The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Ch. XI The Twelfth Century
Let me start by saying that I find the word, "Twelfth" to be one of the strangest in the English language. It takes a lot of concentration for me to say it without sounding a lot younger than I was on my twelfth birthday.
Four aspects of the 12th century that are especially interesting
1) The continued conflict of empire and papacy
2) The rise of the Lombard cities
3) The Crusades
4) The growth of scholasticism
The papacy continued to grow stronger in the 12th century, generally defeating the emperor and the kings of England and France and also having more strength over bishops, who were on the whole, more virtuous than prior to the reforms of the 11th.
The Italian, Lomabard cities of Northern Italy were able to fight off the Emperor. Their independence allowed the papacy to grow stronger as well as there was a buffer between Rome and the Germans.
The power of the popes was increased by the religious zeal and propaganda of the Crusades.
The first scholastic philosopher was Roscelin, born around 1050. He disappeared around 1120.
Abelard is a more well known scholastic whose writings have survived more in tact than the barely knowable Roscelin.
Abelard's most famous works, "Yes and No" show he loved disputation itself as he gave dialectical arguments for and against a variety of topics. His works being regarded as heretical might have arisen from his love of disputation as he was generally hostile to a lot of other thinkers. His lapses into actual heretical doctrine were fixed in his lifetime.
In addition to the rise of scholasticism there was a rise in mystical expressions as evident by the rise of Bernard of Clairvaux.
"The whole of early scholasticism may be viewed, politically, as an offshoot of the Church's struggle for power" (Russell, 441). The earliest scholastics were primarily French, which the papacy used as a counterbalance to the power of the Emperor.
Showing posts with label Medieval History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medieval History. Show all posts
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Ecclesiastical Reform in the 11th Century
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Ch IX Ecclesiastical Reform in the 11th Century
The level of education rose enormously in the clergy and considerably in the aristocracy during this time. The Normans had kicked out the Saracens from Sicily and curbed the activities of the Scandinavians with their conquests in France and England. Unlike the brief Carolingian renaissance, the gains made in the 11th century had some sticking power.
The reforms were primarily against simony and concubinage.
Simony was a sin, but it also meant that the bishops were selected based on wealth and not merit. And, bishoprics costing a fortune, the newly purchased position was then exploited to recoup the lost income in the purchase.
Clerical celibacy had been admired but was not routine. The imposition of celibacy on the priests made it impossible for a priest to pass Church lands on to his children and further removed the priests from the laity by showing the celibate life of the priest to be greater than the married life of the commonfolk.
The reform of the Church began primarily with monastic reform. The reform of the Papacy was more the work of the Emperor.
Emperor Henry III (1039-1056) deposed the pope Gregory VI, who though a reformer, had acquired the papacy by simony. Henry III would go on to appoint four popes and after the death of Henry III the papacy, which had its moral authority restored by the Emperor declared independence and then superiority over the emperor and two hundred years of tug-a-war ensued.
During the reign of Henry IV the selection of the Pope was codified to essential be a position chosen by the Cardinals, freezing the Emperor out. It was during Henry IV's reign that the investiture crisis began.
The philosophical activity of the 11th century came entirely from monks connected with the reform movement. They including Peter Damian, Berengar of Tours, Lanfranc and Saint Anselm.
Saint Anselm is most famous for the ontological argument, but he also had a foundation in Augustine and Plato. Through neoplatonic arguments he derived another proof for God and proof for Trinity. (Plotinus also had an argument for a trinity, though not one the Christian orthodox could accept).
Anselm, like most of his predecessors were more Platonic in their Christianity. After Aquinas, Christian philosophers became more Aristotelian. Roscelin, a younger contemporary of Anselm, marks the beginning of the Aristotelian bent and scholastic philosophy.
Bertrand Russell
Ch IX Ecclesiastical Reform in the 11th Century
The level of education rose enormously in the clergy and considerably in the aristocracy during this time. The Normans had kicked out the Saracens from Sicily and curbed the activities of the Scandinavians with their conquests in France and England. Unlike the brief Carolingian renaissance, the gains made in the 11th century had some sticking power.
The reforms were primarily against simony and concubinage.
Simony was a sin, but it also meant that the bishops were selected based on wealth and not merit. And, bishoprics costing a fortune, the newly purchased position was then exploited to recoup the lost income in the purchase.
Clerical celibacy had been admired but was not routine. The imposition of celibacy on the priests made it impossible for a priest to pass Church lands on to his children and further removed the priests from the laity by showing the celibate life of the priest to be greater than the married life of the commonfolk.
The reform of the Church began primarily with monastic reform. The reform of the Papacy was more the work of the Emperor.
Emperor Henry III (1039-1056) deposed the pope Gregory VI, who though a reformer, had acquired the papacy by simony. Henry III would go on to appoint four popes and after the death of Henry III the papacy, which had its moral authority restored by the Emperor declared independence and then superiority over the emperor and two hundred years of tug-a-war ensued.
