A Pedagogy of Love

Despite my continued failure to secure a full-time university position—a reflection of broader challenges in higher education—I have spent considerable time reflecting on the nature and purpose of education, particularly within my Intellectual Foundations course at Carthage College.

In this post, I explore Augustine’s thought and its implications for modern education. His Confessions, particularly the pear tree incident in Book 2, offer rich material for examining the dynamics of individuals, groups, and the concepts of good and evil. These reflections carry profound pedagogical significance, challenging educators to consider the deeper purposes of teaching and learning.

In class discussions, students consistently focus on the role of peer pressure in Augustine’s theft. Despite my attempts to redirect them toward the broader point—to illustrate humanity’s innate capacity for evil and to challenge Platonic notions of misdirected good—students repeatedly emphasize peer influence. Indeed, Augustine’s admission reinforces their view:

“Yet alone, by myself, I would not have done it” (Confessions 2.8.16).

Why does Augustine, while aiming to illustrate the nature of evil, dwell on the seemingly ancillary matter of peer pressure? This question prompts a broader exploration of how Augustine portrays evil in relation to individuals and groups, with significant implications for education.

Bad Company

The pear tree incident encapsulates Augustine’s paradoxical view of evil. Initially, his companions are barely mentioned:

“Late night—to which hour, according to our pestilential custom, we had kept up our street games—a group of very bad youngsters set out to shake down and rob this tree” (Confessions 2.4.9).

Their influence seems minor; Augustine’s subsequent analysis emphasizes his love for evil itself:

“Behold my heart, O Lord…I sought nothing from the shameful deed but shame itself” (Confessions 2.4.9).

The act reveals Augustine’s deliberate embrace of evil, challenging Plato’s idea that evil stems from pursuing lesser goods. Augustine contends that he chose evil knowingly, reflecting humanity’s profound perversion. This episode highlights the paradox of evil: it is both non-existent (a privation of good) and yet powerful. Augustine draws from both Platonic and Manichaean traditions to articulate this paradox, ultimately rejecting their inadequate explanations. For Augustine, evil cannot be reduced to error or external influence; it reveals humanity’s need for Christ and God’s grace.

Augustine’s friends, while not the cause of the theft, play a facilitative role. He acknowledges the role of companionship—

“Therefore, I also loved in it my association with the others” (Confessions 2.8.16).

Yet, he insists this companionship was itself “nothing.” Such friendship mirrors the emptiness of the theft, illustrating the destructive nature of both sinful acts and relationships. Augustine’s description of these friendships as “itching”—not a cause, but a symptom of sin—reinforces the addictive and compounding nature of evil.

Bad Habits

Augustine’s critique of education reflects his view of society as fostering sin. His education, driven by earthly ambitions and pride, prioritized success over wisdom. Even his parents contributed to this trajectory:

“Their only care was that I should learn to make the finest orations and become a persuasive speaker” (Confessions 2.2.4).

Teaching, for Augustine, was often a debasing exercise in vanity and error:

“For the same period of nine years…we were seduced and we seduced others, deceived and deceiving by various desires, both openly by the so-called liberal arts and secretly in the name of a false religion” (Confessions 4.1.1).

However, Augustine acknowledges one positive moment in his teaching: the transformation of Alypius, who renounced his love for the circus after a classroom discussion. Augustine views this incident as a divine intervention:

“You who make use of all men…made coals of fire by which you cauterized a mind of such high promise and healed it” (Confessions 6.7.11).

This episode underscores the limited but significant role of the teacher as a facilitator of learning. In The Teacher, Augustine elaborates that true learning occurs when students confront inner truth:

“Those who are called students consider within themselves whether what was said is true, each consulting that inner truth according to his own ability” (De Magistro 14.45).

Learning, like conversion, is ultimately a solitary act of encountering truth.

For Augustine, education’s potential for good hinges on humility. Teachers must recognize their limited role, focusing on assisting students in discovering the truth themselves. This humility counters the pride and vanity that Augustine criticized in his educational system. Students are not passive recipients or consumers of knowledge but active participants in their own learning.

