THE EDUCATIONAL PROPOSAL OF AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO: A CONFLUENCE OF ANTAGONISTIC PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

Augustine of Hippo´s educational proposal brings to the fore the dialogue he establishes with classical culture and which results in the conciliatory dynamics between faith and reason. Within the confluence of antagonistic perceptions, based on his formation and on his personal and professional experiences, he aligned the rationality of classical themes and Christian spirituality. In the process Augustine added values, principles and categories of the so-called pagan disciplines to compose the contents of Christian education whose reference was the Scriptures for its search of the truth. In methodological terms, the analysis of the process wrought by Augustine spans the mental, intellectual and professional world through which he analysed the era he lived in and sought to attend to the needs that presented themselves for the Church and for the Christian within the transformations that a decaying empire was facing. Augustinian sources are supplemented by a bibliography related to the theme as debated throughout the text.