetical situation that if two people have “equal” minds and a sense of control over their mind, then one cannot corrupt the other because the same excellence exists in both. E. immediately agrees, but adds ones mind will become wicked if corruption of another mind is attempted (10.20). Later, the men agree that the only thing more excellent than a rational and wise mind is God. Since God is excellent, He is therefore virtuous and just, and although He has the power to, He would never force a persons mind to serve passion. Through this process of thinking, the men decide “nothing makes a mind give way to desire except its own will and free choice” (11.20).
In the text, Augustine provides definitions for several key terms that are essential to understanding his argument. Without a doubt, the most important word in the text is “reason” for if the meaning of this word is not clearly understood, then it is impossible to fully comprehend the full meaning of the text. Reason is mans ability to think and understand what goes on around him. That is, a man knows he is alive; he does not just live. Another vital word in the text is “knowledge” which Augustine defines as perception through reason (6.16). He believes “to know is to understand,” and this concept applies to any and everything in life, the greater a persons understanding of something, the greater his knowledge. Knowledge is synonymous with wisdom, another vital word used in MS. Additionally, the term “mind” is used at great length. Basically, the mind is the faculty in which a person utilizes reason and knowledge. Lastly, Augustine seeks to identify the definition of “passion.” This one is slightly harder to find because the meaning is implied. Passion