Late Scholasticism Research Articles

Диахронный анализ философского термина “mōrālitās”

The paper explores the origin and semantic derivation of Latin philosophic term “mōrālitās” (“morality”), keeping in mind its generalizing and object-giving function in modern moral philosophy, which is obvious in its derivates in European languages. The semantic derivation of “mōrālitās” is being examined by means of comparative analysis of lexicographical data in three dictionary groups: that of the Late Latin (when the word “mōrālitās” first occurs), of the Medieval Latin (when it enters philosophical lexicon) and that of Early Modern Latin (when the term became widespread and got its modern meaning). To cover the lack of lexicographical information in the latter two groups of dictionaries the study uses Google Books full-text search, which statistically proves, that the term gained popularity only in the first half of 17th century and also gives important clues on the development of its meaning in late scholasticism. In conclusion, it is stated, that semantic derivation of the term in Late, Medieval and Early Modern Latin shares the same common guidelines, namely steady synonymic ties with emerging substantive forms of the adjective “mōrālis” (moral) and term phrases, formed with “mōrālis” and “mōs” (habit, custom). As a result of such a derivation “mōrālitās” came to be highly polysemic term, denoting the very quality of the free and conscious action, its moral worth and the rules to estimate the worth, and the philosophical discipline for doing that, and the subject of this discipline in the same time.

Бернард Больцано и школа Брентано

The article defines the significance of Bolzano for the Brentano school and explores the sense in which Bolzano could have been an intermediary between late Scholasticism and the Brentano school. The first part of the article discusses the assessment of the Bolzano’s philosophical doctrine, which is offered by Brentano himself and his closest student Marty. Brentano found Bolzano’s pursuit of scientific philosophy commendable, but at the same time criticized him for platonism in the theory of meanings and for distin­guishing the ways of being. Marty, continuing partly to criticize Bolzano, rather posi­tively assessed his doctrine of propositions in themselves. Using the example of the doc­trine of modifying adjectives, it is shown what influence Bolzano had on Marty’s philoso­phy of language. In the second part of the article, the question of Bolzano’s influence on K. Twardowski, A. Meinong and E. Husserl is considered. It is shown that each of these thinkers interpreted Bolzano's doctrine of propositions in themselves in different ways and at the same time not quite correctly. Bolzano’s doctrine of proposition structure is discussed separately and the evaluation of this doctrine proposed by Husserl is analyzed. Bolzano’s insufficient attention to the syntactic complexity of sentences, according to Husserl, was the reason that the Bohemian thinker did not propose a full-fledged theory of meaning and did not investigate the relationship between semantics and ontology. For other students of Brentano, Husserl’s assessment only confirmed that Bolzano did not pay due attention to linguistic synsemantics. The third part answers the question of Bolzano’s mediation between late Scholasticism and the Brentano school: the desire to defend the objectivity of truth and refute subjectivism unites such thinkers as S. Izquierdo and B. Bolzano, and it is on this basis that the continuity between late Scholasticism and the Brentano school can be traced.

Никакого предела. О том, что мысль действительно может делать Часть I Ж. Бенуа

In the article “No Limit” Jocelyn Benoist criticizes the idea of a constitutive lim­itation of human cognitive and thinking abilities, which has spread in modern and postmodern philosophy. The author explores the notion of finite being, which has its origins in late scholasticism, and its evolution. The discourse of limit is linked to the motif of finitude, which goes back to Kant. For critical philosophy, the notion of ‘finitude’ is not reduced to the simple status of ‘being finite’. Finitude of human beings is conditioned by the fact that only the world of phenomena, not things in themselves, is accessible to them. For postmodern philosophy, which asserts the overcoming of finitude, to be is to be represented. Postmodernism abuses the idea of the performativity of language, which leads to a form of linguistic neo-idealism – the idea of the performativity of thought. De-literalising ontology, it attributes to thought an unconditional ontological fruitfulness. This is an insurrection not only against the fact that things are as they are, but also against the normativity of the notion of reality. In fact, things do not depend on their representation and discourse. And representations them­selves cannot easily be changed. Thought adapts to reality, not produces it. The postmodern limitlessness of knowledge and thought is the inverse of the modern limitation. The post-postmodern speculative realism of Q. Meillas­soux, which announced the end of finitude, in fact shares the premise of critical philosophy. To the end of finitude in the very terms of finitude Benoist opposes its end in the sense of refusing to reason in these terms. There is no limit that Meillassoux and neo-metaphysicians attempt to overcome.

