Ebook245 pages6 hours
Once Out of Nature: Augustine on Time and the Body
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
Once Out of Nature offers an original interpretation of Augustine’s theory of time and embodiment. Andrea Nightingale draws on philosophy, sociology, literary theory, and social history to analyze Augustine’s conception of temporality, eternity, and the human and transhuman condition.
In Nightingale’s view, the notion of embodiment illuminates a set of problems much larger than the body itself: it captures the human experience of being an embodied soul dwelling on earth. In Augustine’s writings, humans live both in and out of nature—exiled from Eden and punished by mortality, they are “resident aliens” on earth. While the human body is subject to earthly time, the human mind is governed by what Nightingale calls psychic time. For the human psyche always stretches away from the present moment—where the physical body persists—into memories and expectations. As Nightingale explains, while the body is present in the here and now, the psyche cannot experience self-presence. Thus, for Augustine, the human being dwells in two distinct time zones, in earthly time and in psychic time. The human self, then, is a moving target. Adam, Eve, and the resurrected saints, by contrast, live outside of time and nature: these transhumans dwell in an everlasting present.
Nightingale connects Augustine’s views to contemporary debates about transhumans and suggests that Augustine’s thought reflects our own ambivalent relationship with our bodies and the earth. Once Out of Nature offers a compelling invitation to ponder the boundaries of the human.
In Nightingale’s view, the notion of embodiment illuminates a set of problems much larger than the body itself: it captures the human experience of being an embodied soul dwelling on earth. In Augustine’s writings, humans live both in and out of nature—exiled from Eden and punished by mortality, they are “resident aliens” on earth. While the human body is subject to earthly time, the human mind is governed by what Nightingale calls psychic time. For the human psyche always stretches away from the present moment—where the physical body persists—into memories and expectations. As Nightingale explains, while the body is present in the here and now, the psyche cannot experience self-presence. Thus, for Augustine, the human being dwells in two distinct time zones, in earthly time and in psychic time. The human self, then, is a moving target. Adam, Eve, and the resurrected saints, by contrast, live outside of time and nature: these transhumans dwell in an everlasting present.
Nightingale connects Augustine’s views to contemporary debates about transhumans and suggests that Augustine’s thought reflects our own ambivalent relationship with our bodies and the earth. Once Out of Nature offers a compelling invitation to ponder the boundaries of the human.
Related to Once Out of Nature
Related ebooks
Thomas Aquinas and Teilhard de Chardin: Christian Humanism in an Age of Unbelief Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFriendship and the Moral Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeeing Things as They Are: G. K. Chesterton and the Drama of Meaning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Acting on Principles: A Thomistic Perspective in Making Moral Decisions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPaul: Christianity’s Premier Apostolic Mystic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNaturalism and Religion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecovering Nature: Essays in Natural Philosophy, Ethics, and Metaphysics in Honor of Ralph McInerny Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSumma Contra Gentiles: Book 3: Providence, Part I Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Beyond the Self: Virtue Ethics and the Problem of Culture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMystic Bonfires: Walter Hilton and the Development of Practical Spiritual Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Light That Binds: A Study in Thomas Aquinas’s Metaphysics of Natural Law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFinding Livelihood: A Progress of Work and Leisure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUndine: With Introductory Essays by George MacDonald and Lafcadio Hearn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLeavis and Lonergan: Literary Criticism and Philosophy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dialectic of Essence: A Study of Plato's Metaphysics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gifts Glittering and Poisoned: Spectacle, Empire, and Metaphysics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Journey of the Dialectic: Knowing God, Volume 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComments on Daniel Houck’s Book (2020) "Aquinas, Original Sin And The Challenge Of Evolution" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe New Metaphysicals: Spirituality and the American Religious Imagination Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudies in Medieval Philosophy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Religious Experience of the Roman People Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChristian Footings: Creation, World Religions, Personalism, Revelation, and Jesus Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Subordinated Ethics: Natural Law and Moral Miscellany in Aquinas and Dostoyevsky Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMasks of Origin: Regression in the Service of Omnipotence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsErich Przywara and Postmodern Natural Law: A History of the Metaphysics of Morals Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod and the Chip: Religion and the Culture of Technology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnglican Orders: Essays on the Centenary of Apostolicae Curae 1896-1996 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThomas Aquinas's Summa theologiae: A Biography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Philosophy (Religion) For You
The Satanic Narratives - A Modern Satanic Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Sacred Self: Making the Decision to Be Free Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Year with Rumi: Daily Readings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Refuge Recovery: A Buddhist Path to Recovering from Addiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Peace Is Every Breath: A Practice for Our Busy Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Knowledge of God in the World and the Word: An Introduction to Classical Apologetics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Total Freedom: The Essential Krishnamurti Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saved by the Light: The True Story of a Man Who Died Twice and the Profound Revelations He Received Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of You: An Enneagram Journey to Becoming Your True Self Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsZen Buddhism: The Short Beginners Guide To Understanding Zen Buddhism and Zen Buddhist Teachings. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Choices: Taking Control of Your Life and Making It Matter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hermeticism: How to Apply the Seven Hermetic Principles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Book: A Humanist Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Man Is an Island Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Novice: A Story of True Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everyday Zen: Love and Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paved with Good Intentions: A Demon's Road Map to Your Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Once Out of Nature
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Once Out of Nature - Andrea Nightingale
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1