Humility: an Augustinian perspective.

In a letter te a young student named Dioscorus, Augustine writes, I£ you were to ask me, however often you might repeat the gestion, what are the instructions of the Christian religion, 1 would he disposed to answer always and only, \u27Humility/ although, perchance, necessity might constrain me to speak also of other things (Ep. 118.3.22).1 In this essay, 1 show why, for Augustine, humility is the definitive virtue of Christian life. 1 also show that Augustine\u27s account of humility differs significantly from what contemporary philosophers remember Chris- tian humility te be. The essay unfolds in four parts. First, 1 isolate what 1 call foe standard account of Christian humility among contemporary philosophers. Sec- ond, 1 argue that the standard account of Christian humility does not cap- ture Augustine\u27s understanding of humility. Third, I develop what 1 take to be Augustine\u27s account of humility, namely a disposition of foe will to embrace radical dependence, particularly with respect to one\u27s identity or self-understanding. Fourth, I show why Augustine\u27s account of humility is inseparable from specifically Christian commitments