St. Augustine’s Ideas in Max Scheler’s Thought

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34096/petm.v45.n1.14124
Keywords: Love, God searcher, Theomorphism, Holiness, Knowledge

Abstract

This essay deals with the preservation of theses advanced by St. Augustine in Scheler’s phenomenology. Firstly, the main aspects of the Schelerian ordo amoris are examined. This order is revealed in emotional acts and is conceived as the essence of a world order, which is also God´s order. As God’s thoughts are the paradigms of creation, it follows that things are apprehended in lumine Dei insofar as they are envisaged according to their true being. This entails that man is the co-executor of divine action by means of a reenactment (Nachvollzug). Man is a God searcher, and this theomorphism shows that the human finite spirit is independent from all vital and psychical realities. Hence, religious acts are characterized, following St. Augustine, by the formula according to which our heart remains restless until it is founded on God. This drive cannot be satisfied by finite objects. Finally, attention is shed on Scheler´s appropriation of St Augustine’s emphasis on the role of love as the basis for acts of knowledge and will.

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Published
2024-04-18
How to Cite
Walton, R. J. (2024). St. Augustine’s Ideas in Max Scheler’s Thought. Patristica Et Mediævalia, 45(1), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.34096/petm.v45.n1.14124
Issue
Vol 45 No 1 (2024)
Section
Dossier

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