The Nature of The Human Soul in The Philosophy of St. Augustine

Abstract

St. Augustine used the method of psychology to discuss the existence of the soul. He has presented several definitions in his writings to explain what the soul is. One of his most important definitions is: «The human soul is some kind of gifted essence in the mind, ruling over the body”. In this study, based on this definition and using its analysis, we want to explain what the soul is from Augustine›s point of view. In Augustine›s view, to reach a holistic and comprehensive knowledge of anything we must answer these three questions. 1. Does that exist? 2. What is the nature of that? 3. What are its characteristics? Therefore, here we will try to answer these three questions to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the existence and essence of the soul. Both comparative and analytical methods have been used in this study. The most important conclusion of this paper is that proving the existence of the soul is not difficult according to Augustine The soul always has a higher rank and rules the body.