Being and Knowing: Studies in Thomas Aquinas and Later Medieval Philosophers

489 Pages·1990·60.02 MB·English

by  Armand Maurer

Armand Maurer
BEING AND KNOWING
Studies in Thomas Aquinas and
Later Medieval Philosophers
The studies in this volume concern philosophical ideas of men who lived in
Western Europe and England between roughly 1250 and 1350 — a period
that began with Thomas Aquinas and ended with William of Ockham. These
hundred years were marked by intense philosophical speculation and contro-
versy; they saw the rise of philosophical and theological giants such as Albert
the Great, Aquinas, Bonaventure, Scotus and Ockham, as well as a host of
lesser lights without whom the intellectual history of the time would be
incomplete. Besides studies in Thomas Aquinas and Ockham, the volume
includes essays on Siger of Brabant, Henry of Harclay, Dietrich of Freiberg,
John of Jandun and Francis of Meyronnes. The Epilogue contains two essays
of a general character: one on some aspects of fourteenth-century philosophy,
the other on the divergent views of several eminent historians of medieval
philosophy on the nature of philosophy in the Middle Ages.
All the essays in the volume were previously printed in various journals
and books. They are here reprinted substantially as they first appeared, but
with corrections and revisions.
As the title Being and Knowing indicates, the topics of the studies fall
within the scope of metaphysics and what is known today as epistemology.
PAPERS IN MEDIAEVAL STUDIES 10
Being and Knowing
Studies in Thomas Aquinas and
Later Medieval Philosophers
Armand Maurer
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
CANADIAN CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Maurer, Armand A. (Armand Augustine), 1915-
Being and knowing
(Papers in mediaeval studies, ISSN 0228-8605 ; 10)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-88844-810-4
1. Philosophy, Medieval. 2. Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 12257-1274. I. Pon-
tifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. II. Title. III. Series.
B721.M38 1990 189 C89-094308-7
© 1990 by
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
59 Queen's Park Crescent East
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C4
PRINTED BY UNTVERSA, WETTEREN, BELGIUM
Contents
Introduction vii
Acknowledgments DC
THOMAS AQUINAS
1. Form and Essence in the Philosophy of St. Thomas 3
2. St. Thomas and the Analogy of Genus 19
3. A Neglected Thomistic Text on the Foundation of Mathematics 33
4. St. Thomas and Eternal Truths 43
5. St. Thomas on the Sacred Name Tetragrammaton' 59
6. The Unity of a Science: St. Thomas and the Nominalists 71
7. St. Thomas and Historicity 95
SIGER OF BRABANT
8. Esse and Essentia in the Metaphysics of Siger of Brabant 119
9. Between Reason and Faith: Siger of Brabant and Pomponazzi on
the Magic Arts 137
10. Siger of Brabant on Fables and Falsehoods in Religion 163
DIETRICH OF FREIBERG
11. The De Quiditatibus Entium of Dietrich of Freiberg and its
Criticism of Thomistic Metaphysics 177
HENRY OF HARCLAY
12. Henry of Barclay's Question on the Univocity of Being 203
13. Henry of Barclay's Questions on Immortality 229
JOHN OF JANDUN
14. John of Jandun and the Divine Causality 275
FRANCIS OF MEYRONNES
15. Francis of Meyronnes' Defense of Epistemological Realism 311
16. The Role of Infinity in the Thought of Francis of Meyronnes 333
VI CONTENTS
WILLIAM OF OCKHAM
17. The Role of Divine Ideas in the Theology of William of Ockham 363
18. Ockham on the Possibility of a Better World 383
19. Method in Ockham's Nominalism 403
20. William of Ockham on Language and Reality 423
21. Ockham's Razor and Chatton's Anti-Razor 431
EPILOGUE
22. Some Aspects of Fourteenth-Century Philosophy 447
23. Medieval Philosophy and its Historians 461
Recent Editions of Works of Authors Cited 481
Index of Authors 483
Subject Index 491
Introduction
It is with some misgiving that I am reprinting the essays in this volume.
Written over a period of forty years and appearing in various journals and
other publications, they reflect the state of research in the philosophy of the
Middle Ages at the time of their composition. The study of medieval
philosophy has taken such giant strides in recent years, especially through the
editing of the works of the philosophers, that it would be a monumental —
and indeed impractical — task to bring the essays completely up to date. All
I could do was to revise and correct them when I thought this necessary and
to refer to a limited number of recent works on the topics of the essays. The
essay on Siger's metaphysics has been completely rewritten. It is to be hoped
that thus refurbished and brought together in a volume, they will prove to be
of value to students of medieval philosophy.
A few of the articles in their original publication contain the editions of
brief texts of medieval philosophers. Some of these editions have been made
obsolete by the appearance of more recent and critical texts. In these cases
I have not reprinted my own editions but make reference in the notes to the