During the reign of Henry IV the selection of the Pope was codified to essential be a position chosen by the Cardinals, freezing the Emperor out. It was during Henry IV's reign that the investiture crisis began.
The philosophical activity of the 11th century came entirely from monks connected with the reform movement. They including Peter Damian, Berengar of Tours, Lanfranc and Saint Anselm.
Saint Anselm is most famous for the ontological argument, but he also had a foundation in Augustine and Plato. Through neoplatonic arguments he derived another proof for God and proof for Trinity. (Plotinus also had an argument for a trinity, though not one the Christian orthodox could accept).
Anselm, like most of his predecessors were more Platonic in their Christianity. After Aquinas, Christian philosophers became more Aristotelian. Roscelin, a younger contemporary of Anselm, marks the beginning of the Aristotelian bent and scholastic philosophy.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Goodreads: The Song of Roland
This is another book that I've rated a bit lower than I probably should have because of the lack of half stars on Goodreads. Can we please get halfstars?
The Song of Roland is great epic poetry, a wonderfully simple story with blood and guts, extreme violence and a great victory. It's also good propaganda. In that way, The Song of Roland is extremely successful. But, much of the complaining about it from modern readers is that it is overly simple and it depicts a very black and white morality: What is Christian is right and what is pagan/Islamic is not. There aren't too many complex characters in the story, which for epic poetry is ok. Charlemagne is the archetype for the godly, good, strong king. King Marsile, his opposite is weak, duplicitous and an archetype for a bad king. Baligant the emir, is a noble enemy worthy of Charlemagne. If Charlemagne only defeated King Marsile, the victory wouldn't have been good enough to write home about. It's like when Alabama beats Alabama A&M. It's supposed to happen. But, when Alabama beats somebody real, the two times a season they are faced with that situation, Alabama gets epics written about it that can reach an audience beyond the sycophantic south. But, I digress.
Roland is the perfect Medieval knight, brave yet pious. His death happens valiantly, but he still has time to get one last kill, pray to God for forgiveness of his sins, and die facing the country he is conquering in his death. I think the most modern character in the sense that he is the most complex is Ganelon, the traitor.
Ganelon, like Roland, has issues with pride. While Roland overcomes his pride to die a noble death, Ganelon succumbs to it and betrays his king for the sake of his own pride. He argues that his actions weren't driven treason but a personal feud with Roland. The fact that he isn't just killed upon returning to the capital, but is forced to undergo a trial by his peers that is decided in a personal combat between one of his liegeman and one that is personally loyal to Charlemagne is the scene I found the most compelling. Pinabel, the noble fighting for Ganelon is seen as good liegeman and because of it only God's intervention in the combat saves his opponent Theirry. Theirry has to win because he is the representative of the righteous Charlemagne and because treachery not only sinks the traitor, but those around him: "He who betrayeth, aye he slayeth himself and other men."
The other figure that I'm all of a sudden intrigued by is Turpin, the warrior archbishop. The Middle Ages is full of holy men doing war and I wouldn't have thought much of it until recently reading a book on Byzantine history. The idea of a warrior priest was rejected by the East. How different would have history been if the whole of the old Roman Empire had embraced the marriage between warriors and priests? How different would it have been if the West had shared the East's natural abhorrence to the concept of a priest carrying a sword? It's interesting how a story can change each time your read it.
The Song of Roland is great epic poetry, a wonderfully simple story with blood and guts, extreme violence and a great victory. It's also good propaganda. In that way, The Song of Roland is extremely successful. But, much of the complaining about it from modern readers is that it is overly simple and it depicts a very black and white morality: What is Christian is right and what is pagan/Islamic is not. There aren't too many complex characters in the story, which for epic poetry is ok. Charlemagne is the archetype for the godly, good, strong king. King Marsile, his opposite is weak, duplicitous and an archetype for a bad king. Baligant the emir, is a noble enemy worthy of Charlemagne. If Charlemagne only defeated King Marsile, the victory wouldn't have been good enough to write home about. It's like when Alabama beats Alabama A&M. It's supposed to happen. But, when Alabama beats somebody real, the two times a season they are faced with that situation, Alabama gets epics written about it that can reach an audience beyond the sycophantic south. But, I digress.
Roland is the perfect Medieval knight, brave yet pious. His death happens valiantly, but he still has time to get one last kill, pray to God for forgiveness of his sins, and die facing the country he is conquering in his death. I think the most modern character in the sense that he is the most complex is Ganelon, the traitor.
