What is Truth? Augustine and the Eternal Echo of God's Verbum

Aristotle and Augustine, together, provide a goal and means for moving toward that goal in terms of developing enduring relationships as an analogical and anagogical Truth of who one is. The Virtue Aristotle describes and the means to habituate Virtue show the individual the manner in which one can develop enduring relationships. Augustine takes those same enduring relationships and argues that the desire to develop such relationships suggest and even deeper or a more primordial drive to know oneself on a transcendent level. The relationships one develops in life, made enduring through habituation and Virtue, point to an even greater relationship with the Transcendent. The result is the eternal shout of one’s Verbum and the perpetual reception of that Verbum in the eternity of God and of all humanity. Perhaps we can say that the “Verbum” we begin to shout and hear in this life is but a shadow or an echo of the eternal Verbum. Indeed, Karl Rahner, the 20^th Century theologian, might say all of Creation is an echo of God’s own Verbum for us to hear. By looking Sacramentally at the material floors and walls of the Pit and the relationships we have in that Pit, maybe we can start to speak and to hear our Verbum.

Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas in Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland. The lofty expanse of the Cathedral invites us to consider our own lofty destination...our Authentic Self.

What is Truth? Augustine and the Extra Dimensions of Eternity

The Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas in Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland. The lofty dimensions of the Cathedral is not meant so much to make the congregation feel small as it is meant to lift our eyes to higher dimensions in which we can Hope to encounter our Authentic Self and the Divine presence of God. (photo P. Smith)

Augustine is attracted to Christianity, especially in terms of the Trinity, as the Trinity reveals origin, purpose, function, and destiny of the human person in terms of relationship. Augustine’s famous description of the Trinity in terms of Love is the beginning of his deeper understanding of the human person. Augustine describes the Trinity: the Father is the Lover, the Son is the Beloved, and the Holy Spirit is the Love between the Father and the Son. Within the Trinity, the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is the Verbum of God perfectly known, the Verbum spoken, and the Verbum perfectly heard. If humanity is made in the image and likeness of this Holy Trinity, this Holy Exchange of Verbum, then all humans are made to yearn for or desire this authentic exchange of Verbum. In this life, you can begin to speak and to hear your Verbum and in this exchange you experience great pleasure as it is the natural inclination of the all humans to want to speak and to hear their Verbum. But the relationship between humans as they strive to express their Authentic Self will always be incomplete as the Verbum remains a reality outside of time and space. Therefore, as Augustine realizes, one must form and foster a relationship with the Transcendent in order to better realize one’s Verbum. It is only in the extra dimensions of eternity where one can fully express their Verbum.

What is Truth? Augustine, Verbum, and Authentic Self

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare, Ireland. The "Verbum" of God is Jesus Christ, and that "Word" speaks the Truth of God for all humanity and for all Creation. (photo P. Smith)

Augustine uses “Verbum” to refer to one’s Authentic Self. That is, Augustine understands that at the core of every human being is a Truth that you yearn to communicate to the world. There is a Truth that you desire to cry out for the self and for “the Other” to hear. Until one can speak this Verbum you will remain restless. Like Aristotle and the Classical philosophers, Augustine realizes the need to encounter the transcendent in order to “know” such an objective voice. Augustine adds the dimension of relationship in order to fully comprehend the concept of Verbum or Authentic Self. Even if you knows your Verbum, if there is no one to hear that Word, then the Verbum has no meaning. My students, at this point, know that Verbum is synonymous with the Authentic Self and the Authentic Self is the same as Loving and being Loved on a transcendent level. If Loving and being Loved is Verbum, then there must be some sort of relationship in order for that Verbum to be heard. You cannot Love in a vacuum. Relationship between individuals, therefore, is essential for you to begin to know your Verbum. In addition, as you hears another person’s Verbum, as you experience Loving or being Loved in more and more transcendent ways, you fulfills part of your own purpose, namely, to assist in the realization of the Other’s Verbum.

What is Truth? Augustine and Verbum

            This is not too much for high school students! If elementary school kids a hundred years studied this in classical schools, our kids can handle this, as well. You just have to be patient. Transitioning into Augustine is easy for me; several of my professors in graduate school were Augustine scholars and I was born on his feast day, so I have a particular affinity for him.

St. Augustine of Hippo at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Atlanta, GA. "Love is the Beauty of the Soul". If we are made to Love and to be Loved and that is our Authentic Self, then, indeed, as Augustine says, that Love is the Truest Beauty of our Authentic Self. (photo P. Smith)

St. Augustine of Hippo, six hundred years after Aristotle, explored the Authentic Self through the lens of Judaism and Christianity. As a rhetorician and a master of human language Augustine, before he even professed a belief in Christianity, wrote extensively on the concept of how one could know one’s Authentic Self and thereby achieve happiness. Above all, Augustine admits, the capacity for one to know one’s Authentic Self is profoundly limited, for, as one discovers who they are at a given moment in time and space, they are already different and what they have discovered is no longer True. The Truth of who one is, therefore, can only be observed from a transcendent or objective perspective. Combined with the classical understandings of telos and phronesis and in recognizing a Judeo-Christian parallel with Aristotelean Virtue and Ethics, Augustine began to dive deeper into Christian understanding of Truth, first in terms of philosophy and material epistemology, and later in terms of relationship and his own personal encounter with the divine. It was his own development of a relationship with the divine that would add to and expand what Augustine refers to as one’s Verbum.

