Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects The umH anistic, Fideistic Philosophy of Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) Charles William Peterson Marquette University Recommended Citation Peterson, Charles William, "The umH anistic, Fideistic Philosophy of Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560)" (2012). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 237. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/237 THE HUMANISTIC, FIDEISTIC PHILOSOPHY OF PHILIP MELANCHTHON (1497-1560) by Charles W. Peterson, B.A., M.A., M. Div., S.T.M. 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 2012 ABSTRACT THE HUMANISTIC, FIDEISTIC PHILOSOPHY OF PHILIP MELANCHTHON (1497-1560): Charles W. Peterson, B.A., M.A., M.Div., S.T.M. Marquette University, 2012 This dissertation examines the way Philip Melanchthon, author of the Augsburg Confession and Martin Luther’s closest co-worker, sought to establish the relationship between faith and reason in the cradle of the Lutheran tradition, Wittenberg University. While Melanchthon is widely recognized to have played a crucial role in the Reformation of the Church in the sixteenth century as well as in the Renaissance in Northern Europe, he has in general received relatively little scholarly attention, few have attempted to explore his philosophy in depth, and those who have examined his philosophical work have come to contradictory or less than helpful conclusions about it. He has been regarded as an Aristotelian, a Platonist, a philosophical eclectic, and as having been torn between Renaissance humanism and Evangelical theology. An understanding of the way Melanchthon related faith and reason awaits a well-founded and accurate account of his philosophy. Having stated the problem and finding it inadequately treated in the secondary literature, this dissertation presents an account of Melanchthon’s philosophical development. Finding that his philosophy was ultimately founded upon his understanding of and method in rhetoric and dialectics, this dissertation explicates his mature accounts of these arts. It then presents an account of Melanchthon’s philosophy as both humanistic (i.e., rhetorically based and practically rather than speculatively oriented) and fideistic (i.e, skeptical about the product of human reason alone, but finding certainty in philosophy founded upon, and somewhat limited by, Christian faith). After a final assessment of claims about Melanchthon’s philosophy from the secondary literature, this dissertation considers how such a humanistic, fideistic philosophy might be helpful for Christians in a philosophically post-modern situation. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Charles W. Peterson, B.A., M.A., M.Div., S.T.M. First, I thank God that I’ve had the opportunity to complete this dissertation, which for me has not been merely an academic or professional exercise, but an exploration of how I might move ahead in life and service with integrity and in good faith. I pray that somehow this dissertation can in some very small way advance or support the mission of the Church to the glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I offer sincere thanks and gratitude to the faculty and staff of the Departments of Philosophy and Theology at Marquette University. Most especially I wish to thank Dr. James South, without whose guidance, encouragement, constructive criticism, and patience this dissertation would have been literally inconceivable. I am grateful as well to Drs. Noel Adams, Mickey Mattox, and Jennifer Hockenbery, the other members of my dissertation committee, each of whom has graciously offered their time and wisdom, not only as committee members, but throughout my years of study at Marquette. I gladly acknowledge a lifelong debt of gratitude to Dr. Richard Taylor who drew me into graduate studies in philosophy at Marquette, who was my first mentor in philosophy, and who introduced me to the fascinating world of medieval philosophy. Many thanks as well to Dr. Markus Wriedt who in his years at Marquette sharpened my understanding of the theology and history of the Wittenberg Reformation and who paved the way for a summer’s research in Mainz, Bretten, and Wittenberg; Günter Frank who shared his time and the resources of the Europaische Melanchthon-Akademie Bretten during my short visit there; and Dr. Kevin Gibson whose urging and encouragement as Director of ii Graduate Studies in the Philosophy Department at Marquette assured the timely completion of this project. I also wish to thank family, friends, and colleagues, both in ministry and in the academy, who have supported and enriched me with their insights. Special thanks here are due to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and “Old” Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio for encouraging, supporting, or at least humoring their pastor in what must surely have seemed to them at times a distraction from, rather than an expression of, service to God. Finally, always, I thank my wife Cheryl. To enjoy her loving partnership in life, ministry, and in thought has been one the great privileges and delights of my life. Her dedication to and care for Church, society, and academy continue to inspire and motivated me; I dedicate this dissertation to her. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………...………….……i INTRODUCTION……………………………………………...……………...……….... 1 A. Statement of the Problem…………………………….…………...….....…...... 1 B. Who Was Philip Melanchthon?....................................................... .................10 C. Goals and Motivation…………………………………….…………………. 17 D. Outline……….…………………………………………...……….………… 20 CHAPTER I: STILL UNKNOWN: MELANCHTHON’S WORKS AND RESEARCH ON MELANCHTHON …………….……..…….… 25 A. Introduction: The Still Unknown Melanchthon…………………………….. 25 B. Melanchthon Emerging From the Shadows……………………....……….... 29 1. Primary Source Material…………………………..….…….……….. 29 2. Biographies……………………………...…………….…...……...…. 31 C. Melanchthon as Theologian ……………………………………….….…….. 34 1. Melanchthon as Luther’s Anti-Type…………………………………..34 2. Melanchthon as “Light Stepper”………………………..………….… 36 3. Luther as Existentialist………………………………………….….… 38 4. Melanchthon as “Intellectualist”……………………………….…….. 40 5. Melanchthon as Systematizer…………….…………….…………… 45 D. Melanchthon as Philosopher…………………………….………..…………. 53 1. Melanchthon as Aristotelian .…………..…..……………..……...….. 53 a. As Adherent of the via antiqua.………………………….…... 54 b. As Adherent of the via moderna.............................................. 56 2. Melanchthon as Philosophical Eclectic……………...……….……… 60 iv 3. Melanchthon as Platonist and Rationalist………………………….… 62 4. Melanchthon as Turning Toward Empiricism……………………….. 68 E. Melanchthon as Renaissance Humanist……………….………………..…… 74 1. Renaissance Philosophy and Humanism…………………………….. 74 2. Melanchthon as Torn Between Humanism and Evangelical Theology……………………………...….……. 81 3. Melanchthon as Rhetorician …………….………...…..……….......... 85 F. Summary ………………………………….…………………………………. 90 II. MELANCHTHON’S PHILOSOPHICAL DEVELOPMENT………….…..…….… 94 A. Introduction……………………………………………………………….… 94 B. Melanchthon in 1518: Early Humanism in His De corrigendis asolescentiae studiis...…………………...…………….. 96 C. 1518-26: The Beginning of Melanchthon’s Evangelical Theology…..……. 105 D. 1525-1535: Melanchthon’s First Work in Moral Philosophy……………… 122 E. 1531-1540: Melanchthon’s Turn to the Ars Mathematica………………… 138 F. 1540 and following: Natural Philosophy and the Res Romana…………….. 147 1. Reply of Philip Melanchthon in behalf of Ermolao……………….... 149 2. Melanchthon’s Psychological Works………………………………. 152 G. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 162 III. MELANCHTHON’S RHETORIC AND DIALECTIC…………………….....…...168 A. Introduction …………………………………………………………….…...168 B. Rhetoric…………………………………………………………………….. 169 1. On the Relationship Between Rhetoric and Dialectics in Melanchthon’s Works…………………………………………..170 2. Elementoum rhetorices libri duo,1531…………………….………...175 v a. What is Rhetoric, and What Good is Rhetoric?.......................175 b. The Speeches and the Duties of the Orator…………….....…178 c. Elocutio………………………….…………..………...……. 181 d. Constructing a Speech: Inventio, Dispositio, Elocutio…....…184 e. The Genus didaskalikon……………………………………...187 C. Melanchthon’s Dialectics: Erotemata dialectices, 1547……….……………189 1. Quid est dialectices?........................................................................... 191 2. Iudicium………………………………………………………...…... 195 3. Inventio…………………………………….............................................. 198 a. What is Inventio?......................................................................198 b. Methods of Inventio……………………………………....... 201 c. Loci in Melanchthon’s Erotemata dialectices……….……….203 d. Melanchthon’s Conception of and Use of Loci.......................206 D. Summary and Conclusion……………………………………………….…..213 IV. MELANCHTHON’S HUMANISTIC, FIDEISTIC PHILOSOPHY……...…….…219 A. Introduction………………………………………………………….….…. 219 B. Dialectics and Melanchthon’s Philosophy…………………………………..220 C. The Res Romana: Melanchthon’s Rhetorical Philosophy………………...…227 D. Melanchthon’s Eclecticism…………………………………………..……. 233 1. Questions…..…………………………………………….…....…….. 233 2. Melanchthon on Philosophical Authorities…………………........... 238 a. The Sectae Praecipuae Philosophorum……………..…….....238 b. Plato………………………………………………………….243 vi c. Galen…………………………………………………………246 E. Doubt,