DOCSLIB.ORG

Philip the Chancellor, Albert the Great, and Thomas Aquinas

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Philip the Chancellor, Albert the Great, and Thomas Aquinas THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA An Innovative Approach to Liberum Arbitrium in the Thirteenth Century: Philip the Chancellor, Albert the Great, and Thomas Aquinas A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Philosophy Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By Jamie Anne Spiering Washington, D.C. 2010 Abstract In this dissertation, I contrast the methods of approaching free decision ( liberum arbitrium ) that we see in the writings of Anselm of Canterbury and Peter Lombard with the methods of the thirteenth-century authors Philip the Chancellor, Albert the Great, and Thomas Aquinas. My goal is to show that, in the writings of Philip, Albert, and Thomas, we see an innovative way of approaching human free choice. A secondary goal is to offer reasons for these changes in philosophical method. The first four chapters of the dissertation prove that innovations took place in four areas and suggest reasons for these innovations. Anselm and Peter begin their discussions of free decision by asking whether freedom is the power to sin, but the other authors begin the discussion of human freedom from the perspective of a study of human nature. Again, the earlier authors analyze free decision as a given fact, while Philip, Albert, and Thomas show a new interest in accounting for the existence of human freedom. There was also a change in the components required for a complete account of free decision: each of our thirteenth-century authors insists on free decision’s character as a power of the soul and specifies its relation to reason and will. Lastly, Philip, Albert, and Thomas made use of new characteristics of reason and will in the discussion of free decision. The fifth chapter of the dissertation discusses ideological continuity in these writings and its impact on philosophical method. The five authors share the insight that freedom involves a relation to God; they were also convinced that free decision was not the ability to do evil and could not be lost. These shared ideas provided unity and structure to the debate on liberum arbitrium, and the changes made by the thirteenth-century authors are in many ways motivated by the desire to preserve these insights. This dissertation by Jamie Anne Spiering fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Philosophy, approved by Tobias Hoffmann, Ph.D., as Director, and by John Wippel, Ph.D., and Kevin White, Ph.D., as Readers. ______________________________________ Tobias Hoffmann, Ph.D., Director _______________________________________ John Wippel, Ph.D., Reader _______________________________________ Kevin White, Ph.D., Reader ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 1 A. THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK AND THE SELECTION OF AUTHORS .................................................................. 2 B. THE STATE OF THE QUESTION AND THE METHOD USED IN THIS WORK ........................................................ 8 C. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CHAPTER SUMMARY ................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER 1: A NEW POINT OF ENTRY: WHERE DOES THE INVESTIGATION OF LIBERUM ARBITRIUM BEGIN? .............................................................................. 20 PART I: THE CHANGE IN HOW FREE DECISION IS INTRODUCED ....................................................................... 20 A. The introduction of free decision by structure ........................................................................................ 22 B. The introduction of free decision by preliminary argumentation .......................................................... 33 PART II: REASONS FOR THE CHANGE IN INTRODUCTORY CONTEXT ................................................................. 46 A. External reasons for change .................................................................................................................. 46 B. Difficulties in the old context ................................................................................................................. 49 C. Solutions in the new context .................................................................................................................. 53 D. Some points of controversy ................................................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 2: A NEW GOAL FOR THE INVESTIGATION: WHAT KIND OF ACCOUNT OF LIBERUM ARBITRIUM IS THOUGHT TO BE NECESSARY? ........ 58 PART I: CHANGE IN THE GOAL OF THE LIBERUM ARBITRIUM DISCUSSION ........................................................ 58 A. Anselm and Lombard: definitions based on theological awareness of freedom .................................... 62 B. Philip, Albert, and Thomas: definitions that seek the cause .................................................................. 64 C. Some points of controversy .................................................................................................................... 