Abstract

This study investigates the Augustinian nature of H. Richard Niebuhr's ethics of responsibility by comparing the theme of self-integration in both Niebuhr's and Augustine's moral philosophies. ;Chapter I introduces the study by tracing Augustinian themes in Niebuhr's thought. In chapter II, Augustine's anthropology is investigated, focusing upon humanity as image dei. From this investigation, we arrive at a triad of Augustinian anthropology: existence; self-knowledge; and Summum Bonum. This triad will provide the basis for comparison with the three movements in Niebuhr's process of self-integration: natural faith; faith in God; and God as absolute center of value. ;Chapters III through V describe the process of self-integration in Niebuhr's thought, moving from Niebuhr's understanding of natural faith as distrust of the world and the power that has thrust us into existence to faith in God achieved through self-knowledge and finally to recognition of God as absolute center of value. In each of these chapters, the relationship between each stage in Niebuhr's process of self-integration and Augustine's triad of existence, self-knowledge, and Summum Bonum is demonstrated. ;Chapter VI suggests how Niebuhr's self-integration might be adapted to a theory of moral development by drawing upon the theories of Lawrence Kohlberg and James Fowler. The study ends by concluding that the evolution in knowledge entailed in self-integration, for both Niebuhr and Augustine, is nothing less than a recovery of animal faith