Virtues, Vices and the Responsibilities of Business: An Application of Catholic Social Teaching to the Problems of Corruption and Lobbying

This paper examines the development of Catholic social thought and teaching on the responsibilities of business. It begins with a natural law and Thomistic framework and shows how the general principles are applied to practical situations, firstly in the work of the late scholastics and, secondly, through the social encyclical tradition. Changes in emphasis are noted in the post-war period. The paper also explores how the challenges of corruption and lobbying have been viewed in the tradition. Despite mention of these topics by Pope Francis, we conclude that they are under-explored areas. As such, we set out a framework for consideration of these topics using the approach presented in the earlier part of the paper.

FOUNDATIONS OF CLASSICAL PHYSICS AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY

The article discusses the twists and turns of the history of formulation of the inertia principle of classical mechanics and their dependence on the theological concepts of their time. The points of view on the movement and inertia of Aristotle, the authors of late scholasticism, Galileo, Descartes and Newton are subject to discussion. The fundamental concepts of classical mechanics are also compared with the tradition of Protestant theology.

Pacis Encomium

Abstract Virgil’s Georgics was a source of pacifistic thinking for Erasmus, More, and Vives, who used figurative readings of the poem to reinforce their notions about the incompatibility of war and Christian society. In doing so, they furthered an interpretive tradition begun by Mancinelli, Valeriano, Landino, and other humanists of the Quattrocento, who were intrigued by the poem’s political potential. In the Enchiridion, Querela Pacis, Utopia, and de Concordia et Discordia, the Georgics functioned as a heuristic for thinking through current events and critiquing violence within Christendom. From soils to trees to cattle and bees, Virgil’s poem supplied Erasmus, More, and Vives with diverse tools for deflating militaristic ideology and imagining alternatives to the status quo. At a time when late scholastics were debating the finer points of iustum bellum, the humanists were moving the discussion into an entirely new direction, using Virgil to envision the abolition of war between Christian states.

From the doctrine of restitution of the Spanish late scholastics to the European law of non-contractual obligations?

The article traces the influence on modern law of the late scholastic theory of restitution (restitutio), which integrated the laws of unjust enrichment, delict, and damages into one, single overarching theory. Although late scholastic authors were widely read and frequently cited during the 17th and 18th centuries, the impact of their theory of restitution was rather slight. In secular natural law discussions and in the learned ius commune, this theory could not become an attractive model of non-contractual obligations because it was perceived as a symbol of an old-fashioned Thomism and of Catholic, rather than Christian, faith. It is shown that apparent parallels between the theory of restitution and modern private law institutions, particularly in the law of damages, are mostly due to developments that were independent of late scholastic arguments. Nevertheless, the theory may appear intellectually attractive, even from a modern perspective, as it offers a legally innovative rights-based reconstruction of the law of non-contractual obligations.

Позднесхоластические корни теории предметов Алексиуса Майнонга

The theory of objects is usually considered as a pioneering endeavor of Alexius Meinong. In this paper, we intend to show that it finds parallels in the late scholastic philosophy of the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. First, we argue for the assumption that Meinong may have been aware of scholastic ideas akin to his own. Second, our hypothesis is ex­amined in terms of the logic of the problem itself, that is, the logic of the objectivity of thought. To do so, we delineate the basic theses of Meinong’s theory as follows: 1) the thesis of the pure object and of givenness to cognition as a universal property of the ob­ject in general; 2) the thesis of the necessity of a discipline designed to investigate the ob­ject as such; 3) the being of the object. Ways of being. Independence of so-being from be­ing; 4) transition from “the third kind” of being conception to the idea of Aussersein; 5) the thesis about internal structure of so-being, nuclear and extranuclear properties of the object. Each of theses is compared with the corresponding elements of late scholastic discourse. As a result, we conclude that Meinong’s theory can be considered as a continu­ation and development of similar ideas in scholasticism, despite the difference in the orig­inal contexts and explicit tasks in the two traditions. This means that a study of late scholasticism can be very useful also for a better understanding of the intentional theories of the Brentano school and, in particular, Alexius Meinong’s theory of objects.

Jesuits, Transylvanian Baroque and the Middle Ages: Ignatius Batthyány and Saint Gerardus of Cenad

Although considered as the end of the Late (baroque) Scholasticism, in Central Europe the 18th century still bore the substance of philosophical thinking and education of the Jesuit baroque philosophy, especially its ideal of building study societies and classical libraries accompanied by astronomical observatories and scientific collections. The Jesuit model of Eger was brought by the Transylvanian Bishop Ignatius Batthyány at Alba Iulia where he has established a learning place consisting in a classical and theological library and founded a literary society, trained a professional librarian and aimed at offering a study place for meritory scholars. He was himself a theologian, paleographer and historian, edited and commented on the treatise Deliberatio supra hymnum trium puerorum ad Isingrimum liberalem by the 11th century Benedictine Bishop Gerardus of Cenad. Bishop Batthyány was for many reasons a baroque scholar although many times introduced as a man of Enlightenment by some historians.

