Augustine and Psychology

Edited by Sandra Dixon; John Doody and Kim Paffenroth, Villanova University - Contributions by Todd Breyfogle; Anne Hunsaker Hawkins; Morton Kelsey; Paul R. Kolbet; Margaret R. Miles; Daniel B. Morehead; William B. Parsons and Raymond J. Shaw

The essays in Augustine and Psychology, edited by Sandra Lee Dixon, John Doody, and Kim Paffenroth, relate St. Augustine to the modern theory and practice of psychology in several ways. The contributors analyze Augustine’s own examination of himself (and occasionally others) to see to what extent he himself was a “doctor” or practiced “therapy” in ways that we can recognize and appreciate; they find connections between his theories of memory and mind, and modern theories of the same; they consider the influences and context in which he worked, and how those affected him and his ideas of the mind and soul; and, lastly, the contributors subject St. Augustine to the scrutiny of modern psychoanalysis (and critique such scrutiny where appropriate).

Lexington Books

Pages: 254 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-7391-7918-5 • Hardback • December 2012 • $128.00 • (£98.00)

978-0-7391-7919-2 • eBook • December 2012 • $121.50 • (£94.00)

Series: Augustine in Conversation: Tradition and Innovation

Subjects: Political Science / History & Theory

Augustine and Psychology

Hardback

eBook

Summary

The essays in Augustine and Psychology, edited by Sandra Lee Dixon, John Doody, and Kim Paffenroth, relate St. Augustine to the modern theory and practice of psychology in several ways. The contributors analyze Augustine’s own examination of himself (and occasionally others) to see to what extent he himself was a “doctor” or practiced “therapy” in ways that we can recognize and appreciate; they find connections between his theories of memory and mind, and modern theories of the same; they consider the influences and context in which he worked, and how those affected him and his ideas of the mind and soul; and, lastly, the contributors subject St. Augustine to the scrutiny of modern psychoanalysis (and critique such scrutiny where appropriate).

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 254 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-7391-7918-5 • Hardback • December 2012 • $128.00 • (£98.00)

978-0-7391-7919-2 • eBook • December 2012 • $121.50 • (£94.00)

Series: Augustine in Conversation: Tradition and Innovation

Subjects: Political Science / History & Theory

Author

Sandra Lee Dixon is associate professor of psychology of religion at the University of Denver.

John Doody is professor of philosophy and Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Villanova University.

Kim Paffenroth is professor of religious studies at Iona College.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Journey to Simplicity: Augustine and the Plural Experiences of the Soul
Todd Breyfogle
Chapter 2: Teaching Freud and Interpreting Augustine’s Confessions
Sandra Lee Dixon
Chapter 3: Reading Augustine, Monica, Milan with Attention to Cultural Interpretation and Psychological Theory
Sandra Lee Dixon
Chapter 4: St. Augustine: Archetypes of Family
Anne Hunsaker Hawkins
Chapter 5: Between Two Worlds
Morton Kelsey
Chapter 6: Augustine among the Ancient Therapists
Paul R. Kolbet
Chapter 7: Augustine and Freud: The Secularization of Self-Deception
Margaret R. Miles
Chapter 8: Augustine and Dopamine
Daniel B. Morehead
Chapter 9: Tears of Grief and Joy: Chronological Sequence and the Structure of Confessions, Book 9
Kim Paffenroth
Chapter 10: On Seeing the Light: Assessing Psychoanalytic Interpretations of Vision in Augustine’s Confessions
William B. Parsons
Chapter 11: Augustine’s Extraordinary Theory of Memory
Raymond J. Shaw

Reviews

This impressive collection of new and classic essays connects Augustine’s thought with Freudian theory, philosophical psychology, neuroscience, and related inquiries. Augustine and Psychology is a fine addition to a distinguished series.
— William Werpehowski