The Augustinian Person by Peter Burnell (review)

338 BOOK REVIEWS and tendencies . . can only be conceived in terms of a dialectic or tension between the two" (333). Mutual confrontation and challenge are required, not balance. The tension is understood explicitly "in the Hegelian sense of aufheben" (335-36). This sort of tension or opposition evokes Platonism of one sort or another (and Hegelianism can be so described) with its correlation of being and nonbeing. The Aristotelian character of Thomism suggests that another sort of correlation is possible that does not presuppose methodological tension between the two forms of theology. An Aristotelian approach presumes the intelligibility of the object investigated and seeks to explore that intelligibility. Ifone presumes that a prophetic theology is fundamentally intelligible, Thomism intends to explore that intelligibility in all its integrity. There is no question here of "balancing" or "complementation" but of a complete penetration. The opposition felt between a sapiential and a prophetic theology has less to do with any intrinsic opposition (unless a given prophetic theology is truly irrational) than with the concrete stances taken by individual practitioners. The question is, then, why does Min see here an inescapable tension? Sacred Heart Major Seminary Detroit, Michigan EARL MULLER, S.J. The Augustinian Person. By PETER BURNELL. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2005. Pp. xiii + 218. $24.95 (paper). ISBN 0-8132-1418-1. Augustine's conception of the human person is a difficult topic to comprehend, even for seasoned readers ofhis works. Peter Burnell, however, has managed to do so with extraordinary skill by engaging in a painstaking analysis of the subtle details of Augustine's texts that oftentimes go unnoticed. As he indicates in the preface, his primary concern is to clarify Augustine's thought on the person and human nature by making plain what is implicit in his texts and subsequently correcting the distorted meanings that his critics attribute to them. With this objective in mind, Burnell addresses seven controversial areas of Augustine's thought. Taken together, these areas cover a complex of ideas in Augustine's works that revolve around the notions of person and human nature. These areas include the relationship between body and soul, the mind's structure, the stages of the human condition, the centrality of charity in attaining humanitas, the essence of citizenship in human society, the nature of the divine image in human beings, and three open questions regarding human nature that BOOK REVIEWS 339 remain puzzling. In the end what emerges from this meticulous study of Augustine is a comprehensive vision of his anthropology together with a clear sense of the centrality of the person in his thought. Burnell's primary strategy in undertaking this endeavor is to concentrate on the theme of unity. Because Augustine's critics have frequently dismissed his thought on the grounds of incoherence, Burnell sets out to demonstrate that, far from being unsystematic and undeveloped, Augustine's works display a concern for unity. Consequently, Burnell's approach to Augustine's anthropology reflects the emphasis in Augustine's texts on finding the middle path between opposing extremes, the ideal ofharmony and moderation that pagan and Christian authors shared and that, by Augustine's time, had achieved a long currency in Western thought. As a Christian philosopher and theologian, Augustine was acutely aware of the necessity ofthe Incarnation for overcoming the division between God and humankind. Burnell effectively captures the significance of this event in Augustine's works, while at the same time subjecting his critics' objections to unrelenting logical scrutiny for their failure to observe the unifying effect of the Incarnation in those works. Burnell's opening chapter "Soul and Body" provides a useful illustration of his approach to Augustine's texts at the same time that it sets the tone for the chapters that follow. Burnell begins his exploration of Augustine's position on human nature by focusing on the fact that a human being consists of two parts, a soul and a body. He then raises the question whether or not for Augustine a human being is one substance. Despite its simplicity, this question remains controversial among Augustine's critics, who persist in interpreting his conception of human nature dualistically given the Neoplatonic...