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MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY |
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Select: John Duns Scotus - The Period of Decadence - Roger Bacon - William of Ockham Johannes (Master) Eckhart - Philosophical and Mystical Knowledge |
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John Duns Scotus (1265? - ?1308) John Duns Scotus (picture) is the champion of Franciscan Augustinianism. Nevertheless he abandons certain theses of the Augustinian tradition, in favor of the new contributions of Aristotelianism. Theory of Knowledge Scotus does not admit Augustinian illumination. He distinguishes between the "proper" object of the intellect, and the object in "state of act." The immediate object of the intellect is the quiddity (essence) abstracted from material conditions; but the "proper" object is "being as being." In regard to abstraction, Scotus holds that the phantasm (sense image) concurs as a concause in the formation of the concept. General Metaphysics Scotus accepts the Aristotelian principles of matter and form, but to these two elements he gives a different interpretation. Prime matter as such can exist; moreover, matter is a constitutive element of every being, even of those of spiritual nature, such as the angels. The principle of individuation, instead of being matter, as Thomas Aquinas taught, is form, in the opinion of Scotus. The determination of the form in the act of individuation is called "haecceitas." Moreover, the concept of being is not analogical, as Aquinas held, but univocal. Theodicy Scotus holds, in opposition to traditional Augustianism, that there is no intuition of God. His existence must be proved and Scotus proves the existence of God first a posteriori, by the traditional argument of change. But he admits also the validity of the ontological argument of St. Anselm, to which he gives a new interpretation by introducing into it another principle; that is, that the concept of infinite being is not contradictory, and hence the infinite Being exists. For Scotus the fundamental attribute of God is His infinity. Cosmology In this field Scotus accepts the common doctrine of Scholastic tradition. However, according to his principle of the primacy of the will over the intellect, he holds that creation is first an act of will. In consequence of this voluntaristic doctrine, many truths which for Thomas are demonstrable with certainty, are not so for Scotus. Psychology In psychology Scotus admits that in every individual there is a multiplicity of forms. The human soul is a complete being in itself. The proper object of the intellect is being in its entire extension. The proof of the immortality of the human soul rests upon faith rather than upon reason. According to Scotus' principle of the primacy of the will, opposites in the field of contingency do not imply contradiction. Ethics Scotus reaffirms his voluntarist doctrine in his ethics; this means that God finds within His will the motives for realizing one series of possibles rather than another. The will of God does not act capriciously, however, for God's will is at the same time the most intelligent act. Thus, all that is essentially bound up with the essence of God is also essentially bound up with the divine will, as, for example, the principle of contradiction and the first three commandments of the Decalogue. What is not necessarily bound up with the Divine Essence is dependent upon the free choice of God. Scotus, with St. Augustine, affirms that virtue is an act of love which directs us to God. Summary Dogmas, according to Scotus, are beyond dispute; faith is basic to truth; love is the fundamental virtue; faith and love are based on the will; will is superior to the intellect. Universals exist before things, as forms in the mind of God; and after things, as abstract concepts in the human mind. Universal nature (or essence) is supplemented by individual nature and the principle of difference is individuation. General concepts (universals) finally bring us to individuals (nominals, particulars). Duns Scotus agrees with Aquinas in many points; his major difference is in his emphasis on the will, discounting the supreme importance of the intellect in Aquinas' philosophy; Scotus made the will supreme. This difference between the two concepts of the will led to the Thomist-Scotist controversy. In The Radical Academy
Elsewhere On the Internet The positive contributions of John Duns Scotus to the Perennial Philosophy Theory of Knowledge. Scotus distinguishes between the proper object of the intellect and its de facto object. The proper object of this faculty is "being" -- the entire field of being without restriction ("ens in quantum ens") -- through which the intellect can know immaterial essences, even without the aid of sensations. In the field of fact or in actual conditions and as a consequence of original sin, what moves the intellect is only those things that are presented to sensation ("quidditas rei sensibilis"). Metaphysics.There is a difference between Thomas Aquinas and Scotus regarding the principle of individuation. Aquinas had affirmed that the reason for the contraction of the form to the individual depends upon matter signed with quantity. Scotus does not accpet this solution, but observes that quantity is an accident, that therefore in Aquinas' system individuality would be reduced to the level of an accident. Thus, according to Scotus, individuality must be derived from the form, which is the basis of being. This new entitative perfection, which comes to the species (forma) and which indicates the passage from specific difference to individual determination, Scotus calls "thisness." IV. THE DECADENCE OF SCHOLASTIC PHILOSOPHY During the Middle Ages there two celebrated centers of culture: the University of Paris and Oxford University. While at Paris interest in metaphysics prevailed, at Oxford there was an interest in the sciences, with empirical tendencies. This interest was to give origin to the rise of the positive sciences. But at the same time it was to be one of the motives for neglecting metaphysics and returning to the ancient position of nominalism already disproved in the more advanced teachings of Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus. A member of the Order of the Franciscans, Roger Bacon (picture) was educated at Oxford and Paris. A student of