Table Of ContentRestless Mind
Curiositas & the scope of inquiRy in
st. Augustine’s psychology
Restless Mind
Curiositas & the scope of inquiRy in
st. Augustine’s psychology
Joseph Torchia,
O.P.
MARquette studies in philosophy
no. 83
AndRew tAllon, seRies editoR
libRARy of congRess cAtAloging-in-publicAtion dAtA
Torchia, N. Joseph (Natale Joseph), 1953-
Restless mind : curiositas & the scope of inquiry in St. Augustine’s psychology / by
Joseph Torchia, O.P.
pages cm. — (Marquette studies in philosophy ; No. 83)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-87462-719-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-87462-719-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. 2. Curiosity. I. Title.
BR65.A9T58 2013
270.2092—dc23
2012049691
© 2013 Marquette University Press
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-3141
All rights reserved.
www.marquette.edu/mupress/
Printed at Brandt Doubleday, Davenport, IA, USA
Cover art: St. Augustine in his cell, 1490 (tempera on panel) Sandro Botticelli
(1444/5-1510) Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy / The Bridgeman Art Library.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
contents
Preface ~ 9
Statement of Purpose/Acknowledgments/
Dedication/Notes to Preface
Introduction ~ 15
The Problem Defined/Conceptual-Linguistic
Dimensions of Curiosity/A Contemporary Issue/
Methodology and Overview/Notes to Introduction
Part I: The Sources of Augustinian Curiositas ~ 25
Chapter 1: Classical Greek Origins ~ 27
Etymological Roots/A Broad Literary Survey/
The Philosophical Legacy/Plato and Aristotle/
Plutarch of Chaeronea/Plotinus//Notes to Chapter 1
Chapter 2: Classical Latin Origins ~ 49
From Curiosus to Curiositas/Apuleius of Madaura/
Apuleius’ Metamorphoses/Apuleius’ Contribution/
Notes to Chapter 2
Chapter 3: Scriptural and Patristic Sources ~ 65
Scriptural Trends/Philo Judaeus/Hermeticism/
Patristic Referents/Assessment of Part I
Notes to Chapter 3
6 Joseph Torchia Restless Mind
Part II: Curiositas and the Soul’s Journey ~ 93
Chapter 4: Curiositas in Augustine’s Moral Triad ~ 95
The Genesis of Triadic Schematization/Augustine’s
Early Writings/The Triad Qua Triad/Curiosity and
Temporality/The Rule of Perfect Religion/The
Commune and the Proprium/The Significance of
Curiositas//Notes to Chapter 4
Chapter 5: Peregrinatio Animae ~ 119
From Infancy to Adolescence/In Search of Truth/
Iniquity Defined/A Triadic Examination of
Conscience/Curiositas and Augustine’s Peregrinatio/
Notes to Chapter 5
Chapter 6: Curiositas and the Plotinian Hypothesis ~ 149
The Fallen Soul Hypothesis/A Key Plotinian
Touchstone/Revisiting Ennead III.7(45).11/The
Imagery of Ecclesiasticus/Polupragmon-Language
and Curiositas/A Porphyrian Influence?/The Case
for Plotinus/Assessment of Part II/Notes to
Chapter 6
Part III: Curiositas and the Earthly City ~ 173
Chapter 7: In Imago Dei ~ 175
Memory, Intelligence, and Will (De Trinitate X)/
Curiositas and Scientia (De Trinitate XII)/
Curiositas and Mind’s Sciential Function/
Curiositas and the Fallen Soul/Notes to
Chapter 7
Joseph Torchia Restless Mind 7
Chapter 8: The Curiositas of Pagans ~ 199
The Lure of Spectaculi/The Influence of Demons/
Curiositas and Superstition/Curiositas and the
Earthly City/The Curiositas of Occultism/Apuleius
and Porphyry/Curiositas and Fallenness in the
De Civitate Dei/Notes to Chapter 8
Chapter 9: The Curiositas of Christians ~ 221
Christian Life in the Saeculum/Christians among
Pagans/For Love of the ‘World’/The ‘Eye-Opening’
Character of Sin/The Lure of Manichaeism/The
Habit of Pious Inquiry/In Defense of Belief/
Assessment of Part III/Notes to Chapter 9
Conclusion: Augustine, Curiositas, & Scientific Values ~ 247
Augustine on ‘Scientia’/Augustine’s Theocentrism/
The Order of Creation/A Question of Values/Crafting
an Augustinian Ethic/Augustine’s Legacy/Notes to
Conclusion
Epilogue: Augustine in a New Voice ~ 265
Heidegger’s Augustine Lectures/Curiosity in Being
and Time/Heidegger and Augustine in Conversation/
A Voice for Our Time/Notes to Epilogue
Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources ~ 291
Name Index ~ 305
Subject Index ~ 309
in MeMoRy of
RobeRt J. o’connell, s.J.
(1925-1999)
And
KuRt J. pRitzl, o.p.
(1952-2011)
AniMA unA et coR unuM in deo
pRefAce
I
n The Dragons of Eden, Carl Sagan made a somewhat jarring
observation regarding his perception of St. Augustine’s negative
impact upon the western intellectual tradition:
In a time in some respects similar to our own, St. Augustine
of Hippo, after a lusty and intellectually inventive young man-
hood, withdrew from the world of sense and intellect and advised
others to do likewise: “There is another form of temptation, even
more fraught with danger. This is the disease of curiosity.” The time
of Augustine’s death, 430 A.D., marks the beginning of the Dark Ages
in Europe.1
Whether Augustine was the spiritual father of a prolonged period
of intellectual darkness (or how intellectually “dark” the Middle Ages
actually were) is, of course, a matter of debate. In point of fact, howev-
er, Augustine not only considered curiosity a sin, but one of the primal
vices responsible for drawing humans from the grasp of eternal truths
toward the transitory and metaphysically impoverished world of sense
experience. The question for us to ponder is why an inquiring and in-
cisive thinker like Augustine, who committed himself wholeheartedly
to attaining an understanding of the contents of his faith, should have
developed such ambivalence toward the very inquisitiveness which
prompts one to learn in the first place.
Augustine’s negative attitude toward curiosity is certainly surpris-
ing, in view of his intellectual vibrance and the range of his specula-
tive interests. And far from shunning the world of sense experience,
he displays a healthy fascination with all aspects of the natural or-
der.2 Why, then, did Augustine place such a heavy emphasis on the
role of curiosity as a pivotal factor in the soul’s movement from God?
In responding to this question, an initial observation is in order:
Augustine’s understanding of curiosity is by no means a monolithic
one. It is as multi-faceted and multi-dimensional as any other aspect
of his thought.
