In search of self: How embodiment and community oppose the Gnostic views of Plato and Augustine

The purpose of this thesis is to show the explicit Gnosticism in Plato and the platonically induced implicit Gnostic tendencies in Augustine that have influenced the western church today. This influence has caused a detrimental bifurcation of body and soul in understanding what constitutes a human "self." This division is largely accomplished through the varied degrees of denial of the goodness of the physical body. Once it is seen clearly that Plato and Augustine are culpable in this regard, it will be shown that a more accurate anthropology must include both the body and the soul as a unified psycho-somatic entity. This realization may open the door for new understandings of "self" as well as offer a better opportunity for the development of community.