mathematics and languages, he regarded these subjects as indispensable to theology and philosophy. He was known to some as Doctor mirabilis, the wonderful doctor; to others as Friar Bacon; and to still others, as a necromancer, feared and respected for the powers he presumably possessed. His ambitions to pry into the secrets of nature, to make physical calculations and experiment with chemicals roused the suspicion and envy of his Brothers who forthwith complained to the Pope. He was denounced as a "sorcerer" for any number of reasons -- because he cited the Greeks and Arabs as authorities, made magnifying glasses, investigated the properties of light, discovered-a powder similar to gunpowder, enumerated the errors in the Julian calendar, criticized the Schoolmen (he called St. Thomas Aquinas "a teacher yet unschooled"), and attempted to establish ethics as a basis for monastic life. Finally his opponents prevailed upon the Pope to prevent him from teaching. He was confined for ten years with neither books nor instruments. His Opus Majus is a defense of himself, but neither this work nor a condensed version, the Opus Minus, called forth any notice from Rome. He made a third revision, Opus Tertium, with little success. In many ways the struggles of Roger Bacon parallel those of his fellow countryman, Francis Bacon. According to Bacon, there are three ways in which we acquire knowledge: authority, reason, and experience. The last is the most perfect. Bacon distinguishes a twofold experience: external perception, which brings us knowledge of the sensible world; and internal perception, by which is meant "illumination." Bacon combined Augustinian-Platonic philosophy with Arabic speculations and emphasized the need of observation. In The Radical Academy Elsewhere On The Internet
William of Ockham (1300? - ?1349) No other Christian thinker of the Middle Ages rejected so many or such important assumptions which were prevalent in his times as did Ockham (picture). His great aim was to teach men to think, and the result of his teachings was the elaboration of laic consciousness in the State, the reduction of the influence of the Church in human society, and the preparation for a new interpretation of the physical world. Although these results were counteracted by men and circumstances, Ockham must be considered as one of the principal agents of the dissolution of the Medieval synthesis of philosophy and theology. In the struggle between Pope John XXII and Emperor Louis of Bavaria, Ockham, collaborating with Marsilius of Padua, defended the rights of secular government against papal claims and contributed to the establishment of the modern political theory of the independence of the state from the church. In his philosophical works, Ockham proclaimed the primacy of logical method in all disciplines. He rejected all attempts to evade reason but he restricted the range of reason. His epistemology destroyed any relation between knowledge of the universe and knowledge of God. He especially pronounced animosity against all those who claimed to know the psychology of God. He even maintained that monotheism can be derived only from the prime being and not from the prime efficient cause. He rejected Thomist ontology and Augustine's belief in eternal ideas which constitute the archetypes of the universe in the depth of divine essence, and he flatly denied the usefulness and truth of the speculations of all the great Doctors of the Church. He also held ethics to be independent of metaphysics. In the struggle about universals, Ockham sided with those who held that universality can be attributed only to terms and propositions, not to things. But his interests did not center on this problem. For him, intuition of the singular is the basis of all concepts which are signs of the real. Science has to verify the signs. All existing things depend on God's absolutely free will. All secondary causally is indemonstrable. It is only a fact which science has to interpret. While the will of God is absolutely free, Man has the freedom of alternative choice. Will is an essential attribute of any reasoning creature. In summary, for Ockham concepts do not have objective reality; they exist only in our intellect as a "term" or "sign" of the similarity of many experienced objects. The denial of concepts as a reality bears within itself the denial of metaphysics. Moreover, Ockham defends an absolute predomination of the divine will: The Principle of contradiction is under the free will of God, and, if God wished, it would be a meritorious act to hate Him. Furthermore, the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are objects of faith and not of reason. Thus, when faith became weaker, these truths were denied, which is exactly what modern philosophy has done. Ockham's diction is very precise but lacks charm. He influenced Wyclif and Erasmus. Luther borrowed some sentences from him, but would have repudiated his principal doctrines had he known them. In The Radical Academy Elsewhere On the Internet
The Mystical Thought of the Fourteenth Century The fourteenth century is characterized by a reflowing of mysticism that can be attributed to the survival of the mystical current of the Middle Ages, and also to the progress of Ockhamism. The moment mystical and theological truths were placed outside rational certainty there remained no other way to arrive at God save that of love and of ecstatic intuition. Thus the mystical motives of Neo-Platonic and Augustinian speculation returned. Among the orthodox mystics, the most representative is the Flemish John of Ruysbroeck (1293-1381); he nurtured the ascetical movement from which came one of the masterpieces of Catholic mysticism, The Imitation of Christ. The question of the authorship of this work has long occupied scholars; for many years it was attributed to Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), whose name appears in the basic Latin edition dated 1441. The mystical trend which flourished in Germany assumed a heretical character. The greatest representative of this current was Master Eckhart (1260?-1327), who taught at Cologne. His mysticism, which shows tendencies that may be traced to Scotus Erigena, is a form of pantheism that identifies the creature and the Creator in the contemplative act of ecstasy. His disciples accented these aspects of Master Eckhart's teaching, and in many respects were the forerunners of Protestantism.