73 PART II: REASONS FOR THE CHANGED GOAL OF THE LIBERUM ARBITRIUM DISCUSSION .................................. 81 A. The problem of divine freedom .............................................................................................................. 82 B. The problem of freedom in different states of human life on earth ........................................................ 85 CHAPTER 3: A NEW LEXICON: WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS IN A SATISFACTORY EXPLANATION OF LIBERUM ARBITRIUM? ............................. 88 PART I: THE CHANGES IN THE COMPONENTS USED TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF LIBERUM ARBITRIUM ................ 90 PART II: REASONS FOR CHANGED COMPONENTS IN THE ACCOUNT OF FREE DECISION ................................... 95 A. Four reasons for the power/habit question............................................................................................ 96 B. The unified account of the soul which the power specification made possible .................................... 105 PART III. SOME POINTS OF CONTROVERSY .................................................................................................... 115 A. Is it a groundless act of reification to define free decision as a “power”? ......................................... 116 B. Does the attempt to find a genus for free decision ignore the real problems of human freedom? ....... 120 CHAPTER 4: A NEW USE FOR THE CHARACTERISTICS OF REASON AND WILL IN ACCOUNTING FOR FREE DECISION ....................................................... 126 SECTION I: NEW CHARACTERISTICS OF REASON USED TO EXPLAIN FREE DECISION ..................................... 128 Part I: Changes in the characteristics of reason used to explain liberum arbitrium ............................... 128 Part II: Reasons for change ...................................................................................................................... 159 SECTION II: NEW CHARACTERISTICS OF WILL USED TO EXPLAIN FREE DECISION ........................................ 164 Part I: Changes in the characteristics of will that were used ................................................................... 165 Part II. Reasons for change ..................................................................................................................... 194 Part III. Some points of controversy ......................................................................................................... 199 iii CHAPTER 5: CONTINUITY IN THE TREATMENT OF HUMAN FREEDOM ..... 208 PART I: THE FACT OF CONTINUITY : FIVE FUNDAMENTAL APPROACHES TO FREE DECISION ......................... 210 A. Freedom without evil ........................................................................................................................... 210 B. Divine free decision is similar to human free decision ......................................................................... 219 C. Free decision is received from God, in whom it exists pre-eminently ................................................. 225 D. Free decision involves an orientation toward God ............................................................................. 231 E. Free decision is not losable ................................................................................................................. 240 PART II. REASONS FOR CONTINUITY .............................................................................................................. 246 A. Exterior causes of continuity ............................................................................................................... 246 B. Reasons for continuity within the debate on free decision .................................................................. 255 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 261 PART I: A FRAMEWORK FOR INNOVATION ...................................................................................................... 261 A. The first two innovations: abandoning the context of temptation and treating free decision through its causes ........................................................................................................................................................ 262 B. The third and fourth innovations: treating free decision as a power and specifying its relation to its
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ia Q. 79 A. 12 Whether Synderesis Is a Special Power of the Soul Distinct
