By examining some passages taken mainly from the second book of the "De diversis quaestionibus ad Simplicianum" and from the "De divinatione daemonum", the aim of this work is to explain Augustine's theory regarding the possible forms of non-divine foreknowledge, demonstrating, at the same time, how this theory, at least as regards its fundamental aspects, is deeply indebted to the semiotics formulated by the Hipponate in the "De doctrina christiana". More specifically, in the course of this research work we will focus, first of all, on Augustine's resolute rejection of any anthropomorphic, and therefore temporal, conception of divine foreknowledge, to pass then to take into account, always from Augustine's point of view, the two most important forms of non-divine foreknowledge, namely prophecy and divination, in order to outline both their common aspects and their main mutual differences. Finally, after some quick considerations about the nature of Augustinian semiotics generically understood, we will focus on the famous semiotics of the "De doctrina christiana", in order to demonstrate how some of its basic elements, in particular the very notion of “signum” and the distinction between “signa data” and “signa naturalia”, turn out to be, at the same time, the fundamental structure on which the entire Augustinian conception of human and demonic foreknowledge is based.
Prendendo in esame alcuni passi tratti principalmente dal secondo libro del “De diversis quaestionibus ad Simplicianum” e dal “De divinatione daemonum”, lo scopo del presente contributo è quello di esporre la teoria di Agostino in merito alle possibili forme della prescienza non divina, dimostrando, al contempo, come questa teoria, almeno per quanto riguarda i suoi aspetti fondamentali, sia profondamente debitrice nei confronti della semiotica formulata dall'Ipponate nel "De doctrina christiana". Più nello specifico, nel corso del presente lavoro di ricerca ci si soffermerà, innanzitutto, sul deciso rifiuto, da parte di Agostino, di qualsiasi concezione antropomorfica, e quindi temporale, della prescienza divina, per passare poi a prendere in considerazione, sempre dal punto di vista di Agostino, le due più importanti forme della prescienza non divina, ossia la profezia e la divinazione, al fine di delinearne tanto gli aspetti comuni quanto le principali differenze reciproche. Infine, dopo alcune rapide considerazioni circa la natura della semiotica agostiniana genericamente intesa, ci si soffermerà sulla celebre semiotica del "De doctrina christiana", al fine di dimostrare come alcuni suoi elementi basilari, nello specifico la nozione stessa di “signum” e la distinzione tra “signa data” e “signa naturalia”, risultino essere, allo stesso tempo, la struttura fondamentale su cui poggia l’intera concezione agostiniana della prescienza umana e demoniaca.
"Scientia futurorum". Profezia, divinazione e semiotica nel pensiero di Agostino d'Ippona
FACCIN, TOMMASO
2023/2024
Abstract
By examining some passages taken mainly from the second book of the "De diversis quaestionibus ad Simplicianum" and from the "De divinatione daemonum", the aim of this work is to explain Augustine's theory regarding the possible forms of non-divine foreknowledge, demonstrating, at the same time, how this theory, at least as regards its fundamental aspects, is deeply indebted to the semiotics formulated by the Hipponate in the "De doctrina christiana". More specifically, in the course of this research work we will focus, first of all, on Augustine's resolute rejection of any anthropomorphic, and therefore temporal, conception of divine foreknowledge, to pass then to take into account, always from Augustine's point of view, the two most important forms of non-divine foreknowledge, namely prophecy and divination, in order to outline both their common aspects and their main mutual differences. Finally, after some quick considerations about the nature of Augustinian semiotics generically understood, we will focus on the famous semiotics of the "De doctrina christiana", in order to demonstrate how some of its basic elements, in particular the very notion of “signum” and the distinction between “signa data” and “signa naturalia”, turn out to be, at the same time, the fundamental structure on which the entire Augustinian conception of human and demonic foreknowledge is based.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/63553