Ganelon, like Roland, has issues with pride. While Roland overcomes his pride to die a noble death, Ganelon succumbs to it and betrays his king for the sake of his own pride. He argues that his actions weren't driven treason but a personal feud with Roland. The fact that he isn't just killed upon returning to the capital, but is forced to undergo a trial by his peers that is decided in a personal combat between one of his liegeman and one that is personally loyal to Charlemagne is the scene I found the most compelling. Pinabel, the noble fighting for Ganelon is seen as good liegeman and because of it only God's intervention in the combat saves his opponent Theirry. Theirry has to win because he is the representative of the righteous Charlemagne and because treachery not only sinks the traitor, but those around him: "He who betrayeth, aye he slayeth himself and other men."
The other figure that I'm all of a sudden intrigued by is Turpin, the warrior archbishop. The Middle Ages is full of holy men doing war and I wouldn't have thought much of it until recently reading a book on Byzantine history. The idea of a warrior priest was rejected by the East. How different would have history been if the whole of the old Roman Empire had embraced the marriage between warriors and priests? How different would it have been if the West had shared the East's natural abhorrence to the concept of a priest carrying a sword? It's interesting how a story can change each time your read it.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
The Papacy in the Dark Ages
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter VII The Papacy in the Dark Ages
What the popes from 600 to 1000 did are vital to understanding the relation of Church and State during the Medieval period.
The western part of the church deferred to the Pope. The patriarchs in the east however were not willing to put up with papal authority. The emperor would sometimes favor the pope when he got into a tight spot with the patriarch, but the patriarchs generally acquiesced to the authority of the emperor.
The Pope's ties to Byzantine Emperors was severed when Pope Stephen III, in 754, made a deal with Pepin to replace the Merovingian king in France. Pepin got control of the French crown and the Pope got political power over much of what used to be Byzantine Italy.
The Papal break with the Byzantine Emperor allowed for the west and the east Church to develop completely differently. In the West the Pope became the ultimate authority, even higher than secular kings. In the East, the Emperor remained the ultimate seat of power.
The basis of secular power the Medieval Popes built on was a forgery called the "Donation of Constantine". It stated that when Constantine built New Rome, power over old Rome and Italy was transferred to the Pope.
The defeat of the Lombards was slow and took the emergence of Charlemagne to complete. In AD 800 on Christmas day, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
The relationship between pope and holy roman emperor was a rocky one that couldn't be avoided because the two were mutually dependent. The popes needed the military muscle of the would be emperor and the would be emperor required the pope to crown him. This made for an uneasy relationship.
"Charlemagne was a vigorous barbarian, politically in alliance with the Church, but not unduly
burdened with personal piety. He could not read or write, but he inaugurated a literary
renaissance. He was dissolute in his life, and unduly fond of his daughters, but he did all in his
power to promote holy living among his subjects." (Russell, 393).
Only the theories inaugurated during the reign of Charlemagne survived him. His line turned out to be a bit of a paper tiger.
Germany was converted mainly under St. Boniface (680 - 754). It is owing to his missionary work in Germany that the converts were papal supporters. Had they been more aligned to the Irish it would have been very different as the Irish had some autonomy from Rome.
The collapse of the Carolingian power after Charlemagne was seen as an opportunity for the papacy and the popes took more power. Pope Nicholas I (858 - 867) took the power of the pope to new heights as he battled with virtually everyone and was victorious.
The church had power over the kings because they controlled who could get married and how a marriage could be dissolved. Without the church's backing succession crisis and dynastic struggles were sure to follow.
Nicholas I even did battle with the Emperor Michael III over the deposing of Ignatius, patriarch of Constantinople. Nicholas was victorious as Ignatius was restored after the emperor was murdered. But, in the long run when Ignatius passed away the schism between East and West grew broader.
The papacy was dominated by the Roman aristocracy in the 10th century leading to bad and morally corrupt popes. Their corruption saw them lose all power in the east and they struggled to maintain control over the bishops north of the Alps.
As 1000 dawned the lowest point of European Christendom seems to have passed. The Church would continue to struggle with rulers and priests who were worldly, but reform movements, often beginning in monastic circles would occasionally correct the Church's direction.
After 1000 the migrations of barbarians also seemed to stop for a bit in the west. Especially important was the Norman conquest of Sicily away from the Saracens and the Norman conquest of England away from the Danes.
Bertrand Russell
Chapter VII The Papacy in the Dark Ages
What the popes from 600 to 1000 did are vital to understanding the relation of Church and State during the Medieval period.
The western part of the church deferred to the Pope. The patriarchs in the east however were not willing to put up with papal authority. The emperor would sometimes favor the pope when he got into a tight spot with the patriarch, but the patriarchs generally acquiesced to the authority of the emperor.
The Pope's ties to Byzantine Emperors was severed when Pope Stephen III, in 754, made a deal with Pepin to replace the Merovingian king in France. Pepin got control of the French crown and the Pope got political power over much of what used to be Byzantine Italy.
