{"id":1492,"date":"2011-10-21T11:44:09","date_gmt":"2011-10-21T15:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/?p=1492"},"modified":"2011-10-21T11:44:09","modified_gmt":"2011-10-21T15:44:09","slug":"1021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/2011\/10\/21\/1021\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;In the Shadows: A Provocative Reading of Original Sin in Augustine\u2019s Confessions&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Presentation by <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/students\/tharfield\/\" target=\"_blank\">Timothy D. Harfield<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Location: <\/strong>Bowden Hall, Room 216<br \/>\n<strong>Date: <\/strong>October 21, 2011<br \/>\n<strong>Time: <\/strong>4.15pm &#8211; 5.30pm<\/p>\n<h3>Abstract<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/files\/2011\/10\/augustinesin_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/files\/2011\/10\/augustinesin_thumb.jpg 250w, https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/files\/2011\/10\/augustinesin_thumb-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/>Exploiting an interpretive opening made possible by a relative silence on the subject of original sin in Augustine\u2019s <em>Confessions<\/em>, this paper will argue that Augustine narrates his spiritual development beginning with an originary act of the will.  Motivated by a discontentment with the plentiful sufficiency of God\u2019s providence, infants express themselves in significatory gestures meant to communicate their idiosyncratic desires, but, more importantly, to procure external gratification through the manipulation of others.  The result is a condition that presents itself as antimoniously.  On the one hand, the significatory acts of infancy are a necessary condition for the contraction of selfhood, and for social participation more generally.  On the other hand, the fact that these same acts are inextricably bound to corporeal desire results in a separation from the communion with God that they enjoy at birth.  To the extent that the first act of signification also marks a moment of divine rejection, it represents an original sin, a stain that condemns the infant to a life of vacillation between two wills\u2014spiritual and corporeal\u2014and, failing to humbly accept the gift of God\u2019s grace, spiritual death.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Presentation by Timothy D. Harfield<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-friday-philosophy-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/gpse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}