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Augustine’s view of human nature is deeply pessimistic – discuss

It can be seen that Augustine’s view of human nature is deeply pessimistic for a number of reasons,
firstly and most significantly through his belief that original sin has been passed down the
generations of humanity and that we are born with it within us
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Secondly Augustine asserts we are
intrinsically evil and have no control over our life and existence as there is singular pre-destination,
this alongside the argument that we are driven by concupiscence contributes to the conclusion that
Augustine’s view is indeed deeply pessimistic
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Overall it can be seen that
Augustine’s view on human nature is deeply pessimistic the majority of the time
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Augustine’s
interpretation of Genesis 3:15 argues that the original sin of Adam and Eve is passed down through
the generations and that all humans inherit original sin when they are born
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Although it is hard to accept that all humanity is sinful regardless of action it is particularly
pessimistic to assert that new born babies and young children who arguably do not have the mental
capacity to understand wrong and right or have autonomy over themselves, are sinful
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If we accept Augustine’s view we accept that before we
have even taken our first breath we are sinful and open to temptation, this must be questioned as a
reasonable argument and is doubtlessly pessimistic
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All of these reasons that stem from Augustine’s teachings on original sin
make it clear that his view on human nature is deeply pessimistic and relatively unfair to humanity
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Augustine says we will always sin no matter what
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Augustine asserts that we are intrinsically evil and submissive to
temptation because Adam and Eve rejected God’s grace in the garden of Eden
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However, some may argue that making mistakes does not make
you sinful and that to go as far as to say humanity are intrinsically evil is extremely pessimistic
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This view in contrast to Augustine’s can be seen as much more optimistic as it places no value
on the nature of humanity, which we have no control over, and asserts that human action
determines us
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One reason that may contribute to the view that Augustine has a pessimistic view of human nature
is that he argues we are driven by concupiscence
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When Adam
and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the tree of knowledge in Eden, as described across Genesis 1
and 2, they fell from Gods Grace
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He argues that in Eden we where driven by

reason and our minds ruled our bodies, when we fell from Grace our bodies took over our mind and
reason was clouded by desire and this is the reason we sin
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Augustine was also influenced by the writings of Paul in Romans, In Romans7:15
Paul says ‘For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate’
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However, this teaching can be seen to contribute to the pessimism of Augustine’s view on human
nature as it restricts human’s ability to better one self through kind action and morality
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This can only be seen as a deeply
pessimistic view on human nature and the ability of humanity in the eyes of God
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Augustine says that God offers us Grace even though we are undeserving, meaning we are
able to be forgiven for our sins
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This barrier meant that once we accepted Gods
Grace we would receive forgiveness
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This means that even if we make mistakes or do good we are accepted and
loved unconditionally
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Despite this though Augustine’s theory is still pessimistic as it’s core teachings argue that
humans have a sinful nature and assert we can’t improve, while it’s teachings on Grace still argue
humans will always sin
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This provides us with the prospect of eternal happiness in the afterlife and gives us a reason to be a
good Christian and try to avoid temptation to sin
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The house built on sand, the non-Christian house, was destroyed
during a storm as it’s foundations where not strong while the house built on stone, the Christian
house, weathered the storm and many more because it had a strong foundation
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This teaching, which could have influenced Augustine, also leads into a belief in the
after life
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Augustine argued in favour of
singular pre-destination, meaning those not pre-destined still had a fair chance to go to either
heaven or hell
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However, he still asserts that we will Sin, that we don’t
deserve God’s Grace and that it doesn’t matter how good you are if you don’t accept God’s grace,
ultimately proving Augustine’s teachings on human nature are deeply pessimistic
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