Philosophy & Psychology

In his magnum opus De Trinitate the twelfth-century canon Richard of St. Victor offers sustained reflection on core dogmatic claims from the Athanasian creed. At the heart of the treatise is Richard’s argument for exactly three divine persons. Starting with the necessity of a single maximally perfect divine substance Richard reasons along four steps: (i) God must have maximal charity or other-love; (ii) to be perfectly good delightful and glorious God’s other-love must be shared among at least two and (iii) among at least three divine persons; (iv) the metaphysics of divine processions and love each ensure the impossibility of four divine persons. For Richard Scripture and trustworthy church authorities already provide certainty in these truths of faith. Even so as an act of ardent love Richard contemplates the Trinity as reflected in creation. From this epistemic point of departure he supports his conclusions from common human experience alone.

Recently philosophers of religion have employed Richard’s trinitarian reflection as a springboard for constructive work in apologetics and ramified natural theology. His unique and meticulous approach to the Trinity has garnered attention from scholars of medieval and Victorine studies recognizing the novelty and rigour of his philosophical theology.

This volume presents the first focused exploration of Richard’s central thesis in De Trinitate combining historical context with philosophical scrutiny. It confronts the most challenging aspects of his argument presenting Richard’s insights as not merely intriguing but also profoundly compelling. His thesis if validated promises to significantly enrich modern dialogues on the philosophical and theological dimensions of the Trinity.

Peter Abelard (1079-1142) famous for his unhappy love story with Heloise which he wrote down in his autobiographical work Historia calamitatum was among the most respected scholars of his time. Brilliant as a philosopher and theologian he was one of the co-founders of scholasticism seeking to elucidate theological facts through logic.Scito te ipsum is one of the most important texts of the twelfth century. Only in the later phase of his life and work did Abelard decide to separate moral themes from his overall theological schema and to dedicate a monograph to them under the guiding concepts of "sin" (First Book) and "obedience before God" (Second Book unfinished). As Ethica nostra it was intended to provide a Christian conception alongside a philosophical ethics and to summarise the results of his previous studies.

Along with Abelard’s entire theology this treatise was also condemned as heretical by Pope Innocent II and was long considered lost. Since its rediscovery in the 18th century it has met with lively interest both from a theological and also from a philosophical point of view. The historical aspects of the work and its integration into Abelard’s complete works receive special attention in the introduction to this volume which presents the Latin text from the Corpus Christianorum (CC CM 190) with a new English translation.

L’essor des traductions directes du grec au français commence dans les années 1550. Du début du XIVe siècle jusqu’au milieu du XVIe siècle les auteurs-traducteurs en langue française qui représentent la Grèce ancienne n’ont sauf exception aucune connaissance directe des œuvres grecques. Les savoirs sur la Grèce qu’ils transmettent et réinventent sont médiatisés par des filtres divers. Leur réception est indirecte elle prend appui sur des œuvres antérieures textuelles et iconographiques dont les représentations de la Grèce ancienne sont déjà le fruit d’une ou de plusieurs réceptions.Les œuvres latines qu’ils traduisent et adaptentsont pour une part des œuvres antiques et médiévales qui ne sont pas des traductions et pour une part des traductions ou adaptations d’œuvres grecques avec parfois plusieurs transferts linguistiques à partir du grec. Elles sont très diverses : des textes antiques jusqu’aux traductions humanistes latines d’œuvres grecques réalisées en Italie et aux Pays-Bas en passant par des œuvres latines médiévales originales des traductions latines du français et des traductions arabo-latines et arabo-hispano-latines.

Les auteurs-traducteurs en langue française héritent ainsi de réceptions antérieures diverses qu’ils s’approprient et transforment poursuivant le processus d’invention de représentations de la Grèce ancienne. Comme les manuscrits et les imprimés de leurs nouvelles traductions sont souvent très illustrés les artistes offrent dans le même temps des traductions visuelles qui elles aussi s’appuient sur des sources diverses et des réceptions antérieures et donnent à voir de nouvelles images de la Grèce ancienne. La question de la réception de l’Antiquité grecque sera donc explorée par une entrée différente de celle qui a été adoptée jusqu’à présent et qui a consisté en l’étude de la transmission et de la traduction directes des œuvres grecques. Le présent volume se focalise sur les traductions au second degré de textes grecs.

