Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

Philosophy - Essay Example †¦ And third, there must be an agent whose activity enables the cognitive power and its object to make contact† (MacDonald, 1998). In sensory vision, this agent is most often called light, which illuminates the objects around us and make it possible for us to see them. For cognition, it is proposed that there is an intellectual light, which makes it possible for us to understand the objects that are being placed in front of us. Augustine developed this idea of Plato’s into a Christian conception by describing the source of intellectual light as Truth or God, presenting it as evidence of God’s work within our minds. This interpretation of intellectual light as Divine Illumination had significant impact on Augustine’s theories regarding the soul, including what the soul was capable of doing and how it related to the body, as well as his development of a ‘psychological model’ of the Trinity. Augustine’s teachings indicate that it is only through Divine Light that we are able to come to the universal truths of our existence. Although we are capable of communicating and sharing ideas, it is only through the activities of God within our souls that we are able to receive the true light of understanding and knowledge. â€Å"My words give the listener an idea that he can then verify for himself in light of God’s illumination. Illumination is what allows us to go from mere true belief to knowledge. Illumination provides justification† (Pasnau, 2002). As proof that God exists, Augustine used the example of a tree. â€Å"He said that we see a tree because it is there to be seen. †¦ Eternal truths are also there, they are part of an intelligible world of truth. We grasp them intuitively. †¦ He said that if the human imagination and its products reflect the changeable human mind, eternal truths reflect the existence of an eternal being† (†Å"Augustine†, n.d.). Based on Augustine’s principles, the soul is essentially that part of our