REASON AND WILL: REMARKS ON AUGUSTINE’S IDEA OF POWER (original) (raw)

Contemporary discussions on the idea of power are directed toward its political dimension. Power is understood usually as a feature of governing, premiership, ruling et cetera. Pop-cultural visions build upon the idea of endless and unlimited political power, as do the popular series: Game of Thrones or House of Cards. Despite that, it seems that nowadays we are somehow witnessing the unprecedented impoverishment of the discourse of power. A description of a different dimension of the idea of power will be presented in this paper. The writings of Augustine of Hippo, an ancient Christian philosopher and a Church Father, are treated here as an example of one of the most extensive and fruitful representations of that alternative idea of power (Latin: potestas, verb: possum, posse), which is rich in political, as well as theological and anthropological aspects. Sections: Confessiones, De libero arbitrio, De gratia et libero arbitrio, De correptione et gratia, De beata vita liber, Conclusion written by J. Guerrero van der Meijden. Sections: De civitate Dei, De natura et gratia, De Trinitate written by Karol Wilczyński. Section Introduction, Legacy co-authored.