St. Augustine's view of human nature is based primarily on St. Paul in Romans 7, who states, "for I desire to do good, but cannot do it," suggesting that we are weak creatures who need to be saved by God's forgiveness and salvation . His theodicy attempts to resolve the Incoherent Triad (originally conceived by Epicurus) and hypothesizes that following the fall (Post-Lapsarian), implying that our human nature is inherently corrupt - which is a similar view to scholars such as: Swinburne and Nuihbur, and probably pessimistic in that they say we are constantly "dragged down" by sin. However, this view is in stark contrast to Dawkins and Irenaeus, for example. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On the one hand, Augustine's view of human nature is deeply pessimistic because he argued that before the Fall (Genesis 3), there existed a "time of harmony" in which Adam and Eve were completely obedient to God, but when they showed disobedience, the rest of humanity was "creation ex nihilo" - meaning they were made from nothing and can choose whether to act morally or not, which will ultimately constitute our human nature and the kind of people we are. Therefore, in this sense, his vision is deeply pessimistic, because Original Sin-2nd Death (hereditary death as punishment for the rebellion of Adam and Eve), means that there is a chain of disasters, when compared to other visions such as that of Pelagius which argues that it would be unfair for God to condemn us for something out of control, since he is omnibenevolent. This is Augustine explicitly pointing out that there is no room for exceptions (except for Jesus) regarding the fact that we are predestined to be inherently sinful; so this means that no matter how good our human nature is; in the end it is useless if (like Plato) he says that a human being is nothing more than a soul in a body; be dragged down by sin (Neoplatonism)? Perhaps, on the contrary, Augustine's vision of human nature is quite optimistic because in his 'Enchiridion' he states that evil does not actually exist in human nature; it is simply a deprivation of good ('Privatio Boni'). Going beyond this idea, perhaps it is much more comforting for people, knowing that they are not evil in nature, but just need to try harder to increase the amount of good in their nature. Furthermore, according to Augustine, God has already predestined us through "election", and has shown grace to some people on Earth, which suggests a lot of optimism because it suggests that the good done by many is not in vain, and they will receive salvation despite the original sin they inherited. However, unlike, for example, the view of Irenaeus and the biblical scholars, this is deeply pessimistic because Genesis 1 explains that "we are made in the image of God", meaning that our nature must be automatically drawn towards good, if reflects that of God, as does Irenaeus' 'Imago Dei' which means that we have a positive connection with God. Works Cited Augustine of Hippo. (2002). Confessions. Oxford University Press. Augustine of Hippo. (2013). The City of God. Oxford University Press.Swinburne, R. (2008). Providence and the problem of evil. Oxford University Press.Niebuhr, R. (2001). The nature and destiny of man: a Christian interpretation. Westminster John Knox Press.Dawkins, R. (2006). The God Delusion. Houghton Mifflin.Irenaeus of Lyons. (1997). Against heresies. Paulist Press.Pelagius. (2010). Commentary by Pelagius on the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans. Wipf and Stock Publishers.Clark, G. (1992). Augustine: philosopher of freedom. University Press.