The Papal break with the Byzantine Emperor allowed for the west and the east Church to develop completely differently. In the West the Pope became the ultimate authority, even higher than secular kings. In the East, the Emperor remained the ultimate seat of power.
The basis of secular power the Medieval Popes built on was a forgery called the "Donation of Constantine". It stated that when Constantine built New Rome, power over old Rome and Italy was transferred to the Pope.
The defeat of the Lombards was slow and took the emergence of Charlemagne to complete. In AD 800 on Christmas day, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
The relationship between pope and holy roman emperor was a rocky one that couldn't be avoided because the two were mutually dependent. The popes needed the military muscle of the would be emperor and the would be emperor required the pope to crown him. This made for an uneasy relationship.
"Charlemagne was a vigorous barbarian, politically in alliance with the Church, but not unduly
burdened with personal piety. He could not read or write, but he inaugurated a literary
renaissance. He was dissolute in his life, and unduly fond of his daughters, but he did all in his
power to promote holy living among his subjects." (Russell, 393).
Only the theories inaugurated during the reign of Charlemagne survived him. His line turned out to be a bit of a paper tiger.
Germany was converted mainly under St. Boniface (680 - 754). It is owing to his missionary work in Germany that the converts were papal supporters. Had they been more aligned to the Irish it would have been very different as the Irish had some autonomy from Rome.
The collapse of the Carolingian power after Charlemagne was seen as an opportunity for the papacy and the popes took more power. Pope Nicholas I (858 - 867) took the power of the pope to new heights as he battled with virtually everyone and was victorious.
The church had power over the kings because they controlled who could get married and how a marriage could be dissolved. Without the church's backing succession crisis and dynastic struggles were sure to follow.
Nicholas I even did battle with the Emperor Michael III over the deposing of Ignatius, patriarch of Constantinople. Nicholas was victorious as Ignatius was restored after the emperor was murdered. But, in the long run when Ignatius passed away the schism between East and West grew broader.
The papacy was dominated by the Roman aristocracy in the 10th century leading to bad and morally corrupt popes. Their corruption saw them lose all power in the east and they struggled to maintain control over the bishops north of the Alps.
As 1000 dawned the lowest point of European Christendom seems to have passed. The Church would continue to struggle with rulers and priests who were worldly, but reform movements, often beginning in monastic circles would occasionally correct the Church's direction.
After 1000 the migrations of barbarians also seemed to stop for a bit in the west. Especially important was the Norman conquest of Sicily away from the Saracens and the Norman conquest of England away from the Danes.
Monday, September 23, 2019
The Spine of Medieval History
I think I'd like to do a really big book or podcast or something on the Medieval History of Europe. I keep dancing around the topic without knowing where to wade into the waters. I'm going to finish The History of Western Philosophy and the other Jones philosophy book. That will give me some of the framework for the intellectual structure on which the Middle Ages was built, but my primary focus to start I think will be the papacy. I figure that's the spine of Europe in the Middle Ages and everything gets back to Rome anyway. I think there's a figure of speech about Rome and roads that might be fitting here, but I'll leave the cliches for the final product.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Notes on The Nibelungelied
(Originally Written October 5, 2009 in the Journal)
Notes on The Nibelungelied
Here we go again, smooth classic literature to Medieval folklore. I hope it is not as rough a transition from Aeneid to the Mabinogion.
The Nibelungenlied is an ancient German tale. Maybe I'll read Faust next to stay German...
I think I may be finding the most enjoyment in epic poetry
"If you are ever to know heartfelt happiness it can only come from a man's love. If God should assign to you a truly worthy knight you will grow to be a beautiful woman"
The Nibelungenlied was interesting. I enjoyed Siegrfried's character immensely but I wasn't a big fan of Hagen and the Fiddler. The plot was interesting, but slow at times. The ending was a bit unsatisfying. The fight between Dietrich and Gunther and Hagen was good, but Krienhild being chopped apart by Hildebrand I didn't like. I felt Brunhild was more to blame and she really didn't get much in the end.
Notes on The Nibelungelied
Here we go again, smooth classic literature to Medieval folklore. I hope it is not as rough a transition from Aeneid to the Mabinogion.
The Nibelungenlied is an ancient German tale. Maybe I'll read Faust next to stay German...
I think I may be finding the most enjoyment in epic poetry
"If you are ever to know heartfelt happiness it can only come from a man's love. If God should assign to you a truly worthy knight you will grow to be a beautiful woman"
The Nibelungenlied was interesting. I enjoyed Siegrfried's character immensely but I wasn't a big fan of Hagen and the Fiddler. The plot was interesting, but slow at times. The ending was a bit unsatisfying. The fight between Dietrich and Gunther and Hagen was good, but Krienhild being chopped apart by Hildebrand I didn't like. I felt Brunhild was more to blame and she really didn't get much in the end.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Notes on The Mabinogion (D)
(Originally Written September 14, 2009 in the Journal)
Culwch Won Olwen
Culwch, Arthur's first cousin, was the son of Kilydd, ruler of Kelyddon. Culwch's mother was dying and went to her husband giving him her blessing to remarry but only after a double sided thorn appeared on her grave. She went to her confessor and asked him to prune her grave so nothing grew there, which he did until he neglected it after seven years.
