The Nature of Natural Philosophy in the Late Middle Ages (Studies in Philosophy and the History of Philosophy, Volume 52)

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Grant
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Natural Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
History Of

Alexander of Aphrodisias and his Doctrine of the Soul 1400 Years of Lasting Significance

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eckhard Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Natural Philosophy ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Sense Perception ◽  
Philosophy Of Nature ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Alexander Of Aphrodisias ◽  
History Of ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractThis piece of work intends to shed light on Alexander of Aphrodisias from the second-century Aristotle commentator through the history of Aristotelian psychology up to the sixteenth century's clandestine prompter of the new philosophy of nature. In the millennium after his death the head of the Peripatetic school in Athens served as the authority on Aristotle in the Neo-Platonic school, survived the Arabic centuries of philosophy as Averroes' exemplary exponent of the mortality of the soul and as such was not considered worthy of translation by the Latin Scholastics. This attitude changed only in the Late Middle Ages, when the resistance against Averroes grew fierce and Alexander emerged as the only Aristotelian alternative to him. In 1495 his account of Aristotle's psychology was translated and published and the underlying principles of a natural philosophy, based on sense perception and exempt from metaphysics, became accessible. The prompt reception and widespread endorsement of Alexander's teaching testify to his impact throughout the sixteenth century.

scholarly journals Questioning Nature in Late Middle Ages. A History of Method, Praxis and Innovation

Medievalia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-29
Author(s):  
Giovanni Patriarca ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Natural Philosophy ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Cultural Framework ◽  
European Science ◽  
Transformative Action ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common

This essay traces the interconnections between method, praxis and innovation with their epistemological consequences at the end of the Middle Ages. In the wake of scholastic natural philosophy, this vibrant process marks a milestone in the history of science. During the Thirteenth and Fourteenth centuries a profound transformation takes place in the way of observing nature through a meticulous data collection, experiments and subsequent analysis. In this cultural framework, the Franciscans analyze the realities of the world with an extremely original pragmatic dynamism. This approach gives priority to a practical sense of thinking through a transformative action which opens the doors to a pioneering scientific method and contributes to a long series of innovations. A positive result is an advanced didactics—especially developed by Buridan, Oresme and their followers —that will have a great impact on a continental level, changing the common ground of European science.

Forma Dat Esse

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-446
Author(s):  
Sylvain Roudaut
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Progressive Decline ◽  
De Trinitate ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Middle Ages

Abstract This paper offers an overview of the history of the axiom forma dat esse, which was commonly quoted during the Middle Ages to describe formal causality. The first part of the paper studies the origin of this principle, and recalls how the ambiguity of Boethius’s first formulation of it in the De Trinitate was variously interpreted by the members of the School of Chartres. Then, the paper examines the various declensions of the axiom that existed in the late Middle Ages, and shows how its evolution significantly follows the progressive decline of the Aristotelian model of formal causality.

John Philoponus on Physical Place

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis Papachristou
Keyword(s):  
Physical Model ◽  
Natural Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Major Topic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Aristotelian Tradition

This book examines the place of physical bodies, a major topic of natural philosophy that has occupied philosophers since antiquity. Aristotle’s conceptions of place (topos) and the void (kenon), as expounded in the Physics, were systematically repudiated by John Philoponus (ca. 485-570) in his philosophical commentary on that work. The primary philosophical concern of the present study is the in-depth investigation of the concept of place established by Philoponus, putting forward the claim that the latter offers satisfactory solutions to problems raised by Aristotle and the Aristotelian tradition regarding the nature of place. Philoponus’ account proposes a specific physical model of how physical bodies exist and move in place, and regards place as an intrinsic reality of the physical cosmos. Due to exactly this model, his account may be considered as strictly pertaining to the study of physics, thereby constituting a remarkable episode in the history of philosophy and science.

The Virtues of Economy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Political Society ◽  
Future Role ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City ◽  
Distinct Role

The humanist perception of fourteenth-century Rome as a slumbering ruin awaiting the Renaissance and the return of papal power has cast a long shadow on the historiography of the city. Challenging the view, this book argues that Roman political culture underwent dramatic changes in the late Middle Ages, with profound and lasting implications for the city's subsequent development. The book examines the transformation of Rome's governing elites as a result of changes in the city's economic, political, and spiritual landscape. It explores this shift through the history of Roman political society, its identity as an urban commune, and its once-and-future role as the spiritual capital of Latin Christendom. Tracing the contours of everyday Roman politics, the book reframes the reestablishment of papal sovereignty in Rome as the product of synergy between papal ambitions and local political culture. More broadly, it emphasizes Rome's distinct role in evolution of medieval Italy's city-communes.

scholarly journals Revival and preservation of historical memory in the creative heritage of Professor M. P. Kovalskyi

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Serhii I. Svitlenko
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Scientific School ◽  
Subject Field ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Source Studies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Epoch