    Whether synderesis is a special power of the soul distinct from the others? Ia q. 79 a. 12 Objection 1. It would seem that “synderesis” is a proceeds from the understanding of certain things— special power, distinct from the others. For those things namely, those which are naturally known without any which fall under one division, seem to be of the same investigation on the part of reason, as from an im- genus. But in the gloss of Jerome on Ezech. 1:6, “syn- movable principle—and ends also at the understand- deresis” is divided against the irascible, the concupisci- ing, inasmuch as by means of those principles naturally ble, and the rational, which are powers. Therefore “syn- known, we judge of those things which we have discov- deresis” is a power. ered by reasoning. Now it is clear that, as the specula- Objection 2. Further, opposite things are of the tive reason argues about speculative things, so that prac- same genus. But “synderesis” and sensuality seem to tical reason argues about practical things. Therefore we be opposed to one another because “synderesis” always must have, bestowed on us by nature, not only specu- incites to good; while sensuality always incites to evil: lative principles, but also practical principles. Now the whence it is signified by the serpent, as is clear from first speculative principles bestowed on us by nature do Augustine (De Trin. xii, 12,13). It seems, therefore, not belong to a special power, but to a special habit, that ‘synderesis’ is a power just as sensuality is.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chalcedonian Christology of St John Damascene : Philosophical Terminology and Theological Arguments
    Durham E-Theses The Chalcedonian Christology of St John Damascene : philosophical terminology and theological arguments Metallidis, George How to cite: Metallidis, George (2003) The Chalcedonian Christology of St John Damascene : philosophical terminology and theological arguments, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1085/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY GEORGE METALLIDIS The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consentand information derived from it should be acknowledged. The Chalcedonian Christology of St John Damascene: Philosophical Terminology and Theological Arguments PhD Thesis/FourthYear Supervisor: Prof. ANDREW LOUTH 0-I OCT2003 Durham 2003 The ChalcedonianChristology of St John Damascene To my Mother Despoina The ChalcedonianChristology of St John Damascene CONTENTS Page ABBREVIATIONS 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENT 12 INTRODUCTION 14 CHAPTER ONE TheLife of St John Damascene 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Conscience Likes Dogmatic Definitions*
    Why Conscience Likes Dogmatic Definitions* T. L.SUTTOR OR us, the word "theology" implies method and system, analysis and Fsynthesis, Greek terms, all of them. Now it is extremely interesting that Aquinas, who more than any other Christian writer might be expected to value the qualities in question, in fact largely avoids using such terms and others like them, including the word "theology" itself. He prefers the strictly scriptural terms: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, doctrine. The "system" and "-ology" words are our words, modem post-renaissance words, Descartes-Kant-Hegel words. This modem desire to discipline linguistic usage in all fields, including religious experience, is no doubt a fine thing, and we are not wrong to attribute such a desire to Aquinas and his heirs. But what is the unifying principle of theological system, guiding methodical analysis of the mysteries of Christianity? How can we make sure that the system we get into print is in truth the wisdom and spiritual understanding which Paul prayed down on the Colossians? The unifying principle, the universal font of theological illumination, is simply purity of conscience. The pure of heart see God; the unseen world is in a certain manner evident to their faith; the objects of their Christian hope have body and substance. John 8: 12 reads: "He that follows me does not walk in darkness." St. Thomas paraphrases: As the gift of love is in all who have the grace that makes men acceptable to God, so too is the gift of understanding ( Ila-Ilae, 8, 4c) . And theology, in this sense of spiritual understanding, is inseparable from the process of Christian salavation.
    [Show full text]
  • Affect and Ascent in the Theology of Bonaventure
    The Force of Union: Affect and Ascent in the Theology of Bonaventure The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Davis, Robert. 2012. The Force of Union: Affect and Ascent in the Theology of Bonaventure. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:9385627 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA © 2012 Robert Glenn Davis All rights reserved. iii Amy Hollywood Robert Glenn Davis The Force of Union: Affect and Ascent in the Theology of Bonaventure Abstract The image of love as a burning flame is so widespread in the history of Christian literature as to appear inevitable. But as this dissertation explores, the association of amor with fire played a precise and wide-ranging role in Bonaventure’s understanding of the soul’s motive power--its capacity to love and be united with God, especially as that capacity was demonstrated in an exemplary way through the spiritual ascent and death of St. Francis. In drawing out this association, Bonaventure develops a theory of the soul and its capacity for transformation in union with God that gives specificity to the Christian desire for self-abandonment in God and the annihilation of the soul in union with God. Though Bonaventure does not use the language of the soul coming to nothing, he describes a state of ecstasy or excessus mentis that is possible in this life, but which constitutes the death and transformation of the soul in union with God.