Kilydd then went for advice on a new wife. They killed Doged, stole his lands and Kilydd took his wife as his own. This woman had a daughter, Olwan. Olwan swore that Culwch had to win her as his bride.
The Dream of Rhonabwy
I want to use Kei as a character.
The Mabinogion was interesting for what it was. I enjoyed the classical prose much more however, but the characters of the Mabinogion will match more with my story.
Culwch Won Olwen
Culwch, Arthur's first cousin, was the son of Kilydd, ruler of Kelyddon. Culwch's mother was dying and went to her husband giving him her blessing to remarry but only after a double sided thorn appeared on her grave. She went to her confessor and asked him to prune her grave so nothing grew there, which he did until he neglected it after seven years.
Kilydd then went for advice on a new wife. They killed Doged, stole his lands and Kilydd took his wife as his own. This woman had a daughter, Olwan. Olwan swore that Culwch had to win her as his bride.
The Dream of Rhonabwy
I want to use Kei as a character.
The Mabinogion was interesting for what it was. I enjoyed the classical prose much more however, but the characters of the Mabinogion will match more with my story.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Notes on The Mabinogion (C)
(Originally written September 13, 2009 in the Journal)
Notes on The Mabinogion
Math, Son of Mathonwy
Math was a lord of Northern Wales and used to rest his feet in virgin's laps except when he was at war. His virgin was named Goewin. Math had two nephews, Gilvaethwy and Gwydyon, who were sons of the goddess Don.
Gilvaethwy fell in love with Goewin and became sick in his love for her. When Gwydyon learned of this he devised a plan for Gilvaethwy to sleep with Goewin.
Gwydyon went to Math to get his permission to obtain Pyderi's pigs. Math gave his consent so Gwydyon headed south, disguised as a bard. After entertaining Pyderi, Gwydyon asked for a pig. Pyderi refused because he had sworn an oath not to give or sell a pig until the herd had doubled in size.
Gwydyon then devised a plan to transform objects into twelve horses with golden bits and saddles and twelve greyhounds to trade for the pigs. After council Pyderi accepted the offer. Gwydyon fled with the pigs and traveled from town to town, heading northwards. After a day the horses and greyhounds transformed back and Pyderi gave chase to Gwydyon. Gwydyon traveled slowly so that Pyderi could muster a large army so that Math would have to set out for war.
When Math gathered his forces and went to battle Gilvaethwy raped Goewin. When Math learned of this he made Goewin his wife to protect her honor. To punish Gilvaethwy and Gwydyon (he could not kill them as they were his sister's sons) he transformed them into deer, one male and one female. He gave them the nature of deer and told them to reproduce and come back one year later. They came back with a sow and were transformed into pigs and told to go out again. They came back with another son and were transformed into wolves and sent back out with the same task. They came back with a third son and were restored to their original state. Thus, Gilvaethwy and Gwydyon were punished for their crimes and gave birth to three sons; Bleiddwn, Hyddwn, and Hychdwn the Tall.
After they were restored Math asked them to advise him on choosing a new virgin. They offered Aranrhod, their sister, daughter of Don. Math asked Aronrhod if she was a virgin, to which she lied and said yes. Math tested her with his magic wand. A boy fell out of her and she ran away, but before she got out of the door another boy fell out.
Math named the first boy Dylan and had him baptized. He grew strong and became a master of the sea. He was killed by his uncle Govannon, the blacksmith of the gods.
Gwydyon found the other boy in a chest at the foot of his bed. The boy grew strong and tall. One day when he was four he went with Gwydyon to see Aranrhod, his mother. When Aronrhod learned that Gwydyon had saved the child and prolonged her shame she became enraged and cursed the child to be nameless until she gave him a name.
Gwydyon then made a ship out of seaweed with his magic and began to make shoes. He also had disguised himself and the boy. When Aronrhod learned that a cobbler of skill had landed on her shore she had herself measured and sent the measurements to have a shoe made. Gwydyon made a beautiful shoe that was too large. Aronrhod paid for it but asked for a smaller size. This time Gwydyon made it too small. Gwydyon then refused to make a shoe for her without measuring the foot himself.
Aranrhod went down to the ship to see the cobbler. When she came down the boy hit a wren and Aranrhod laughed saying, "God knows, the light haired one hit it with a skillful hand". Gwydyon agreed and cursed Aranrhod and revealed the deception because unwittingly Aranrhod had named the boy, Lleu (shining) Skillful Hand.