Furthermore, education must aim at truth, not practical or emotional gains. Augustine’s insights challenge educators to pursue truth for its own sake, making education both a selfless and fulfilling endeavor. By embracing this vision, education transcends its inherent group dynamics and becomes a profound act of personal and communal transformation.

The Pedagogy of Ancient Philosophy

Pierre Hadot’s seminal work Philosophy as a Way of Life urges modern readers to reconsider ancient philosophical texts not as abstract theories but as practical handbooks for self-transformation. Hadot’s redefinition of ancient philosophy highlights its nature as a form of spiritual exercise, aiming at the internalization and lived practice of a specific worldview. This pedagogical framework aligns closely with Augustine’s Confessions. In recounting his transformative reading of Cicero’s Hortensius, for instance, Augustine describes a pivotal moment:

“All my hollow hopes suddenly seemed worthless, and with unbelievable intensity, my heart burned with longing for the immortality that wisdom seemed to promise. I began to rise up, in order to return to you” (Confessions 3.4.7).

Hadot emphasizes the practical aim of ancient philosophy: the attainment of a perfected state of being and knowledge, embodied in the “sage.” Each school offered tools—meditation, self-attentiveness, and self-control—to guide individuals toward this ideal. Philosophy was holistic, involving academic, athletic, and medical dimensions. It combined intellectual pursuit, rigorous training, and therapeutic care, creating a comprehensive discipline for personal growth. The oral nature of ancient texts reinforced their transformative intent. Read aloud, these works were meant to be experienced, not merely analyzed.

True education, according to Hadot, required dialogue—a personal and communal process of discovering truth through dynamic interaction. This method, exemplified by Socratic dialogue, aimed to turn the learner’s attention inward, cultivating self-awareness and moral responsibility.

Learning to Live, Dialogue, Die, and Read

Hadot outlines four key learnings in ancient philosophy:

1. Learning to Live: This involves adopting a lifestyle rooted in philosophical wisdom, demanding discipline, meditation, and self-mastery.
2. Learning to Dialogue: Central to this learning is an inner dialogue, fostering self-examination and openness to truth. Socratic questioning serves as a model, challenging interlocutors to remain on the path of truth.
3. Learning to Die: Ancient philosophy viewed the contemplation of death as essential for transcending fear and achieving a universal perspective. Socrates, in particular, embodied the ideal of preparing for death through philosophical reflection.
4. Learning to Read: Reading was not a passive activity but a formative exercise. Texts were tools for transformation, designed to guide the soul inward and upward toward wisdom.

The Confessions as Spiritual Exercise

Augustine’s Confessions exemplify Hadot’s model of spiritual exercises. Indeed, one can read Augustine’s journey as framed by four transformative learnings:

• Learning to Live: Augustine’s struggle to align his life with divine wisdom reflects the ongoing challenge of living authentically. His narrative invites readers to examine their own lives, pursuing spiritual renewal.
• Learning to Dialogue: The work’s dialogical structure includes conversations with God, self, and the reader. This layered dialogue invites readers into their own transformative conversations.
• Learning to Die: Augustine’s reflections on mortality—from the death of his friend to Monica’s passing—frame life as a preparation for eternal rest. This contemplation deepens his resolve to seek God.
• Learning to Read: Augustine’s evolving engagement with texts—from Cicero to Scripture—demonstrates the transformative power of disciplined and prayerful reading.

Later, in his Retractations, Augustine describes the Confessions as a work meant to inspire its audience, not just to reveal his own story. He explicitly aims to awaken the reader’s intellect and affections, urging them to reflect on their own spiritual journey. The Confessions thus function as a mirror, inviting readers to recognize their dependence on God’s grace and to embark on their own exercises of self-transformation. Augustine’s pedagogical intent is evident in his direct addresses to the reader, encouraging them to shift focus from his narrative to their own lives.