    [Show full text]
  • Law, Natural Law, and Human Intelligence: Living the Correlation
    Catholic University Law Review Volume 55 Issue 3 Spring 2006 Article 8 2006 Law, Natural Law, and Human Intelligence: Living the Correlation Patrick McKinley Brennan Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.edu/lawreview Recommended Citation Patrick M. Brennan, Law, Natural Law, and Human Intelligence: Living the Correlation, 55 Cath. U. L. Rev. 731 (2006). Available at: https://scholarship.law.edu/lawreview/vol55/iss3/8 This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by CUA Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Catholic University Law Review by an authorized editor of CUA Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LAW, NATURAL LAW, AND HUMAN INTELLIGENCE: LIVING THE CORRELATION PatrickMcKinley Brennan' "'Of Law there can be no less acknowledged, than that her seat is the bosom of God, her voice the harmony of the world."" I. WIT AND THE NATURAL LAW, THE QUARTUM QUID We are created "to serve [God] wittily, in the tangle of [our] mind[s]," Sir Thomas More declares in Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons.2 More began his adult life of service of God in the self-imposed silence of the London Charterhouse, and that same life was ended for him, of course, in the isolation of the Tower of London and through the violence of Tower Hill, on account of a self-imposed silence of different inspiration. Between Charterhouse and Tower, Thomas More was as cunning as a serpent to use what considerable wit he could muster to serve God, Church, family, and state, including through law.
    [Show full text]
  • The Alexandrian and the Cappadocian Fathers of the Church in the Writings of Thomas Aquinas
    The Alexandrian and the Cappadocian Fathers of the Church in the writings of Thomas Aquinas Los Padres alejandrinos y capadocios en los escritos de Tomás de Aquino Leo J. Elders s.v.d. Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas Resumen: Santo Tomás considera que los escritos de los Padres están directamente relacionados con las Escrituras ya que fueron escritos bajo la influencia rectora del mismo Espíritu Santo. Existe, pues, una continuidad de pensamiento entre los Padres como re- presentantes de la autoridad de los Apóstoles y la Biblia. Por este motivo, sería bueno re- conocer cuán profundamente santo Tomás se inspira en el pensamiento de los Padres. En esta contribución presentaremos los temas principales dentro de los escritos de los Padres Alejandrinos y Capadocios que han influido en el propio pensamiento de santo Tomás. Palabras clave: Atanasio de Alejandría, Cirilo de Alejandría, Basilio Magno, Gre- gorio Nacianceno, Gregorio de Nisa, Tomás de Aquino. Abstract: St. Thomas considers the writings of the Fathers as directly related to Scrip- ture since these were composed under the guiding influence of the same Holy Spirit. There exists therefore a continuity of thought between the Fathers as representatives of the au- thority of the Apostles and the Bible.1 For this reason, one would do well to recognize how deeply St. Thomas draw upon the thought of the Fathers. In this contribution we will present the main themes within the writings of the Alexandrian and Cappadocian Fathers that have influenced St. Thomas’s own thought.2 Key words: Athanasius of Alexandria, Cyril of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Thomas Aquinas.
    [Show full text]
  • Mark Mcgovern
    to n erstan zng• atura Mark McGovern Not only is synderesis a key to Aquinas's conception of natural law, as the title of this article suggests, but also is, in my judgment, an antidote to the modem malaise (largely engendered by the positivists) that any ethical statement is correctly reduced to a matter of feel­ ing. Commenting on synderesis and its connection with natural law should clear away a number of moral confusions, even some held by contemporary Christian ethicians. St. Thomas's account of synderesis can be ascertained by a simple analogy which he himself employs. There is a natural habitus in the order of speculative knowledge, namely, intellectus, by which the human mind (or soul, if you will) is enabled to recognize immediately the truth of first principles in the speculative sphere. Likewise, there is in the order of practical knowledge a natural habitus, namely, synderesis, by which the human soul immediately recognizes the truth of first principles in the moral order. In both cases it is not the first principles which are implanted in the soul, but rather what is present in the soul from birth is a natural habitus by which the human soul recognizes the truth of first principles. If it were true, as unfmtunate\y some theologians and philosophers in seminary lead me and other ~\.\Kk\\\.~ \.() oc\\~'-"~, tb.at tb.e fn:st \)t\nci\)leS are im\)lanted in the soul, then it would indeed be difficult to explain why there is not unanimous agreement on the first principles in the moral order.