Aranrhod became angry and cursed the boy again stating the he shall have no weapons unless she herself armed him. Lleu and Gwydyon returned back to the estate of Math where Gwydyon taught Lleu how to become a skillful rider.
Gwydyon then took Lleu back to Aranrhod as they were both disguised as bards. They entertained Aranrhod and were given a room to sleep. When dawn was braking Gwydyon used his magic to make it seem as if Aranrhod's castle was being attacked. Aranrhod came to them for advise and Gwydon said to arm all the men. Gwydyon received help from two young girls while Aranrhod armed Lleu herself. Thus, Gwydyon had tricked Aranrhod yet again. Aranrhod cursed the boy, denying him a wife of this world.
When Lleu and Gwydyon returned to Math's estate Math and Gwydyon fashioned a wife for Lleu out of flowers and named her Blodeuedd. Lleu and Blodeuedd were married and Math gave Lleu the Contrev of Dinoding to lord over.
One day Lleu left Dinoding to visit Math when a hunting party passed by Lleu's fortress. When Blodeuedd learned that it was Goronwy, Lord of Penllyn she invited him in to stay for the night. Goronwy and Blodeuedd were overcome by passion for one another and slept together. They devised a plan to have Lleu tell Blodeuedd how he may die so that the two lovers could married.
When Lleu returned Blodeuedd enticed her husband to tell how he could be killed by proclaiming her worries over it. Lleu explained that he could only be killed by a spear crafted over a year's time and thrown at him while he was standing with one foot on the edge of a bath and one foot on a goat. After a year, Goronwy had crafted the spear.
Blodeuedd came to Lleu and tricked him into getting into the position he could be killed. Goronwy threw the spear and pierced Lleu in the side. Lleu transformed himself into an eagle and flew away. Goronwy took Blodeuedd as his wife and stole Lleu's lands.
Math and Gwydyon mourned the loss of Lleu and Gwydyon went out to search for him. He found an eagle being eaten by a pig so he transformed it back into Lleu's human form. Gwydyon took Lleu back to the castle where he recovered from his wound.
After healing Lleu sought out his revenge. He went after Goronwy while Gwydyon went after Blodeuedd. Gwydyon cursed Blodeuedd and turned her into an owl. Lleu refused any payment or bribe and took out his revenge on Goronwy. Lleu threw a spear at Goronwy and killed him, turning him into stone.
The four branches of the Mabinogi are Pwyll, Lord of Dyved; Branwen, Daughter of Llyr; Manawydan, Son of Llyr; and Math, son of Mathonwy.
The Dream of Maxen & Llud and Llevelys were fairly uneventful except for maybe the plagues in Llevelys. But, I should purchase Geoffrey's Historia.
Notes on The Mabinogion
Math, Son of Mathonwy
Math was a lord of Northern Wales and used to rest his feet in virgin's laps except when he was at war. His virgin was named Goewin. Math had two nephews, Gilvaethwy and Gwydyon, who were sons of the goddess Don.
Gilvaethwy fell in love with Goewin and became sick in his love for her. When Gwydyon learned of this he devised a plan for Gilvaethwy to sleep with Goewin.
Gwydyon went to Math to get his permission to obtain Pyderi's pigs. Math gave his consent so Gwydyon headed south, disguised as a bard. After entertaining Pyderi, Gwydyon asked for a pig. Pyderi refused because he had sworn an oath not to give or sell a pig until the herd had doubled in size.
Gwydyon then devised a plan to transform objects into twelve horses with golden bits and saddles and twelve greyhounds to trade for the pigs. After council Pyderi accepted the offer. Gwydyon fled with the pigs and traveled from town to town, heading northwards. After a day the horses and greyhounds transformed back and Pyderi gave chase to Gwydyon. Gwydyon traveled slowly so that Pyderi could muster a large army so that Math would have to set out for war.
When Math gathered his forces and went to battle Gilvaethwy raped Goewin. When Math learned of this he made Goewin his wife to protect her honor. To punish Gilvaethwy and Gwydyon (he could not kill them as they were his sister's sons) he transformed them into deer, one male and one female. He gave them the nature of deer and told them to reproduce and come back one year later. They came back with a sow and were transformed into pigs and told to go out again. They came back with another son and were transformed into wolves and sent back out with the same task. They came back with a third son and were restored to their original state. Thus, Gilvaethwy and Gwydyon were punished for their crimes and gave birth to three sons; Bleiddwn, Hyddwn, and Hychdwn the Tall.
After they were restored Math asked them to advise him on choosing a new virgin. They offered Aranrhod, their sister, daughter of Don. Math asked Aronrhod if she was a virgin, to which she lied and said yes. Math tested her with his magic wand. A boy fell out of her and she ran away, but before she got out of the door another boy fell out.