Il volume raccoglie alcune delle relazioni presentate durante il 4° Colloquio Internazionale della Societas Artistarum. Svoltosi presso l’Università degli studi di Milano il 7-9 novembre 2019 esso si proponeva di approfondire da prospettive diverse come si sia configurato nell’Italia medievale e rinascimentale il rapporto fra medicina e filosofia. Alcuni contributi si soffermano sul contesto storico-istituzionale dell’insegnamento e della pratica della medicina sull’uso di dottrine etiche e di strumenti logici e retorici da parte dei medici. Altri contributi avvalendosi anche di documenti e testi inediti analizzano invece temi interdisciplinari come le teorie della generazione e la natura delle acque fluviali oppure mettono a fuoco il pensiero e l’opera di medici-filosofi come Bartolomeo da Salerno Taddeo Alderotti Antonio da Parma e Ludovico Boccadiferro.

Codificata a partire da una sezione specifica del corpus aristotelico la logica rappresentava nel Medioevo latino quell’"arte delle arti" (ars artium) che studiava le regole del ragionamento corretto e le era riconosciuta una universalità di tipo strumentale. Come notato sin dai primi biografi e commentatori Dante dimostra in svariate occasioni una maestria e una padronanza della materia del tutto degne per dirla col Boccaccio di un «maraviglioso loïco». Giustamente celebri sono i versi di Inferno XXVII in cui «un d’i neri cherubini» con un raffinato ragionamento strappa l’anima di Guido da Montefeltro all’impotente San Francesco («forse / tu non pensavi ch’io loïco fossi!» v. 123); ma è soprattutto nel Convivio nella Monarchia e nella controversa Questio de aqua et terra che l’Alighieri sfoggia una competenza difficilmente riducibile alla consultazione occasionale di qualche ‘manuale’. Questo studio analizza sistematicamente i passaggi dell’opera dantesca riconducibili a questo specifico ambito disciplinare; e offre una panoramica sugli ambienti culturali in cui il Poeta avrebbe verosimilmente potuto formarsi (Firenze Bologna la Toscana occidentale la marca Trevigiana). Da un lato quindi si inserisce nel fortunato filone di studi che si è occupato di valutare la conoscenza che Dante poté avere delle dottrine di Aristotele e dei suoi interpreti. Dall’altro tenta di ricostruire i tempi i luoghi e i modi in cui «peregrino quasi mendicando» poté acquisire tale competenza specialistica. In tal modo non viene solo illuminato un lato inesplorato di questo eccezionale «amatore di sapienza» ma viene anche offerto uno scorcio privilegiato sullo stato delle conoscenze filosofiche in Italia fra XIII e XIV secolo.

This book offers the first survey of philosophical pedagogy in Jewish culture during the Middle Ages with a focus on Northern France the Provence Italy and Spain. By examining not only the discourse of renowned philosophers such as Maimonides and Gersonides but also oft-neglected manuscript evidence of educational practices and students’ notes the book offers a nuanced understanding of the medieval Jewish intellectual landscape and shows how Jewish educators brought intricate debates on metaphysics ethics and epistemology into the classroom. The book also sheds light on the broader societal and cultural contexts that influenced these philosophical pursuits.

An essential read for anyone interested in the history of philosophy Jewish studies or medieval intellectual culture this book celebrates the enduring legacy of Jewish philosophical thought and its pivotal role in shaping the intellectual currents of the Middle Ages.

The Franciscan William of Ware – the Magister Scoti – flourished as a theologian at the end of the thirteenth century. Although he wielded significant influence on fourteenth-century theological and philosophical debates his thought remains little known and even less studied than it deserves. A major cause for this situation lies in the difficulty of accessing the text of his Questions on the Four Books of the Sentences which is largely unedited.　

This volume is the first entirely devoted to William of Ware. It aims to promote a renewed knowledge of his texts and doctrines. The book includes updated information on studies and editions of Ware's texts and specific studies on crucial aspects of his doctrines such as theology metaphysics physics epistemology Christology and anthropology. Additionally the volume presents previously unpublished questions from his Commentary on the Sentences.

Overall the volume serves as an essential reference for the thought and texts of William of Ware and provides a new and illuminating perspective on scholastic culture during the turn from the thirteenth to the fourteenth century.