11AMOUR DE SOISchool in order to deal with problems
(from the perspective of Greek philoso-
phy) such as anthropomorphic descrip-
tions of God. Philo of Alexandria
promoted an extensive allegorization of
the Hebrew Bible. One of the obstacles
Augustine faced when he was deciding
whether to convert to Christianity was
the literal reading of the Old Testament.
The realization that many (though not
all) biblical narratives may be read as alle-
gories brought him closer to the faith that
he finally accepted. Later, in response to
ecclesiastical abuses, Protestant reformers
such as Luther, Melanchthon, and Calvin
rejected allegorical readings of scripture
as subjective and unreliable.
ALTRUISM. From the Latin alter, mean-
ing “the other.” An altruistic act is one that
is done for the sake of the other or for the
good of the other. Some philosophers
have argued that all motives are, at base,
self-interested, even acts of altruism. Do
people aid others only when it gives them
personal satisfaction? One reply is that
a person would not receive satisfaction
from acting altruistically unless she
believed that seeking the good of others
was good in itself and not merely good
because it made her feel satisfied or
happy.
AMBROSE, St. (c. 340–97 CE). A skilled
Roman administrator and statesman,
Ambrose became Bishop of Milan in 374
and remained in the position until his
death. He is considered to be one of the
four original “doctors of the church” along
with Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory
the Great. Ambrose was an accomplished
orator and his sermons profoundly influ-
enced the young Augustine, whom he
baptized in 387.AMOR FATI. Latin, “love of fate.” The
willing love or acceptance of one’s fate
in life. The expression was used fre-
quently by Friedrich Nietzsche to favor-
ably describe the attitude of one who sees
all events as part of one’s destiny and
affirms them all, including any suffering,
as facts integral to one’s identity rather
than as objects of deep regret or remorse.
Amor Fati is related to Nietzsche’s myth
of the eternal return: one must live one’s
life as if one would willingly live that
exact same life again. Christian accounts
of redemption sometime incorporate
an affirmation of the past—even with its
sin—insofar as such a past provided the
occasion for redemption and great good.
But Christian teaching about sin and
repentance also promotes the idea that
past sins are to be the object of regret and
remorse, not affirmation.AMOUR DE SOI. French, meaning
“self-love.” One of two forms of self-love
Jean-Jacques Rousseau describes in Emile
(On Education), which he characterizes as
a natural, healthy form of self-love that is