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St Augustine: Philosophy in an Hour

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St Augustine: Philosophy in an Hour

By: Paul Strathern
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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About this listen

Philosophy for busy people. Listen to a succinct account of the philosophy of St Augustine in just one hour.

Augustine’s Confessions details his personal struggles with morality, his spiritual crisis and the conversion to Christianity that ultimately led him to his major contribution to philosophy: the fusion of the doctrines of Christianity and Neoplatonism. This provided Christianity with a strong intellectual backing by tying it to the Greek tradition of philosophy. Augustine also produced important philosophic ideas of his own, including theories of time and subjective knowledge that anticipated by many centuries the work of Kant and Descartes.

Here is a concise, expert account of St Augustine’s life and philosophical ideas – entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from St Augustine’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place St Augustine in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

©2012 Paul Strathern (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Greek & Roman History Philosophy

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Critic reviews

‘Well-written, clear and informed, they have a breezy wit about them . . .I find them hard to stop reading’ NEW YORK TIMES

‘Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise’ WALL STREET JOURNAL

‘Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character . . . I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization’ BOSTON GLOBE

‘A godsend in this era of the short attention span’ NEW YORK TIMES
All stars
Most relevant  
...of profundity and absurdity. Augustine came to the same conclusion as Descartes over 1,000 years before the latter was born and his thoughts on time are fascinating. However, some of his other conclusions are laughable and he was a disturbingly rigid thinker, despite the questioning he did himself before becoming a Christian. This is a fascinating overview of a man I knew very little about and JK's narration fits perfectly.

A surprising mix...

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Keeble executes this perfectly, he really turns what would be a rather drab revision session into an hour of sporadic laughter. Sly wit and all. Loved it.

Hilarious delivery

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It gives enough food for thought in one hour. I like the style of presentation.

I recommend this to all students and instructors of philosophy. At times I could tell that the author was rushing through complex ideas too quickly, but that is understandable as the length of the audiobook is only one hour. I have one comment, the author makes judgemental statements, referring to some subjects of theology that Augustine has worked on as unworthy while praising his works on philosophy. Discussions on theology have their importance too and should not be ill-judged by those who value philosophy.

I give it a 5 star overall. As it is an excellent overall brief introduction to St Augustine.

Excellent

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I had enjoyed one of Paul Stathern 's other audio books, so was looking forward to this. Alas it was a massive disappointment.

It is long on sneering cynicism and 'funny' stories but with next to nothing on the thought of someone he starts off by saying was the greatest philosopher for a thousand years. I also find it difficult to listen to people who judge those of a thousand five hundred years ago by the knowledge we have today, as if they should have known better, when the reality is they were trying to untangle things that were mysterious to them and woven in a web of darkness.

If you want to feel smug and look down on a massive intellect, listen to this. If you want a thoughtful exposition of someone who has influenced thinking right until the present, don't waste your time and money. I suspect more will be reading Augustine in another five hundred years than Paul Stathern, and frankly, at this level, that's something to be thankful for.

Now, could I have my money back?

Disappointingly thin

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Sheer nonsense, propaganda, not even information but indoctrination. Full of spite towards Christianity. Why setting out to write about something you dislike and misunderstand. Have not learned anything new but received a lot of unpleasant feelings.

Pagan story

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Starts off and continues pretty critical of Augustine very rarely does anything but criticise him barely discusses his Augustines own works. Clealry does not like Christianity.

Seems very bias against St Augustine

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