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History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages

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I HISTORY OF Christian Philosophy in the MiddleAges BY ETIENNE GILSON \ \ I Director of Studies, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto RANDOM H OUSE · NEW YO RK CONTENTS FOREWORD V INTRODUCTION 3 PART ONE The Greek Apologists CHAPTER 1. The Greek Apologists 9 I. Aristides and Quadratus 9 2. Justin Martyr II 3. Tatian 14 4. Athenagoras 16 5. Theophilus of Antioch 19 6. Irenaeus 21 7. Hippolytus 24 PART TWO Early Christian Speculation CHAPTER 1. The Alexandrines 29 1. Clement of Alexandria 29 2. Origen 35 A. God 36 B. The Logos 38 C. The World 39 CHAPTER rr. The Latin Apologists 44 I. Tertullian 2. Minucius Felix vii viii Contents Contents ix 3. Arnobius 4 7 3. Boethius 97 4. Lactantius 50 A. Problems in Logic 97 B. Problems in Psychology and Theology IOI CHAPTER III. The Cappadocians 5 2 C. Problems hi the Philosophy of Nature 103 4. From Cassiodorus to Gregory the Great 106 I. Gregory Nazianzenus 52 2. Basil the Great 53 3. Gregory of Nyssa 55 PART FOUR A. Cosmology 56 B. Anthropology 56 From Scotus Erigena to Saint Bernard C. Theology 59 4. Nemesius 60 CHAPTER I. Johannes Scotus Erigena II3 r. Faith and Reason II3 PART THREE 2. Nature and Its Division II5 3. The Divine Ideas II7 From Augustine to Boethius 4. Creation and Revelation 119 5. Creation and Illumination 120 CHAPTER I. Victorinus and Augustine 6. The Hierarchy of Beings 122 7. The Return to God L Marius Victorinus 124 2. Augustine • A. God CHAPTER 11. Saint Anselm of Canterbury 128 B. The World r. Reason and Faith 128 C. Man and Knowledge 74 2. The Existence of God in the Monologium 130 D. Ethics 77 3. The Proof of the Proslogion 132 4. Attributes of God and Creation 134 CHAPTER II. End of the Greek Patristic Age 81 5. Knowledge and Will 136 I. Denis the Areopagite 8r 2. Maximus of Chrysopolis 85 CHAPTER rn. Platonism in the T~elfth Century 139 3. Johannes Philoponus 89 I. Gilbert of La Porree 140 4. John Damascene 91 2. Thierry of Chartres 145 5. The Platonism of the Fathers 93 3. Clarenbaud of Arras 149 4. John of Salisbury 150 CHAPTER III. End of the Latin Patristic Age 95 I. Faustus of Riez 95 CHAPTER IV. Peter Abelard 153 2. Claudianus Mamertus 96 I. Logic 155 Contents Contents xi 2. Ethics 160 PART SIX 3. Theology 162 Early Scholasticism CHAPTER v. Speculative Mysticism CHAPTER I. Greco-Arabian Influences 235 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux William of Saint Thierry Translations 235 Isaac of Stella Liber de Causis 236 Alcher of Clairvaux Dominic Gundisalvi 237 Victorines De ftuxu entis 239 Amaury of Bene 240 CHAPTER vr. Alan of Lille 172 David of Dinant 241 Theological Syncret ism 243 Maxims of Theology 172 Pontifical Decrees Concerning Aristotle 244 Christian Notion of Nature 175 Art of Catholic Faith 176 CHAPTER n. Universities and Scholasticism PART FIVE Organization and Teaching Methods Beginning of Universities Arabian and Jewish Philosophy CHAPTER m. Early Thirteenth-Century Theologians 250 CHAPTER I. Arabian Philosophy 181 r. Alkindi and Alfarabi 183 1. Paris 250 2. Avicenna 187 William of Auvergne 250 A. Logic 188 Adam Pulchrae Mulieris 259 B. Physics 2. Oxford 260 C. Astronomy A. Robert Grosseteste 261 D. Psychology B. Pseudo-Grosseteste 265 E. Metaphysics F. Theology 210 3. Averroes 216 PART SEVEN A. Philosophy and Religion 218 B. Epistemology and Metaphysics 220 Theology and Learning CHAPTER I. Albert the Great CHAPTER II. Jewish Philosophy 225 277 1. Solomon Ibn Gabirol 226 r. Albert and Secular Learning 277 2. Moses Maimonides 229 2. The Four Co-evals 279 xii Contents Contents xiii 3. Man Peter Olieu 344 4. God E. Disintegration and Revival 346 Vital du Four 346 Richard of Mediavilla 347 CHAPTER IL Roger Bacon 294 William of Ware 350 1. The Philosopher 295 Ramon Lull 350 A. Physics B. Man CHAPTER II. Scholastic Theologians in England 353 C. Being 2. The Reformer r. Robert Kilwardby 355 2. John Peckham 359 CHAPTER m. Middle Thirteenth-Century Logicians 312 CHAPTER III. Thomas Aquinas Speculative Grammar Theology and Logic r. The Thomistic Reformation Program for Examinations 2. Theology and Philosophy William of Sherwood and Lambert of Auxerre 3. God 4. Creation Peter of Spain 5. Man 6. The End of Man 7. Thomism at the Crossways PART EIGHT The Golden Age of Scholasticism PART NINE CHAPTER I. The Franciscan School 321 The Condemnation of r277 r. Alexander of Hales and John of La Rochelle 2. Bonaventure and His School CHAPTER r. Latin Averroism A. God 332 1. Siger