EnglandReligious StudiesSyllabus dot point

Is Augustine right that human nature is corrupted by original sin and the divided will, dependent on God's grace, or is his account too pessimistic?

Component 03 Augustine on human nature: the state before and after the Fall, original sin and concupiscence, the divided will, the summum bonum, and the necessity of God's grace, with strengths and weaknesses.

An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 03 guide to Augustine on human nature. Covers human nature before and after the Fall, original sin and concupiscence, the divided will, the summum bonum, and the necessity of God's grace, with the strengths, weaknesses and AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.816 min answerUpdated 2026-06-02

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page

Quick answer

Augustine teaches that human nature was created good, for friendship and harmony with God and one another (the state of original perfection before the Fall). Through the Fall, the free but disobedient choice of Adam and Eve, original sin entered the human race and is transmitted to every person, on Augustine's view through the act of procreation and disordered desire. Concupiscence is this disordered desire, the tendency of the will to seek lesser goods (especially sexual and selfish desire) over God; it is the lasting wound of the Fall. The result is a divided will: the human will is now split, willing the good yet failing to do it (Augustine's own struggle in the Confessions), so we cannot save ourselves. The summum bonum, the highest good, is God, in whom alone the restless heart finds rest. Because the post-Fall will is so weakened, humans depend wholly on God's freely given grace to heal the will and reach salvation. Strengths: it explains the felt gap between what we will and what we do. Weaknesses: it is pessimistic and arguably unjust (inherited guilt), Pelagius rejected it, and modern biology questions a literal Fall. AO2 marks come from judging whether the account is a realistic diagnosis or too bleak, and concluding.

Jump to a section

What this dot point is asking
The answer
Examples in context
Try this

What this dot point is asking

OCR Component 03 (Developments in Christian Thought) opens with Augustine's teaching on human nature. Augustine offers an influential, and controversial, diagnosis of the human condition: we are made for friendship with God but are now corrupted by original sin, with a divided will that cannot consistently choose the good, so we depend on God's grace. You study the state before and after the Fall, original sin and concupiscence, the divided will, the summum bonum and grace. The exam rewards explaining the teaching precisely and then evaluating whether it is realistic or too pessimistic.

The answer

Before and after the Fall

Original sin and concupiscence

The divided will

The summum bonum and grace

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths: it gives a powerful, realistic account of the experience of moral struggle and the gap between intention and action; it takes evil and human weakness seriously; it preserves God's initiative in salvation.
Weaknesses: it is deeply pessimistic about human nature; the inherited guilt of original sin seems unjust; Pelagius argued it undermines moral effort and responsibility; and modern biology and psychology question a literal Fall and the biological transmission of sin.

Examples in context

Building an AO2 paragraph on whether Augustine is too pessimistic

step 1 State the claim precisely

State, do not narrate: "Augustine holds that the fallen will is so corrupted by concupiscence that humans cannot choose the good reliably or save themselves without grace."

step 2 Put the strongest objection against it

Bring in the challenge: "Pelagius and later humanists reply that this is too pessimistic and undermines responsibility: people plainly do perform genuine acts of goodness and self-sacrifice without religious grace, so the will cannot be as helpless as Augustine claims."

step 3 Weigh the exchange

Judge it: "Augustine captures something real in the experience of failing to do the good we intend, which pure optimism ignores; yet the existence of evident moral goodness outside Christianity suggests his diagnosis overstates the corruption, even if it rightly denies human perfection."

step 4 Reach a justified conclusion

Close with a defended verdict: "Augustine is right that human nature is flawed and that willpower often fails, but his claim that we can do nothing good without grace is too strong, so his diagnosis is insightful about struggle while too bleak about capacity." A reasoned conclusion lifts the answer to the top level.

Try this

Q1. "Augustine's teaching on human nature is too pessimistic to be helpful." Discuss. [40 marks]

What the marker wants. An AO2 essay weighing the realism of original sin, concupiscence and the divided will against the charge of pessimism and the evidence of human goodness, judging how helpful the teaching is. AO1 out of 25, AO2 out of 15.

Q2. Assess whether the concept of original sin is just. [40 marks]

Cue. Augustine holds all inherit the guilt and corruption of the first sin. Weigh whether it is fair to be born guilty for another's act, against the reply that original sin is a shared condition rather than personal blame, and judge.

Exam-style practice questions

Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.

OCR H573/03 2018 (style)20 marksAssess Augustine's view that human nature is corrupted by original sin. (The full OCR tariff for this essay is 40 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.)

Show worked answer →

A 40-mark Component 03 essay on the six-level scheme (AO1 out of 25, AO2 out of 15). Explaining the teaching earns AO1; the higher levels reward judging it.

Explain (AO1). Augustine holds that before the Fall humans enjoyed harmony and friendship with God; the Fall, through disobedience, introduced original sin, transmitted to all through concupiscence (disordered desire). The will is now divided, unable to choose the good consistently, so humans depend wholly on God's grace for salvation.

Evaluate (AO2). Strengths: it explains the human experience of moral struggle and the gap between what we will and what we do. Weaknesses: it is pessimistic and arguably unjust (inherited guilt); Pelagius rejected it; modern biology and psychology question a literal Fall and the transmission of sin.

Judge. A top answer decides whether Augustine's account is a realistic diagnosis or too bleak, and defends the verdict.

OCR H573/03 2021 (style)20 marksCritically assess the claim that human beings can do nothing good without God's grace. (The full OCR tariff for this essay is 40 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.)

Show worked answer →

A levels-of-response essay testing AO1 understanding of grace and AO2 evaluation of it.

Explain. For Augustine the post-Fall will is so weakened by sin that humans cannot achieve the good or be saved by their own effort; only God's freely given grace can heal the will and direct it to the summum bonum, the highest good, which is God.

Evaluate. Strengths: it preserves God's initiative and explains why willpower alone seems to fail against habit and desire. Weaknesses: Pelagius argued it undermines moral effort and responsibility, and a God who gives grace selectively can seem arbitrary; humanists see real human goodness without grace.

Judge. A high-level answer weighs whether total dependence on grace fits human moral experience, and reaches a justified conclusion.

Related dot points

Sources & how we know this

OCR A Level Religious Studies (H573) specification — OCR (2016)
Augustine, Confessions, translated by E. B. Pusey — Project Gutenberg (1838)