Culpa Levissima and the Eclipse of Strict Liability

Abstract In Roman law, as interpreted by the medieval jurists, in a gratuitous loan (commodatum), the borrower was liable for culpa levissima, failure to use be as diligent as “most diligent” (diligentissimus). It would seem, then, that a person could be liable for conduct that he could not help. That consequence troubled the medieval canonists a person would then be liable who had not sinned. It troubled the late scholastics because a person would then be liable for an accident, which was not a violation of commutative justice. Some concluded that liability for culpa levissima was a creature of positive law, based on pragmatic considerations but with no grounding in principle. There was another explanation glimpsed by the late scholastics and by Hugo Grotius: commutative justice requires that one who borrows gratuitously indemnify the lender against any loss. Unfortunately, in the following centuries, that explanation was lost from sight.

Mises and Rothbard On War Finance

Inside the «economics of war» field of study, very few economists have tried to build a systematic theory of the consequences of the different methods of financing wars. Even fewer economists have ever attempted to elaborate a theory that meets both efficiency and ethical criteria. The first studies in this field can be traced back to the late scholastics. Francisco Suarez (1548-1617) and Francisco de Vitoria (1486-1546) are well known as founders of international law studies. The latter, using his characteristic juridical approach to ethical problems, concludes that the prince can use no neutral person or private property in order to wage a war1.
 But it was Juan de Mariana (1536-1623) who first tried to unite the ethical and the economic dimension of war finance. Mariana started by analyzing the question of the resources the prince is allowed to use for waging a war. His answer could be described as a libertarian answer; the king is not the owner of the properties of his subjects, and thus, he cannot dispose of them at his whim but only after having gained the acceptance of the owner. Then he turned to the different financial tools, and he described the economic consequences of their use. After dealing with the effects of taxation, inflation and the king’s credit, he recommended that both the king and the citizens be aware of the ethical and practical point of views2.
 After Mariana, very few thinkers have worked on war finance combining both approaches. In this last century the Austrian School of Economics has contributed to the development of the war finance theory by the hand of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. The first, concentrated his analysis on the possible use of the means to wage a war, and their consequences. On the contrary Rothbard´s approach is known for its focus on the ethical approach to war finance.

The Genesis of the Idea and Value of Political Peace in Early Modern Political Philosophy

The main intention of this paper is to reconstruct the conceptual and historical‎ genesis of the idea and value of political peace from the point of view of ‎political philosophy at the intersection between late scholasticism and early modernity. The paper consists of three related parts. The first part highlights‎ methodological and contextual reasons why the idea of political peace has ‎been overshadowed throughout history by dominant discourses on war. The ‎second part deals with conceptual clarifications. The nature of war is distinguished ‎from other types of conflict and three interpretative approaches to‎ war are analyzed: political realism, fundamentalist-moralistic view of the holy‎ war, and the many theories of natural law that give rise to conceptions of just‎ war, but also the first abolitionist perspective or idea of ending all wars. Early‎ theoretical articulations of the notion of peace indicated modern-day emancipation‎ of politics from the tutelage of metaphysics and classical ethics, thus‎ separating the value of political peace from its original oneness with cosmic ‎and psychological peace. The third part of the paper highlights key moments ‎in the historical genesis of the value of political peace in the works of Aurelius ‎Augustine, Marsilius of Padua, and William of Ockham.‎

Goodness and motivation

ABSTRACT To be moral is to be moved to act by reason; and to be moved to act by reason is to be moved by the good. But if reason moves us, what is the nature of its power to move? And what role does goodness play? These questions about rational motivation became a matter of fierce contention in the early modern period. An established theory of how reason moves us – the theory defended by late scholastics such as Suarez – met destructive opposition, from Hobbes, and this opposition eventually put the very possibility of rational motivation in doubt. Two questions were debated. The first was about power. Was there a power of reason to move us or was all power ordinary causation? The second was about the relation between morality as a motivating source of direction, and morality as a set of appraisive standards. Is one of these two aspects of morality primary and explanatory of the other as secondary to it? Or is one of these aspects even an illusion? Hobbes’ answers to these two questions threatened a complete ethical scepticism. Hume avoided this complete ethical scepticism, but at the price of a scepticism about practical reason in particular.

