On Creation, Science, Disenchantment and the Contours of Being and Knowing

Review “Very few books on Augustine truthfully and precisely combine expertise in Augustine's extensive writings, Augustinian scholarship, and modern philosophy. Knotts has impressively accomplished this task in this important book. He provides a subtle and engaging application of Augustine's insights to contemporary hermeneutics and epistemology.” ―Thomas Clemmons, Assistant Professor of Church History, Catholic University of America, USA Product Description For Augustine the world is replete with meaning; it represents not merely a collection of facts to be catalogued but a repository of truths to be discovered and discerned, a view which contrasts with the one we have inherited as a result of the thought of figures such as Descartes, Newton, and Kant. What difference would it make to see the world as created?Matthew W. Knotts explores this question in close conversation with Augustine, according to whom our nature as God's creatures determines fundamental aspects of our identity and our knowledge. In a postmodern context informed by a renewed appreciation of the limitations of human nature and reason, Augustine once again emerges as an insightful and compelling source for further reflection. About the Author Matthew W. Knotts received his PhD from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 2017 as a fellow of the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO). His first monograph appeared in 2020 from Bloomsbury in the Reading Augustine series. He has presented his research at conferences and meetings across the US, Europe, and Australia and has performed research stays at the University of Chicago and the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry of the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne. His scholarship has appeared in Philosophy & Theology, Studia Patristica, and the Augustinus-Lexikon, among others. He resides in Chicago, Illinois, USA.Miles Hollingworth is the author of Saint Augustine of Hippo, an intellectual biography of Saint Augustine. He is a past winner of the Jerwood Award, the Elizabeth Longford Scholarship and has been shortlisted for the Gladstone History Prize.