Critical Musings on Dixon's Augustine: The Psyche of Augustine

Abstract

"Any new book on Augustine is a monument to authorial courage. No single author in Western religious literature has received more attention that Augustine. The secondary literature alone is so massive one could spend a life's work mastering it. Hundreds of monographs dealing with patristic themes crowd the shelves of the world's libraries. Nevertheless, despite the challenge, Sandra Dixon has decided to enter the fray with her new book, Augustine: The Scattered and Gathered Self. Dixon's book, however, is unusual; it is decidedly not a patristic monograph, offering instead a reading of Augustine inspired by the self-psychological theories of Heinz Kohut. The encounter between Augustine and modern psychoanalytic theory produces an interesting and stimulating narrative that all who study the sainted bishop should enjoy. [2] What then are we to make of this book? Dixon is clearly to be commended for the sustained effort she has made to weave her psychological analysis seamlessly together with a careful attention to the culture and society of Augustine. She is very much aware of the charges of historical anachronism that have been levied against the authors of previous psychological studies. While the historical material in this volume is not itself original, it is thorough, and in general the transition from the historical and cultural observations to the more theoretical psychological analysis does not seem forced or arbitrary. She has largely, I think, achieved her goal of offering a culturally sensitive psychological reading. There are two areas of her analysis, however, that evoke some questions and deserve some comment. The first is her treatment of the role of Neoplatonism in the intellectual development of Augustine. While all would agree that Neoplatonism was a dominant force in Augustine's life, one must also consider the counter-balancing forces of the fifth-century asceticism and of the Bible itself. Both of these forced significant modifications to the neo-platonic system. These opposing forces are not adequately addressed in the book. Likewise, I was somewhat puzzled by Dixon's understanding of how Augustine wrestled with grace and freedom. She discusses this struggle without any reference to Pelagius and to the theological themes of that controversy. Finally I would like to comment briefly on the value of this kind of psychological reading. Is such a reading "historical," does it blend into our own autobiography, and, if yes, is that a problem?"(pg 1)