newer texts. As a general rule I have retained references in the notes to
standard editions available at the time the articles were written. A list of more
recent editions of works cited in the articles has been appended at the end
of the volume.
While calling these papers studies in medieval philosophers, I am aware
that, with the exception of Siger of Brabant and John of Jandun, they were
not primarily philosophers but theologians who philosophized for the
purpose of their theology. The final paper on "Medieval Philosophy and its
Historians," suggests the historical circumstances that gave rise to this way
of doing philosophy, which has been aptly called "Christian Philosophy."
Although this style of philosophizing is no longer in vogue, it can hardly be
denied that, as it was practiced in the Middle Ages, it was productive of
rational, philosophical ideas that have profoundly influenced Western
thought.
The subjects of all the papers fall within the period of 1250 and 1350, from
Thomas Aquinas to William of Ockham. Several extend to the following
centuries, called the Renaissance, but this illustrates the bond between it and
VIII INTRODUCTION
the Middle Ages. The topics of the papers come within the area of
metaphysics or are closely related to it. In thus limiting the scope of the
papers I am not implying that other periods and other topics in medieval
philosophy are unimportant and uninteresting. I am only showing a personal
preference and drawing upon forty years of research and teaching.
I wish to express my gratitude to my Basilian confreres at the Pontifical
Institute for making this reprint possible.
Armand Maurer
Pontifical Institute
of Mediaeval Studies
Acknowledgments
The studies published in this volume are listed below with the place of their
original publication.
1. "Form and Essence in the Philosophy of St. Thomas," in Mediaeval
Studies 13 (1951), 165-176.
2. "St. Thomas and the Analogy of Genus," in The New Scholasticism 29
(1955), 127-144.
3. "A Neglected Thomistic Text on the Foundation of Mathematics," in
Mediaeval Studies 21 (1959), 185-192.
4. "St. Thomas on Eternal Truths," in Mediaeval Studies 32 (1970),
91-107.
5. "St. Thomas on the Sacred Name 'Tetragrammaton'," in Mediaeval
Studies 34 (1972), 275-286.
6. "The Unity of a Science: St. Thomas and the Nominalists," in St. Tho-
mas Aquinas 1274-1974. Commemorative Studies, ed. A. Maurer (To-
ronto, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1974), 2, 269-291.
7. St. Thomas and Historicity (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press,
1979). Given as the Aquinas Lecture, 1979.
8. "Esseand Essentiainthe Metaphysics of Siger of Brabant," in Mediaeval
Studies 8 (1946), 68-86.
9. "Between Reason and Faith: Siger of Brabant and Pomponazzi on the
Magic Arts," in Mediaeval Studies 18 (1956), 1-18.
10. "Siger of Brabant on Fables and Falsehoods in Religion," in Mediaeval
Studies 43 (1981), 515-530.
11. "The De Quiditatibus Entium of Dietrich of Freiberg and its Criticism of
Thomistic Metaphysics," in Mediaeval Studies 18 (1956), 173-203.
12. "Henry of Harclay's Question on the Univocity of Being," in Mediaeval
Studies 16 (1954), 1-18.
13. "Henry of Harclay's Questions on Immortality," in Mediaeval Studies 19
(1957), 79-107.
14. "John of Jandun and the Divine Causality," in Mediaeval Studies 17
(1955), 185-207.
15. "Francis of Meyronnes' Defense of Epistemological Realism," in Studia
Mediaevalia et Mariologica in Honour of P. Carolo Balic (Rome:
Pontificium Athenaeum 'Antonianum', 1971), 203-225.
X ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
16. "The Role of Infinity in the Thought of Francis of Meyronnes," in
Mediaeval Studies 33 (1971), 201-227.
17. "Ockham on the Possibility of a Better World," in Mediaeval Studies 38
(1976), 291-312.
18. "The Role of Divine Ideas hi the Theology of William of Ockham," hi
Studies Honoring Ignatius Charles Brady, Friar Minor, ed. R. S.
Almagno, C. L. Harkins (St. Bonaventure, N.Y.: Franciscan Institute,
1976), 357-377.
19. "Method hi Ockham's Nominalism," hi The Monist 61 (1978),
426-443.
20. "William of Ockham on Language and Reality," hi Miscellanea Me-
diaevalia 13/2. Sprache und Erkenntnis im Mittelalter, ed. W. Kluxen et
al. (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1981), 795-802. A lecture delivered to
the Societe internationale pour 1'etude de la philosophic medievale,
Bonn, West Germany, Aug. 29-Sept. 3, 1977.
21. "Ockham's Razor and Chatton's Anti-Razor," hi Mediaeval Studies 46
(1984), 463-475.
22. "Some Aspects of Fourteenth-Century Philosophy," Mediaevalia et
Humanistica, New Series 7 (1976), 175-188. A lecture given to The
Medieval Academy of America, Harvard University, April 18, 1975.
23. "Medieval Philosophy and its Historians," in Essays on the Reconstruc-
tion of Medieval History, ed. V. Mudroch & G. S. Couse (Montreal and
London: McGill-Queens University Press, 1974), 69-84. A lecture
delivered in 1964 at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, in a series
entitled "The Medieval World."