of Brabant B. The Soul 335 389 2. Boetius of Sweden C. The World 338 399 D. The Bonaventurian School 34° Eustachius of Arras 34° CHAPTER II. The Theological Reaction 402 Walter of Bruges 340 Matthew of Aquasparta 341 Bonaventure Bartholomew of Bologna 341 Etienne Tempier in 1270 Roger Marston 343 Etienne Tempier in 1277 xiv Contents Contents xv Condemned Propositions B. The Existence of God Importance of the Condemnation C. Infinity and Contin gency D. Species and Individual s E. Int ellect and Will CHAPTER m. Philosophical Controversies 410 F. Early Scotism I'. The "Correctives" 4II Th eoremata, A. Andrea s, F. of Meyronnes , J. of Bassoles, W. of William of La Mare 411 Alnwick, J. of Ripa , P. of Candia 465-471 John Quidort 4 1 3 Rambert of Bologna 414 CHAPTER III . Distintegration of Scholastic Theology 471 2 . The Pluralit y of Forms 416 Mar ston and Peckham 417 r. Durand of Saint-Pouri ;ain Giles of Rome 418 2 . Pe ter Auriol Giles of Lessines 418 3. Henry of Harday J . Quidort, T. Sutton, G. of Fontaines 41 9 4. The Carmelite Group 3. Existence and Essence 4 20 Mean ing of the Problem 421 Giles of Rome 42 2 PART ELEVEN T. Sutton G. of Fontain es Th e Mod ern Way The Notion of Thomism CHAPTER r. William of Ockham r. Intuition and Abstraction PART TEN 2 . Signs Fourt eenth-C entui'y Scholasticism 3. Supposition and Signification 4. Int ellection 5. Being and Cause CHAPTER r. Alberti sts and Neo-Pl atonists 431 6. Th e Spirit of Ockhamism 1. Dietrich of Vrieberg 4.).)" 2 . Master Eckhart 438 CHAP TER IL Nomi nalism 499 3. Tauler and Ruysbroeck 443 r. Wodham, Holkot , Rimini 500 2. John of Mire court 503 CHAPTER IL The Second Augustinian School 3. Nich olas of Autrecourt 505 4. J ohn Buridan 1. Henry of Ghent 44 7 511 5. Albert of Saxony and Oresme 2 . John Duns Scotus and Hi s School 454 516 A. Met aphysics and Its Object 455 6. Ext ension of the Parisian School 51 9 xvi Contents Contents xvii Part Six CHAPTER III. The Second Averroism 521 Ch. I 652-655 1. John of Jandun 522 Ch. II 655-656 2. Marsilius of Padua 524 Ch. III 656-666 Part Seven CHAPTER IV. Journey's End 528 Ch. I 666-67 3 Ch. II 1. John Gerson 528 673-677 Ch. III 2. Nicholas of Cues 534 677-682 3. Greek Philosophy and Christianity 540 Part Eight Ch. I 682-702 Ch. II 702-707 NOTES Ch. III 707-7 l 7 I. Bibliographical Sources 549 Part Nine II. List of Abbreviations 550 Ch. I 717-726 III. Notes to: Ch. II 726-730 Introduction 552-553 Ch. III 730-7 50 Part One 553-565 Part Ten Part Two Ch. I 750-758 Ch. I 565-574 Ch. II 758-773 Ch. II 574-578 Ch. III 773-780 Ch. III 578-585 Part Eleven Part Three Ch. I, II 780-797 Ch. I 585-596 Ch. III 797-799 Ch. II 596-601 Ch. IV 799-804 Ch. III 601-606 Index 805 Part Four Ch. I 606-613 Ch. II 613-619 Ch. III 619-625 Ch. IV 625-630 Ch. V, VI 630-636 Part Five Ch. I 637-646 Ch. II 646-651 32 Early Christian Speculation the place of philosophy in history. Before Christ, there was the Jewish Law, which had certainly been willed by God. The Old Testament has prepared the New Testament. Yet the latter has not abrogated the former; rather, it has completed it, so that there has been a continuity even in the progress of the divine revelation. Unlike the Jews, the Greeks had neither law nor faith, yet, they were not altogether without help, since they had natural reason to judge them , as Saint Paul says (Rom. 2, 14-15) , and to prepare them to receive Christianity. Clement is here introducing the theme of the "preparation of the Gospel" by the Greek poets and philoso­ phers, especially Plato. Eusebius of Caesarea will fully develop this idea. The philosophers, Clement says, have been the prophets with respect to Greek natural reason. True enough, God was not speaking directly to the philosophers; unlike the prophets, the philosophers received from God no special revelation; yet, since natural reason itself is a divine light , it can be said that , through it, God was guiding the philosophers toward truth. To deny this would be to deny that the divine providence takes care of historical events , including their very order. God has certainly created reason to some useful purpose . If he has willed the existence of philoso­ phers, it was because, like a good shepherd, he wanted to put his best sheep at the head of his flock. This, at least, should be easily understood by those who reproach the Greek philosophers for having stolen their ideas from the Old Testament. It cannot be maintained, at one and the same time, that philosophy is evil in itself and that it has been borrowed from Revelation by the Greeks.
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