Johannes (Master) Eckhart (1260?-1327) "Wouldst thou be perfect, do not yelp about God." This sentence, uttered by Johannes Eckhart (picture), characterized him as a man of deepest spirituality, whose sermons utilized the Bible as an opportunity to lead his listeners to the oneness of God, to make them realize that the approach to God was through the self and silence. A Dominican friar, he rose to high office in the service of the Church. He was prior at Erfurt; vicar-provincial of Thuringia; provincial of Saxony; and vicar-general of Bohemia. A Master of Sacred Theology and Doctor of Divinity, he preached his "sweet doctrine" at the College of St. James, Paris, and in the nunneries of Strassburg and Cologne. Always welcome, he was reverently referred to as the "Holy Master Eckhart." A "Brother of the Free Spirit," he differed markedly from the schoolmen and their arid teachings. His message paralleled the best of Hindu teachings in Sankara Acharya; that God is in every human being; nothing is apart from God, and the complete dissolution of all opposites and self-abandonment to Him constitutes salvation. In the early years of the Inquisition his mystic teachings and symbolic interpretations were not opposed, but charges were preferred against him in 1327. He was unwilling to recant all his teachings and appealed to Rome. Pope John XXII issued a bull condemning the majority of his propositions as heretical and the rest as "ill-sounding, rash, and probably heretic." It was during that year that Eckhart died; however, official condemnation did not prevent his followers from clinging to his teachings. In The Radical Academy Elsewhere On The Internet
V. PHILOSOPHICAL AND MYSTICAL KNOWLEDGE The proper object of philosophy is the essence of material beings, and the philosopher conceives these essences by means of abstraction from data obtained by the senses, from external objects. Any method of knowledge which bypasses sense experience and is based on intuition is not necessarily false, but it is not philosophical: it is true if based on an actual supernatural gift but it is beyond the means of natural knowledge. Therefore, all theories based on illumination are philosophically excluded because they are beyond philosophy, even though they may lead to deeper truths. Such men as St. Augustine and St. Bonaventure were so used to the supernatural method that they accepted it by mistake as a natural means of acquiring knowledge, not noticing that such method was a personal favor of God and could not be followed by the philosopher who was left to reason alone. Conclusion Scholastic philosophy grew step by step as a harmonious accord of reason and faith, which met on the same summit: God, the Creator of man. Such metaphysics does not know decadence. The decadence occurs in men, when their culture indicates a retrogression to past errors, such as Ockham did with his return to nominalism. Thus in later schools these same errors were to appear again; reason was to take the place of faith and man the place of God. In The Radical Academy
The positive contributions of Scholastic Philosophy to the Perennial Philosophy Scholastic philosophy, in its laborious ascent to Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, utilized the best elements of Greek and Patristic philosophy, and succeeded in constructing a weighty metaphysics, in which a rational solution is found to the two problems at the basis of philosophy as well as theology: God and man. Scholastic metaphysics is a harmonious accord of science and faith, between philosophy and theology, which, although treading different paths, meet on the same summit: God, the Creator of man. Such a metaphysics does not know decadence, and for this reason Scholasticism has justly been included in the "philosophia perennis," the Perennial Philosophy, the philosophy of all times and of all places. Enrich Your Life With a Philosophy Book...
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