The Conversion and Therapy of Desire: Augustineâs Theology of Desire in the Cassiciacum Dialogues

The first fruits of the literary career of St Augustine, the great theologian and Christian philosopher par excellence, are the dialogues he wrote at Cassiciacum in Italy following his famous conversion in Milan in AD 386. These four little books, largely neglected by scholars, take up the ancient philosophical project of identifying the principles and practices that heal human desires in order to attain happiness, renewing this philosophical endeavour with insights from Christian theology. Augustine’s later books, such as the Confessions, would continue this project of healing desire, as would the writings of others including Boethius, Anselm, and Aquinas. Mark J. Boone’s The Conversion and Therapy of Desire investigates the roots of this project at Cassiciacum, where Augustine is developing a Christian theology of desire, informed by Neoplatonism but transformed by Christian teaching and practices.Table of ContentsForeword by Michael P. FoleyAcknowledgmentsAbbreviations1 Augustine at Cassiciacum2 Desiring Wisdom3 Desiring and Having God4 The Desire to Know Order and to Be Ordered5 Desiring God and the Soul6 The Love of God and Human BeingsBibliography