Math named the first boy Dylan and had him baptized. He grew strong and became a master of the sea. He was killed by his uncle Govannon, the blacksmith of the gods.
Gwydyon found the other boy in a chest at the foot of his bed. The boy grew strong and tall. One day when he was four he went with Gwydyon to see Aranrhod, his mother. When Aronrhod learned that Gwydyon had saved the child and prolonged her shame she became enraged and cursed the child to be nameless until she gave him a name.
Gwydyon then made a ship out of seaweed with his magic and began to make shoes. He also had disguised himself and the boy. When Aronrhod learned that a cobbler of skill had landed on her shore she had herself measured and sent the measurements to have a shoe made. Gwydyon made a beautiful shoe that was too large. Aronrhod paid for it but asked for a smaller size. This time Gwydyon made it too small. Gwydyon then refused to make a shoe for her without measuring the foot himself.
Aranrhod went down to the ship to see the cobbler. When she came down the boy hit a wren and Aranrhod laughed saying, "God knows, the light haired one hit it with a skillful hand". Gwydyon agreed and cursed Aranrhod and revealed the deception because unwittingly Aranrhod had named the boy, Lleu (shining) Skillful Hand.
Aranrhod became angry and cursed the boy again stating the he shall have no weapons unless she herself armed him. Lleu and Gwydyon returned back to the estate of Math where Gwydyon taught Lleu how to become a skillful rider.
Gwydyon then took Lleu back to Aranrhod as they were both disguised as bards. They entertained Aranrhod and were given a room to sleep. When dawn was braking Gwydyon used his magic to make it seem as if Aranrhod's castle was being attacked. Aranrhod came to them for advise and Gwydon said to arm all the men. Gwydyon received help from two young girls while Aranrhod armed Lleu herself. Thus, Gwydyon had tricked Aranrhod yet again. Aranrhod cursed the boy, denying him a wife of this world.
When Lleu and Gwydyon returned to Math's estate Math and Gwydyon fashioned a wife for Lleu out of flowers and named her Blodeuedd. Lleu and Blodeuedd were married and Math gave Lleu the Contrev of Dinoding to lord over.
One day Lleu left Dinoding to visit Math when a hunting party passed by Lleu's fortress. When Blodeuedd learned that it was Goronwy, Lord of Penllyn she invited him in to stay for the night. Goronwy and Blodeuedd were overcome by passion for one another and slept together. They devised a plan to have Lleu tell Blodeuedd how he may die so that the two lovers could married.
When Lleu returned Blodeuedd enticed her husband to tell how he could be killed by proclaiming her worries over it. Lleu explained that he could only be killed by a spear crafted over a year's time and thrown at him while he was standing with one foot on the edge of a bath and one foot on a goat. After a year, Goronwy had crafted the spear.
Blodeuedd came to Lleu and tricked him into getting into the position he could be killed. Goronwy threw the spear and pierced Lleu in the side. Lleu transformed himself into an eagle and flew away. Goronwy took Blodeuedd as his wife and stole Lleu's lands.
Math and Gwydyon mourned the loss of Lleu and Gwydyon went out to search for him. He found an eagle being eaten by a pig so he transformed it back into Lleu's human form. Gwydyon took Lleu back to the castle where he recovered from his wound.
After healing Lleu sought out his revenge. He went after Goronwy while Gwydyon went after Blodeuedd. Gwydyon cursed Blodeuedd and turned her into an owl. Lleu refused any payment or bribe and took out his revenge on Goronwy. Lleu threw a spear at Goronwy and killed him, turning him into stone.
The four branches of the Mabinogi are Pwyll, Lord of Dyved; Branwen, Daughter of Llyr; Manawydan, Son of Llyr; and Math, son of Mathonwy.
The Dream of Maxen & Llud and Llevelys were fairly uneventful except for maybe the plagues in Llevelys. But, I should purchase Geoffrey's Historia.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Notes on The Mabinogion (B)
(Originally Written September 12, 2009 in the Journal)
Notes on The Mabinogion
Manawydan was grieved that his uncle had stolen the throne of England after Manawydan's brother Bran had died. Pryderi offered his friendship by offering his mother Rhiannon as wife for Manawydan.
Manawydan and Rhiannon were married. The newlyweds and Pryderi and his wife, Kigva went and set on a mound. A mist came over them and when it lifted the four were alone. They spent two years like this and then left for England.
They settled in Hereford and became saddle makers. Soons everyone bought their saddles from these four. The other saddle makers plotted to kill them so they set out for another city where they took up shield making. The same thing happened again and they went to another town where they took up shoemaking. They again became so successful that their lives became endangered. Then they returned home to Dyved.
