| Summary: | Augustine's views on war have deeply influenced subsequent
war thought, and scholars have agreed that his purported
definition of a "just war" ethic was basic to mediaeval and
later just war traditions in the West. Drawing on selected
passages in the Augustinian corpus, historians and
theologians have often argued that Augustine was among the
first to espouse a cogent just war "doctrine," which can be
reconstructed by a simple process of induction. Many have
seen this as part of a more general position that he
consistently advocated over more than 40 years of
philosophical and theological writing.
However, relevant primary source materials do not justify
such conclusions. In fact, a close examination of key texts
shows that Augustine never fully expounded his war thought
in a single systematic statement, but that it emerged in a
variety of settings which helped shape its form and content
over time. There is clear evidence that he changed his views
on war, as he moved from more private, abstract, and
militaristic persuasions to more public, concrete, but
pacific concerns between 388 and 429 AD. Thus a more
flexible, organic interpretation of Augustine's war thought,
which makes greater allowance for contextual considerations,
should replace previous "doctrinal" understandings. === Arts, Faculty of === History, Department of === Graduate
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