    [Show full text]
  • Synderesis and Conscience: Stoicism and Its Medieval Transformations
    Дискурсы этики SYNDERESIS AND CONSCIENCE: STOICISM AND ITS MEDIEVAL TRANSFORMATIONS Marcia L. Colish Author argues that the conscience is a theme frequently flagged as a key aspect of Stoicism. Beyond mere consciousness, our self-aware- ness as agents, moral and otherwise, conscience specifies the ethical norms we honor in judging our experience and acting on it. Scholars have studied how the Stoics think we acquire these norms, how we ap- ply them in concrete individual cases, and how we estimate this prac- tice, prospectively or retrospectively, examining our conscience and steeling ourselves to the difficulties of acting in its light. Whether these processes depend on Ancient Stoic monopsychism – the notion that the soul has no subdivisions or infrarational faculties – has also drawn attention. In tracking its medieval fortunes, whether in Stoic or modi- fied form, we will note as well some of the related ideas with which this doctrine traveled. Conscience is a theme frequently flagged as a key aspect of Stoicism. Beyond mere consciousness, our self-awareness as agents, moral and otherwise, conscience specifies the ethi- cal norms we honor in judging our experience and acting on it. Scholars have studied how the Stoics think we acquire these norms, how we apply them in concrete individual cases, and how we estimate this practice, prospectively or retrospectively, examining our conscience and steeling ourselves to the difficul- ties of acting in its light. Whether these processes depend on Ancient Stoic monopsychism – the notion that the soul has no subdivisions or infrarational faculties – has also drawn attention. Less fully explored is whether the Stoics think we can act against conscience, and if so, why and how.
    [Show full text]
  • Natural Law and Natural Rights Second Edition
    CLARENDON LAW SERIES Edited by Paul Craig Works of John Finnis available from Oxford University Press Reason in Action Collected Essays: Volume I Intention and Identity Collected Essays: Volume II Human Rights and Common Good Collected Essays: Volume III Philosophy of Law Collected Essays: Volume IV Religion and Public Reasons Collected Essays: Volume V Natural Law and Natural Rights Second Edition Aquinas Moral, Political, and Legal Theory Nuclear Deterrence, Morality and Realism with Joseph Boyle and Germain Grisez NATURAL LAW AND NATURAL RIGHTS Second Edition JOHN FINNIS 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York ß J.M. Finnis 2011 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) Crown copyright material is reproduced under Class Licence Number C01P0000148 with the permission of OPSI and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland First published 2011 (first edition 1980) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization.
    [Show full text]
  • Providence in the Summa Halensis an Innovative Reworking of Past Masters
    Simon Maria Kopf Providenceinthe Summa Halensis: Between Authority and Innovation Abstract: The doctrine of divine providence features prominentlyinthe 13th-century earlyFranciscan Summa Halensis. This chapter argues that the account of providence presented in the Summa is an innovative reworking of past authorities and maythus be counted among the examples of earlyFranciscan innovations.For instance,while John of Damascus claimed thatprovidence is part of God’swill and Peter Lombard took providence to be aspecific form of divine knowledge,the Summa Halensis ap- plies the Boethian notion of the ratio of providence to harmonize the two authorities, termingthe corresponding executio ‘government’.Thus the distinction between prov- identia and gubernatio,socentral to Thomas Aquinas’ doctrine of providence,isto be found initiallyinthe Summa Halensis. Introduction In his historical studyofAlbert the Great’streatise on providenceand fate, which shows the dependence of Albert’streatise in the Summa theologiae sive de mirabili scientia Dei on the Summa Halensis,¹ JosefGeorgenargues thatthe rise to promi- nence of the topic of divine providence in the 13th century,inparticular,atthe Uni- versityofParis, is, apart from its intrinsic importance and value for theologygener- ally, largely afunctionofthe theological and philosophical circumstances of the mid-13th century.Inparticular, Georgen suggests that the Parisian controversy be- tween Christian and Averroistic Aristotelians goes along waytowards explaining the increased interest in the doctrine of providence,not least because it was at- tacked, in various forms, by Latin Averroists,such as SigerofBrabant,and conse- quentlyalso dealt with in some of the articles of the condemnations of 1270 and 1277.² Pierre Mandonnet,Antonin Sertillanges, and Martin Grabmann, to name just On the question of the dependnceofAlbert the Great on the Summa Halensis,see also Parthenius Minges, ‘Abhängigkeitsverhältnis zwischen Alexander vonHales und Albert dem Grossen,’ Franziska- nische Studien 2(1915), pp.
