In his work The Meaning of Rationes Seminales in Saint Augustine, Michael McKeough argues that a close reading of Augustine’s De Genesi ad Litteram establishes that he was a proponent of evolutionary theory.  The critical conceptual structure used by McKeough to link Augustine with evolution is his concept of rationes seminales, the power (vis) within the elements of earth and water that allow them to develop into living things.  More precisely, McKeough argues that it is the autonomy of these principles that solidifies the connection between Augustine and evolution.  Some 20 years after the publication of his text McKeough’s reading was immortalized by Etienne Gilson who referenced him as an authority on the topic in his famous work The Christian Philosophy of Saint Augustine.

But in the premier reference text on Augustinian studies in the English speaking world, Augustine Through the Ages, Rowan Williams challenges this received wisdom.  Williams argues that, according to Augustine, the creation of any given species by God cannot be explained by natural forces alone, and must presuppose some form of special intervention by the Creator.  Although compelling, Williams argument does not withstand a critical examination of the relevant texts: more specifically, in this presentation I will argue that new research software allows much easier access to remote passages concerning the rationes seminales, and review of these passages establishes that Augustine believed these principles to have the autonomous power to develop into living beings