Assessment

2 minor essays each worth 25%, 1 final essay worth 50%

Module Aims

This module is a close reading of the entirety of Augustine’s Confessions. This module builds the learners ability to read primary philosophical texts while also acquainting the learner with one of the foundational texts in western philosophy and Christian philosophy in particular. It focuses specifically on the metaphysics of creation elaborated in the Confessions in concert with the theme of desire and the ordo amoris. It shows that the ordo amoris is reflective of, and dependent upon, Augustine’s conception of a metaphysics of creation.

This module aims to aid learners by:

-rooting learners in a key figure of the Catholic intellectual heritage

-aid in the development of ethical values

Learning Outcomes

• — -Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the text of The Confessions and its structure.
• — -Read and analyse a primary philosophical text.
• — - Interpret philosophical texts by focusing on relevant selections of the text(s) that support the learners interpretation thereby showing an interpretive synthesis via the use of textual evidence.
• — -Exhibit the ability to conceptually explain Augustine’s understanding of the metaphysics of creation presented in The Confessions.
• — -Exhibit the ability to conceptually explain Augustine’s understanding of the ordo amoris presented in The Confessions.
• — -Demonstrate the ability to philosophically synthesize a metaphysics of creation with the ordo amoris.
• — -Critically assess, and explain, one’s philosophical agreement or disagreement with the aforementioned synthesis.