The purpose of the article is to reveal the concept of the revival and preservation of historical memory in the creative heritage of Professor M. P. Kovalskyi. Research methods: historical-genetic, historical-system and historical-biographical; complex and personalistic approaches. Sources: a series of archival documents of personal origin, published sources of epistolary and memoir character, the latest historiography. The main results. In the analytical article the regularities of the choice of young scientists in the field of scientific research are highlighted. The peculiarities of the study of the scientist-historian of the source-related problems of the period of transition from the late Middle Ages to the early Modern (ХVІ – the first half of the ХVІІ century) are studied in an atmosphere of the Soviet reality of the 70ʼs and 80ʼs of the 20th century; is accentuated on the great heuristic activity of the scientist; shows his specific contribution to the study of this historical epoch. It is argued that one can speak about the complexity of M. Kovalskyiʼs approach to the development of a source base as a documentary basis for the revival of historical memory. It was proved that the part of the process of renaissance and preservation of historical memory by Professor M. P. Kovalskyi was his work in the development of Ukrainian archeography. The afore mentioned process was traced in the creative heritage of the professor not only in the national, but also in the regional and historical lore contexts. It is highlighted that in the process of revival and preservation of historical memory M. P. Kovalskyi significantly expanded the subject field of research, boldly engaging in the innovative scientific themes of his students. The attention was also paid to the methodical aspect of the revival and preservation of historical memory by Professor M. P. Kovalskyi, which was very broad, including the study of historical chronology, museology, historiography, source studies, historical heuristics, and historical bibliography. Conclusions. Professor M. P. Kovalskyi was made a great contribution to the revival and preservation of the historical memory of Ukrainians about the Cossack period of Ukrainian history, actively involving young scientists, postgraduates and students in this process, which resulted in the formation and formation of a scientific school on source study the history of Ukraine in the ХVІ–ХVІІІ centuries. Practical meaning. The material of this article may be interesting in the process of preparing students and postgraduates, preparing theses. Scientific novelty. The research has actualized a variety of primary sources, insufficiently researched the perspective of the creative activity of Professor M. P. Kovalskyi.

scholarly journals The Syrian romance of St. Clement of Rome, and its early Slavonic version

2020 ◽  
pp. 45-65
Author(s):  
Darya Morozova
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Natural Philosophy ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Detailed Explanation ◽  
Ethical Content ◽  
Biblical History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Authentic Work

The article analyzes the ethical and theological content of the apocryphal Syrian "autobiography" of St. Clement of Rome (Epytome), as well as its early Slavic translation (Life of St. Clement). The study uses historical-philosophical, patristic and philological methodology to outline the specific teachings, attributed to St. Clement by this Greek-speaking Syrian text from the pseudo-Clementine cycle. The methods of comparative textology and translation studies are used to analyze the features of the Slavic version of the work. The study revealed that, contrary to the ideas of the publisher of the Slavic version, P. Lavrov, the translation was undoubtedly made according to the archaic, pre-metaphrasic version of the work. Therefore, it can be dated to the ninth century and come from the school of Cyril and Methodius. The popularity of the monument among Slavic readers is partly explained by the archaic features of the original version of the work preserved in the translation, such as graphic imagery, expressive presentation, and numerous dialogues. Such a lively account facilitated the perception of the conceptually rich ethical content of the work. At the heart of both Greek and Slavic versions is the ethical category of philanthropy (φιλανθρωπία), which figures as a central Christian virtue. Much of the Epitome is devoted to a detailed explanation of this category and its distinction from other virtues. In the original, the ethics of philanthropy is opposed to the astrological ideology represented by Clement’s father Faust. Faust's views are based on the natural philosophical ideas of the early Greek Stoics. Apostle Peter, Clement's teacher, responds to his arguments from the standpoint of Judeo-Christian monotheism, referring to the biblical history of his people. Thus, Hellenism is confronted with biblical monotheism. So, Epitome appears a kind of argument in the controversy between Gentile Christians and Judeo-Christians (Ebionites), which has troubled the Syrian Church for centuries. However, in translation, this clash of worldviews remains obscured, as the translator does not seem to recognize either the terminology of Stoic natural philosophy, or astrological issues, or the debate between the traditions of Peter and Paul in Syria. Thus, all the Stoic terminology of Faust is reduced to a single concept of "being". Therefore, in the translated version, the controversy is not so much between Christianity and astrology, as between ethics and "ontology". Instead, the translator enriches the philosophical outline of the work with polysemic Slavic vocabulary, which sheds new light on the role of the bishop in Peter’s instructions to Clement. Comparison of the Greek and Slavic versions of the Epitome – an autobiography attributed to St. Clement – with his only authentic work, 1Corinthians, allowed to draw another unexpected conclusion. All these works are not only devoted to one main problem - the restoration of peace in the controversial Christian community, but also offer similar ways out of the crisis through brotherly love, solidarity and respect for the otherness of the fellow Christians. This may indicate either that the author of the Syrian apocrypha was inspired by the true Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, or that the image of St. Clement, that developed in the early tradition, dictated the message of the pseudo-epigraph quite powerfully. Due to this consonance, the apocryphal work of the Syrian Ebionites did to some extent acquaint Slavic readers with the ideas of Clement of Rome, whose only authentic work was almost unknown in the Middle Ages.

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