Augustine’s Confessions still offers a profound model of education as spiritual formation. Rooted in ancient traditions of philosophical pedagogy, the work transforms the reader through exercises in living, dialoguing, dying, and reading. These learnings converge in a Christocentric vision, where education becomes an act of love and surrender to divine wisdom. For Augustine, true learning is inseparable from the pursuit of God, culminating in a transformative journey of self-discovery and spiritual renewal.

Study as Love

For Augustine, study was not merely an intellectual pursuit but a profound expression of love—a yearning to understand what one does not yet fully grasp. This love of learning mirrored the human longing for God, who is the ultimate Truth. In On the Trinity, Augustine writes:

“Unless you believe, you shall not understand”

This dictum encapsulates his belief that intellectual inquiry begins with trust—in both divine revelation and human teachers. Learning thus becomes an act of faith, rooted in the desire to align oneself with eternal wisdom.

Moreover, study requires three essential virtues: purity, humility, and charity. Purity involves a disciplined focus on truth, free from the distractions of sensory pleasures or worldly ambitions. It is a form of asceticism that sharpens the intellect and prepares the soul for deeper understanding. Humility, on the other hand, is the recognition of one’s dependence on both God and others. Augustine’s own journey exemplified this: he initially resisted the simplicity of Scripture but later submitted to its authority as a gateway to divine wisdom. Charity, or rightly ordered love, is the crowning virtue that prioritizes love for God above all else. In education, charity manifests as a teacher’s love for truth and their students, guiding them patiently toward enlightenment.

Augustine saw these virtues not as abstract ideals but as the foundation of a pedagogy that transforms both the teacher and the student. Teaching, in his view, was a collaborative journey toward truth, where both parties grow in wisdom and virtue. By framing study as an act of love, Augustine elevated education beyond mere skill acquisition to a lifelong pursuit of spiritual and intellectual fulfillment.

For Augustine, study is an act of love—a desire to know what one does not yet understand. In his treatise On the Trinity, he likens study to interpreting obscure texts, where the movement from confusion to clarity embodies the love of truth. Augustine’s approach to interpretation exemplifies this: he delights in wrestling with challenging texts, as the process itself strengthens the mind’s love for truth.

Teaching, too, is an act of love but differs in its object. While study expresses love for truth, teaching reflects love for others. Augustine situates both within his broader ethical framework, emphasizing the same three virtues essential for pedagogy: purity, humility, and charity. These virtues concern the right ordering of love—toward external things, oneself, and God, respectively.

Challenges for Professors in Augustine’s Pedagogical Model

Augustine challenges professors to view themselves as facilitators, not ultimate sources of knowledge. They must guide students toward intellectual discipline and contemplation without succumbing to the vanity of self-importance. This approach contrasts with “bad professors” who prioritize entertaining or dazzling their students over fostering true intellectual growth.

For Augustine, the pedagogical relationship must be rooted in honesty. Professors should openly acknowledge their limitations and encourage students to do the same. This mutual respect builds trust, creating a learning environment where students feel safe to explore, question, and grow.

Unlike traditional views that prioritize disciplinary content, Augustine emphasizes the student’s intellect as the true subject of education. Professors use content as a means to develop students’ intellectual capabilities, guiding them toward independent contemplation of truth.

The Problem of Motive

These reflections on study and teaching as an act of love paves the way for a broader discussion on the motives and challenges of liberal education. Liberal education aims at the liberation of the whole person, distinguishing itself from vocational training or practical skill acquisition. It addresses fundamental questions of human existence: Who am I? What is freedom? What is the meaning of life? Yet, its purpose often faces skepticism. Why should anyone withdraw from productive labor to engage in disinterested inquiry? The challenge lies in articulating a compelling motive for liberal education—one that transcends mere utility.

Justifying Liberal Education Implies Cultural Criticism

Aristotle provided a countercultural justification for liberal education in the classical world. His Nicomachean Ethics critiques the common association of happiness with political power, emphasizing intellectual contemplation as the highest good. Similarly, Augustine viewed liberal education as a path to wisdom, yet cautioned against its potential to inflate the ego. He called for a purification of the liberal arts, subordinating them to the pursuit of divine truth.