What is Truth? Virtue, Authentic Self, and Beatitude

As one rationally chooses to pursue habituation, Virtue develops in the individual. For Aristotle, Virtue is not necessarily something that exists in the human being as much as it is an idea that can be developed. Virtue, simply put, describes any characteristic that reorients one from non-rational self-involvement to a rational, relationship-based mindset. That is, as we pursue Virtue we shift from fixation on material Truth and the floor and walls of the Pit, and we begin to look at “the Other” and a possible route leading out of the Pit. Virtue makes one more concerned about the well-being of the self and others as it relates to eudaimonia or Beatific Vision and less concerned about the non-rational appetitive mind of the self, which tends to be selfish in nature. The result of the habituation of Virtue in the individual is a relationship-oriented ethic which further fosters harmony within and between the individual and others, the result of which is Peace. 

Trinitarian Abbey in Adare, Co. Limerick, Ireland. The Sacred Heart of Jesus, perhaps more than any other Christological image, represents the Authentic Self and what it means to be "fully human". (photo P. Smith).

Aristotle does not state this directly, but it is in this state of Peace and harmony where we experience little or no anxiety; where we can be free to “speak” and “hear” what Augustine will call our Verbum. This Virtuous state of humanity further allows one to hear the Verbum of others, which, according the Aristotle, makes the Virtuous the most likeable of all characters. The Virtuous experiences eudaimonia or Beatific Vision because they can relate well to their authentic “voice” or “Verbum” and they can relate well to the authentic voice or Verbum of others. The rational mind, Prudence, habituation, Virtue, and ethics, therefore, relate to form an individual and social condition whereby the individual and others can relate in such a way that their Authentic Self can best be expressed. Just as the Trinity is in perfect union within itself and each person of the Trinity can speak their Verbum, when we are in increasingly similar relationships, we approach our Authentic Self. Those increasingly similar relationships can be experienced in time and space; essentially, the Virtuous and enduring relationships we experience in time and space are Sacramental visions of the transcendent Authentic Self.

What is Truth? Eudaimonia to Beatitude

Within the context of human relationships, eudaimonia is materially achievable, but as soon as it is achieved, it changes definitions and depth. Aristotle appealed to Aquinas because Jesus Christ serves as the bridge between any material action prescribed by Aristotle and any transcendent Truth associated with Virtue and Beatific Vision or Beatitude. Further, since for Aristotle it seems humble relationship with “the Other” is essential for the material development of Virtue, it is logical for Christian theologians that humble relationship with Jesus Christ can perfect Virtue in us. Aquinas recognizes, however, the limitations of Aristotle’s eudaimonia. Certainly, we can always achieve higher levels of happiness or flourishing, but perfect happiness can only flow through perfect Virtue, and, as there is only One being who is perfectly virtuous, perhaps happiness can only be given to us by that perfect vision, or, as Aquinas defines it, by viewing or contemplating the One who is perfectly virtuous. Aquinas calls this transcendent happiness “Beatific Vision”.

St. Senan's Catholic Church in Shanagolden, Co. Limerick, Ireland. This is where my great-grandfather on my mother's side went to Mass. In life he may have come close to something like Eudaimonia; in the afterlife, we Hope for Beatific Vision.

What is Truth? Aristotle, Virtue, and Happiness

Ultimately, what we are talking about here is the goal of happiness. I summarize Aristotle’s argument for how we can be truly happy; we need to choose with our rational mind to let go of simple appetites or fixations on material Truths. We need to be willing to sacrifice or be humble before a greater goal. That greater goal, within the scope of human vision, is treating the self and “the Other” with care and concern. This is Loving and being Loved. For Aristotle, this is Virtue, and as he teaches, the happiest person is the virtuous person. This, simply put, is a life characterized by recognizing human dignity. In Christian Theology, we are all called to the Universal Vocation to Holiness. Where Christians use the word “Holiness” to refer to Loving and being Loved, Aristotle uses “Virtue”. They are the same thing. We can rationally choose to pursue virtue for the sake of better and more enduring relationships. And as we move toward these better and more enduring relationships, we move toward our Authentic Self. Aristotle pre-dates Christ, and in his writing he admits that perfect Virtue and eudaimonia are not achievable in a material sense, although it is still a noble goal worth pursuing. As a result, Aristotle seems to suggest that humans can, in fact, achieve varying levels of “human flourishing”, but as soon as you reach one level, there will always be a higher level of happiness. Christianity argues that if God is perfect Virtue, then there is a way for us to achieve that same level of perfect Virtue (perhaps not in this life), but only if we are ion relationship with God. 

The Trinitarian Abbey in Adare, Ireland. Reason and Free Will in the pursuit of Virtue allows for one to more clearly see the dignity of self and the other, thus creating the potential to more fully Love one another. In a way, Reason and Free Will, rightly oriented toward Virtue, are like glass-cleaners in this 14th Century Abbey. (photo P. Smith)