Marsilius von Inghen. Christliche Ethik für das Leben in der Welt

Abstract

Marsilius of Inghen develops his concept of Christian ethics in his Commentary on the Sentences. He bases his teaching on the fundament of Aristotle’s philosophy: all human beings are able to act rationally, and therefore they are able to act morally. Against contemporary philosophical rationalisms Marsilius contends that criterion of what is good was settled by God in such an infallible way that any competitive concepts of the good and evil would be vane speculations of no real value for theology. God wants virtues so decisively that they are obligatory and natural for all humans. In accordance with the spirit of his times Marsilius distinguishes common virtues from the theological ones. Faith, hope and love differ from common virtues as they refer directly to God but they cooperate with them in that they direct man’s natural life. Marsilius focuses on the question of how love to God determines the true goodness of virtues as contrasted to the goodness of the natural virtues that can be seen in actions of Pagans; those were perceived by St Augustine as seeming virtues. Marsilius choses the middle way and he acknowledges that virtues of men who do not know and love God, are virtues with God’s aid. All that can be classified as moral depends on God. Nonetheless, those and only those natural actions that provide us with authentic knowledge of God and love to Him, can be called salutary. Marsilius was a disciple of John Buridan and knew his thesis that the will and reason, without God’s influence, can produce moral actions. Marsilius did not mention Buridan but he, though evaluating his thoughts as profound and acceptable, rejected his principal thesis: nature is not able to self-realization because sins have not left it untouched. True morality requires relation to God and it becomes actual by the love of God. The space, in which this realization takes place, is natural human life. Marsilius upholds St Augustine’s notion of ordo caritatis – its direct source is probably Peter Lombard. The love of God develops in society. Marsilius defends his concept of God’s love acting within the world against the variety of objections. Christian ethics realizes within particular social structures and necessary compromises. Ordo caritatis does not pass by the world, by contrast it establishes its order. Marsilius is not a monk like theologian, instead he is a secular theologian; and this can be perceived above all in his concept of Christian ethics that is worldly biased.