Proofing is Believing: Augustine’s Gaze on the Relationship between Exegesis and ‘Science’
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Abstract
In dialogue with the recent monograph by Marcello Pera, entitled "Lo sguardo della caduta. Agostino e la superbia del secolarismo" (2022), this note aims to analyze the Augustinian conception of the relationship between biblical exegesis and natural sciences which can be drawn from the pages of "De Genesi ad litteram". What emerges from the analysis is that Augustine's reflection differs significantly from what, in modernity, will be the position theorised by Galileo. At the same time, it attempts to demonstrate that and why it is incorrect to state that Augustine theorized a priority or superiority of biblical revelation over scientific research regarding knowledge of the natural world.
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