By mediating disputes between proponents of political activism and those advocating withdrawal, Aristotle highlights the value of thoughtful inquiry. He contends that happiness consists in practical life, and thought itself is a form of activity. This differentiation allows him to argue that philosophical contemplation provides a deeper satisfaction than political ambition.

Sources of Resistance

Modern liberal regimes, shaped by early thinkers like Hobbes and Locke, prioritize autonomy and security, often at the expense of intellectual inquiry. Higher education increasingly serves as a pathway to career success, reducing learning to a consumer-driven enterprise. Tocqueville warned of the “tutelary power” of modern states, which, in their quest to manage lives, undermine intellectual freedom and moral independence.

As liberal societies prioritize individual choice and material success, higher education becomes a utilitarian training ground for careers. Colleges transform into consumer-driven institutions, focused on enrollment and marketability. This undermines their mission to cultivate independent thinkers and instead enslaves students to cultural conformity. Liberalism’s emphasis on autonomy paradoxically results in dependence on impersonal forces.

How Liberalism Undermines Liberal Education

Furthermore, liberalism’s skepticism about the intelligibility of the cosmos fosters complacency, eroding the conditions for inquiry. By prioritizing autonomy and material gain, it stifles the pursuit of wisdom. Augustine’s model offers a corrective, emphasizing faith in the world’s intelligibility and the transformative power of love in education.

The Judeo-Christian tradition provides a profound motivation for liberal education. The opening of John’s Gospel reveals a cosmos created through the Word, suggesting that all creation is imbued with intelligibility. Human inquiry participates in this divine intelligibility, transforming even seemingly mundane pursuits into acts of worship. Christian liberal education presupposes a theology, cosmology, and anthropology that affirm the world’s order and human dignity. Human inquiry, seen as participation in divine wisdom, elevates even mundane tasks into acts of worship. Augustine’s Christocentric vision integrates intellectual and spiritual growth, fostering a sense of interdependence and communal responsibility.

Werner Jaeger’s Early Christianity and Greek Paideia (1961) offers valuable insights into the broader interplay between Christian thought and classical education. Jaeger explores how early Christian thinkers, including but not limited to Augustine, engaged with the intellectual traditions of Greek paideia. He demonstrates that Christian education did not reject classical learning but rather sought to adapt and transform it. This synthesis of Hellenistic and Christian ideals aimed at cultivating a holistic vision of the human person, one oriented toward both intellectual and spiritual excellence.

Jaeger’s work emphasizes the continuity between Greek philosophical inquiry and Christian pedagogy, highlighting how figures like Augustine inherited and reshaped classical ideas to serve theological purposes. This historical perspective enriches our understanding of Augustine’s approach, situating his educational philosophy within a larger tradition of integrating reason and faith.

Liberal education seeks to liberate the human person through reflective inquiry and the pursuit of wisdom. Yet modern liberalism’s emphasis on autonomy and productivity undermines its very foundations. Christianity, by contrast, offers a compelling framework for sustaining liberal education, emphasizing the intelligibility of creation and the transformative power of divine grace. By cultivating wonder, humility, and love, Christian liberal education fulfills its mission of forming whole persons capable of thoughtful and meaningful lives.

The Challenge of Modern Education

Modern education must grapple with the tension between Augustine’s Platonic epistemology and contemporary pedagogical practices. While Augustine’s vision emphasizes the intrinsic connection between love of truth and human flourishing, its implementation today requires adaptation. The challenge lies in fostering environments where students can experience the transformative power of study while navigating the complexities of modern academic and cultural contexts.

Augustine’s vision of education, grounded in love and humility, challenges modern pedagogy to prioritize wisdom over utility. His approach integrates reflective inquiry with spiritual transformation, offering a timeless model for meaningful and transformative learning. By embracing this model, education can become a profound act of personal and communal renewal, centered on the pursuit of truth and the cultivation of the whole person.