    [Show full text]
  • John of Damascus and the Consolidation of Classical Christian Demonology
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (1934 -) Projects Imagining Demons in Post-Byzantine Jerusalem: John of Damascus and the Consolidation of Classical Christian Demonology Nathaniel Ogden Kidd Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Kidd, Nathaniel Ogden, "Imagining Demons in Post-Byzantine Jerusalem: John of Damascus and the Consolidation of Classical Christian Demonology" (2018). Dissertations (1934 -). 839. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/839 IMAGINING DEMONS IN POST-BYZANTINE JERUSALEM: JOHN OF DAMASCUS AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN DEMONOLOGY by The Rev. Nathaniel Ogden Kidd, B.A., M.Div A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin December, 2018 ABSTRACT IMAGINING DEMONS IN POST-BYZANTINE JERUSALEM: JOHN OF DAMASCUS AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN DEMONOLOGY The Rev. Nathaniel Ogden Kidd, B.A., M.Div Marquette University, 2018 This dissertation traces the consolidation of a classical Christian framework for demonology in the theological corpus of John of Damascus (c. 675 – c. 750), an eighth century Greek theologian writing in Jerusalem. When the Damascene sat down to write, I argue, there was a great variety of demonological options available to him, both in the depth of the Christian tradition, and in the ambient local imagination. John’s genius lies first in what he chose not to include, but second in his ability to synthesize a minimalistic demonology out of a complex body of material and integrate it into a broader theological system.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Synderesis in Late Medieval Philosophy and the Wittenberg Reformers Pekka Kärkkäinen Abstract the Present Article Discusses
    1 This is an Accepted Manuscript an article published in the British Journal for the History of Philosophy 06/09/2012, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09608788.2012.718866 Synderesis in Late Medieval Philosophy and the Wittenberg Reformers Pekka Kärkkäinen Abstract The present article discusses the concept of synderesis in the late medieval universities of Er- furt and Leipzig and its the later developments in Wittenberg. The comparison between Bar- tholomaeus Arnoldi of Usingen in Erfurt and Johannes Peyligk in Leipzig shows that school traditions played an important role in the exposition of synderesis by the late medieval scho- lastic natural philosophers. However, Jodocus Trutfetter’s example warns against overem- phasising the importance of the school traditions and reminds us of the manifold history of medieval discussions on synderesis, which were more or less familiar to many authors of this period. Finally, the diverse references to synderesis in the texts of Martin Luther, Johannes Bernhardi of Feldkirch and Philip Melanchthon reveal no uniform relationship with late me- dieval discussions, but rather indicate various ways of adopting scholastic ideas and trans- forming them in the context of humanist and reformation thinking. 2 Synderesis: from the Late Medieval Viae to the Wittenberg Reformers 1. Introduction In 1977 Michael Baylor published a work entitled ‘Action and Person, Conscience in Late Scholasticism and the Young Luther’. In it, he examines the diverse late medieval theories concerning notions of synderesis, conscience and practical reason, which are concepts com- monly used to describe the psychological process of forming moral judgements.
    [Show full text]