Philosophical work on testimony has flourished in recent years. Testimony roughly involves a source affirming or stating something in an attempt to transfer information to one or more persons. It is often said that the topic of testimony has been neglected throughout most of the history of philosophy, aside from contributions by David Hume (1711–1776) and Thomas Reid (1710–1796).1 True as this may be, Hume and Reid aren’t the only ones who deserve a tip of the hat for recognizing the (...) importance of testimony: St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) affirms the place of testimony in human cognition, at least in his later writings. (shrink)

The task of this article is a two-fold approach to Augustine’s theory of knowledge, often called that of ‘divine illumination’, with particular attention to one of its seminal sources, his Soliloquia. The first approach is historical- and text-critical; we consider the text of the Soliloquia, its meaning and significance, the questions to which Augustine was implicitly responding at the time, and especially how this work broaches themes which are revisited and further developed in Augustine’s later works. In the second part, (...) we take the results of the foregoing analysis and apply to them a systematic-theological and philosophical method. First we contextualize Augustine’s theory of illumination, both in relation to his own works and beyond. We then argue for a distinction between two senses of illumination, namely ‘principal’ and ‘gradual’, which helps to account for the different ways in which illumination is applied by Augustine. Finally, we show how Augustine’s insights can be relevant to contemporary philosophy and theology, and how his ideas are implicated in contemporary debates. The upshot is an historical, philosophical, and theological consideration of Augustine’s theory of divine illumination, which aspires to strike a balance between doing justice to the text from an historical perspective and interpreting and applying it in the present day. (shrink)

“Confucianism” can refer to two topics, namely “Philosophical Confucianism” and “State Confucianism.” Regarding contemporary China and the global world, the one that has a positive content is not the latter but is the former. Philosophical Confucianism takes Mencius’ thesis as its key. It emphasizes knowledge, emotions, and intentions to act as an interrelated mental cluster. It encourages people to focus on family love and its societal expansion. At the same time, through the investigation of such universal topics as humane love, (...) mental tranquility, care, suffering, and empathy, it provides a rich scholarly content and raises positive questions for reflection. Thus, that very old concept of Philosophical Confucianism doubtless has a new destiny, because currently a number of American ethicists and scientists work in closely related topics. Chinese and American scholars not only can develop cooperative work, but also that cooperation will definitely bear abundant fruit. (shrink)