Braniff Graduate School

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Browsing Braniff Graduate School by Author "Dr. Daniel Burns"

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    Augustine's De Beata Vita: On Christianity and Philosophy
    (2021-07-01T00:00:00-07:00) Heil, Kimberly; Dr. Matthew Walz; Dr. Daniel Burns; Fr. John Bayer, S.T.D., O.Cist.
    In Augustineâ s De beata vita: On Christianity and Philosophy, I articulate how Augustine understood the relationship between Christianity and philosophy at the time of his conversion, in light of the dialogue De beata vita. In the dialogue, Augustine and his interlocutors take up a philosophical genre, a philosophical mode of inquiry, and a philosophical question: this is a work on the happy life, in dialogue form, in which the interlocutors are asking what it takes for a person to be happy. Augustine is writing as one in a tradition of philosophers seeking to understand and pursue happiness, and makes ready reference to the arguments and conclusions those philosophers have made. The completion of the human inquiry in the dialogue is theological in nature: while happiness is seen by philosophers to be the possession or having of God, the fulfillment of this comes from Christianity in the form of the indwelling of the Holy Trinityâ a revealed truth. While philosophy is, in some modes, theological, revealed theology outstrips the capacities of philosophy. The two are consonant, however. To see this consonance, I engage in a close reading of the dialogue. Then, I look at the various authors whose influence on this particular dialogue are clear. The most notable of those are Ambrose, Cicero, and Plotinus. Finally, I make my argument that Augustine sees Christianity and philosophy as consonant: that is, Christianity encompasses true philosophy, and a Christian engaged in the activity of philosophizing is a philosopher par excellence. However, Christianity is not only philosophy, nor is philosophy a requirement for being a Christian, and Augustineâ s mother Monica demonstrates that. She plays an important role both as her particular status as a fully initiated Christian, and as a representative of the Church. Without formal philosophical training, she has attained to the summit of philosophy, and under her maternal care she shares her wisdom with all persons who are chastely seeking it.
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    The Causes of Tyranny as a Guide to Political Reform: St. Thomas More's History of King Richard III of England
    (2017-04-01T00:00:00-07:00) Mock, Carle; Dr. Gerard Wegemer; Dr. Richard Dougherty; Dr. Daniel Burns
    Part One of this dissertation establishes a basis for interpreting Moreâ s History of King Richard III. Chapter One inquires into its genre, concluding it is a â rhetorical historyâ like the histories composed by Thucydides, Livy, Sallust, and Tacitus, a genre similar to drama which aims to reveal fundamental moral and political truths by following classical rhetorical principles. Chapter Two investigates the relationship between the nine textually significant extant versions of this work, and concludes that they derive from a series of revised drafts. The English versions are shown to be preliminary drafts, with the Paris manuscript being the Latin version based on the latest draft. Chapter Three analyzes the changes between drafts and finds that More carefully revised his work and paid particular attention to concepts important in political philosophy. The four chapters of Part Two interpret the work's political teaching. Chapter Four introduces the major themeâ the causes of tyranny in the England depictedâ by contrasting tyranny with a good political order, â republic.â This chapter defines tyranny, distinguishes the tyrant Richard from the merely bad king Edward, notes the relationship between tyranny and faction, and describes the attributes of a republic and its members, â citizens.â It also discusses aligning public and private interests and avoiding conflicts of interest as principles of political reform. Chapter Five inquires into institutional causes of tyranny, discussing sanctuary and the dangers of imprudent rational critique, the strengths and weaknesses of England's criminal, civil, and constitutional law, and the weaknesses of hereditary kingship. Chapter Six inquires into moral causes, concentrating on individual failures of the virtue fides, including persons who are too trusting and those who are not trustworthy, discusses when it is appropriate to trust, and notes the importance of trustworthiness in political teaching. Chapter Seven inquires into nonhuman causesâ Divine Providence, fate, and fortuneâ and concludes that despite the limits these place on human power, a significant arena for choice and action remains. Humans have free will, and should choose to work for the real, but limited possibility of political reform. The Appendix includes a new literal translation of Richard III from Latin.