From Structure to Rhizome: Transdisciplinarity in French Thought. Subject Re-/Decentred

The article is an interdisciplinary attempt to theologize the foundations of the concept of the subject in order to discover the “historical a priori” of the modern subject. Descartes did not postulate a Cartesian subject, but only had a persistent desire to avoid likening the thinking Self to a subject of thought. If Descartes at times used the word “subject,” it was only because his two opponents, first Hobbes and then Regius, forced him to adapt the subject to his dualistic idea of man. The Greek concept of hypokeimenon travelled a long road through hypostasis to reach the subject by way of the Christological problems that served as models for new philosophical problems and vice versa during a lengthy period in the history of philosophy. The union of two natures, the human and divine, in the hypostasis or “personality” of Christ is a model for the union of spirit and body as it was conceived from Leibniz to Peter Strawson. The subject arises from a combination of two conflicting models of subjectivity (Subiectität), which were gradually proposed, opposed and finally united in late Scholasticism: a combination of the Aristotelian (Peripatetic) philosophical concept of subjectivity (subjecthood) based on the relationships between hypokeimenon and accidents; and the Augustinian theological concept based on the relationship between ousia and hypostases, the cohabitation of the three hypostases, their mutual immanence, and the hypostatic alliance of the dual nature of Christ. Heidegger’s Subiectität will have historical value only if we believe that it includes two competing components inherited from late ancient philosophy and theology — hypokeimenon and hypostasis — that will then allow us to understand the modern version of subject as a “connecting bridge,” a transdisciplinary entity. This concept is a compromise for connecting two conceptual schemes: inherence and attribution. It defines what is required to be a subject in terms of subjecthood; however, it formulates what is proper to an I or ego, or to being an agent of thought and will, in terms of personality as a “combined center of choice and action” characterized by intentionality and spontaneity. Descartes never subscribed to an all-encompassing concept that places personality, identity, ego and causality under the single rubric of “subjecthood.” Before becoming decentralized, the subject had to become “centered.” It was to become the “center” of perception, the “center” of acting and enduring. The outlines of this concept were set in the Middle Ages.

Return to the “Foundations” of Quentin Skinner

This article provides a brief analysis of the compilation “Rethinking the Foundations of Modern Political Thought”, which under the editorship of Annabel Brett and James Tully, represents an attempt to reconsider the original work of Quentin Skinner “The Foundations of Modern Political Thought”. The authors of the compilation examine such fundamental topics as the context of Q. Skinner’s “Foundations’, his “linguistic” philosophy, rhetoric, late scholastics; upon the questions on Hobbs and democracy. In conclusion, analysis is conducted on this attempt to “reconsider” the ideas and views of Skinner, as well as his response to the remarks. The goal of this article consists in examination of the main theses and criticism of the authors of the compilation. The need for such review is substantiated by the fact that the Cambridge School of Intellectual History gains more relevance for the Russian humanities. For the Russian political science, “Rethinking of the Foundations” remains an important and untranslated source for broader understanding of the Cambridge School of Intellectual History. The author of the article attempts to partially fulfill this gap.

El enfoque franciscano y la ciencia. De la Escolástica Tardía a la vía moderna

La Escolástica Tardía marca un hito en la historia del pensamiento filosófico. En este periodo se establecen las bases de un profundo proceso de transformación en la forma de observar la naturaleza a través de una minuciosa recolección de datos, experimentos y posteriores análisis. El enfoque franciscano da prioridad a aquel sentido práctico del filosofar que se funda sobre la existencia real y desembarca en la acción. Los pensadores franciscanos analizan las realidades del mundo con un dinamismo pragmático sumamente original.

Fábrica de Intelectuais. O ensino de Artes nos Colégios jesuíticos do Brasil, 1572-1759

The Society of Jesus, since the beginning of the Portuguese colonizationin America, built educational institutions focusing on primary, secondary and highereducation. These institutions were directed to external students, viz. laymen and regularpriests of different orders, and had an important role in the cultural formation of the socialgroups who would rule the country. Through those institutions, the Jesuits provided ahigh quality philosophical and theological education to the settlers, based on the culturaltradition of late scholasticism and updated through a dialogue with modern science. Theaim of this study is to analyze the history of the formation of those schools of philosophyin the different colleges of the Society of Jesus in Brazil, with special attention to thehistory of their regulation process.

The Political Morality of the Late Scholastics: Civic Life, War and Conscience, written by Daniel Schwartz

The Political Morality of the Late Scholastics: Civic Life, War and Conscience, written by Daniel Schwartz

The Political Morality of the Late Scholastics: Civil Life, War and Conscience by Daniel Schwartz

The Political Morality of the Late Scholastics: Civil Life, War and Conscience by Daniel Schwartz

The Political Morality of the Late Scholastics: Civic Life, War and Conscience. By Daniel Schwartz

The Political Morality of the Late Scholastics: Civic Life, War and Conscience. By Daniel Schwartz