In Dyved they went hunting again. On a hunt they spotted a white boar which ran into a strange fortress. Pryderi went after it to retrieve his dogs against the advice of Manawydan. In the fortress there was neither the boar nor his dogs but a marble fountain with a golden bowl. He walked up to it and touched it, becoming stuck to it and mute. After waiting Manawydan returned home and broke the news to Rhiannon. Rhiannon then went out to find her son. She entered the fortress and also became stuck to the fountain. A mist fell and the fortress disappeared.
Manawydan and Kigua, Pryderi's wife left for England where Manawydan took up shoemaking again. After a year's time Manawydan became so successful that all the other shoemakers became envious and plotted against his life. They left England to go back to Dyved but this time with wheat to plant.
Manawydan sowed three crofts of wheat. When it was time to harves the first two crofts appeared naked, only stalks. The third one Manawydan then guarded. A hoard of mice came upon the croft and made off with the wheat but Manawydan managed to catch one.
Manawydan set out to hang the mouse he had caught. A scholar came to the spot where Manawydan was to hang the mouse. This was the first person he had seen in Dyved in seven years other than his three companions, two of which were lost. The scholar attempted to buy the mouse to spare its life. Manawydan refused the offer. Then a priest came upon Manawydan. The priest tried to buy the mouse but was again rebuffed. Next a bishop came. The bishop offered to buy the mouse but was refused. Finally a deal was struck because the bishop was actually Llywd who was a friend to Wawl, who had been mistreated by Pwyll, the father of Pryderi. Eventually the mouse, who was actually Llywd's wife was released to Llywd in exchange for Pryderi and Rhiannon and no more mischief from Llywd.
Notes on The Mabinogion
Manawydan was grieved that his uncle had stolen the throne of England after Manawydan's brother Bran had died. Pryderi offered his friendship by offering his mother Rhiannon as wife for Manawydan.
Manawydan and Rhiannon were married. The newlyweds and Pryderi and his wife, Kigva went and set on a mound. A mist came over them and when it lifted the four were alone. They spent two years like this and then left for England.
They settled in Hereford and became saddle makers. Soons everyone bought their saddles from these four. The other saddle makers plotted to kill them so they set out for another city where they took up shield making. The same thing happened again and they went to another town where they took up shoemaking. They again became so successful that their lives became endangered. Then they returned home to Dyved.
In Dyved they went hunting again. On a hunt they spotted a white boar which ran into a strange fortress. Pryderi went after it to retrieve his dogs against the advice of Manawydan. In the fortress there was neither the boar nor his dogs but a marble fountain with a golden bowl. He walked up to it and touched it, becoming stuck to it and mute. After waiting Manawydan returned home and broke the news to Rhiannon. Rhiannon then went out to find her son. She entered the fortress and also became stuck to the fountain. A mist fell and the fortress disappeared.
Manawydan and Kigua, Pryderi's wife left for England where Manawydan took up shoemaking again. After a year's time Manawydan became so successful that all the other shoemakers became envious and plotted against his life. They left England to go back to Dyved but this time with wheat to plant.
Manawydan sowed three crofts of wheat. When it was time to harves the first two crofts appeared naked, only stalks. The third one Manawydan then guarded. A hoard of mice came upon the croft and made off with the wheat but Manawydan managed to catch one.
Manawydan set out to hang the mouse he had caught. A scholar came to the spot where Manawydan was to hang the mouse. This was the first person he had seen in Dyved in seven years other than his three companions, two of which were lost. The scholar attempted to buy the mouse to spare its life. Manawydan refused the offer. Then a priest came upon Manawydan. The priest tried to buy the mouse but was again rebuffed. Next a bishop came. The bishop offered to buy the mouse but was refused. Finally a deal was struck because the bishop was actually Llywd who was a friend to Wawl, who had been mistreated by Pwyll, the father of Pryderi. Eventually the mouse, who was actually Llywd's wife was released to Llywd in exchange for Pryderi and Rhiannon and no more mischief from Llywd.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Notes on the Mabinogion (A)
(Originally Written September 11, 2009 in the Journal)
I think it might have been a mistake to move from the language rich work of Virgil to a compiling of Welsh folklore in The Mabinogion. Jeffery Gantz, the translator, even mentions the rough around the edges stuff in the introduction. But, as it is mythology and of a pseudohistorical nature I'm sure I'll enjoy it - though maybe not as much as The Aeneid.
Pwyll Lord of Dyved
Further Reading for Comparison : The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulaind
Pwyll, a king, is asked by Arawn, a king of the otherworld, to defeat another otherworld king in battle to secure friendship. He does so and forms an alliance.
Pwyll then meets a woman in a vision named Rhiannon. Rhiannon requests that Pwyll marry her so that she does not have to wed a man she does not wish to. During a feast Pwyll gives his word to Gwawl, son of Clud to grant him his wish. Unfortunately, Gwawl is the man Rhiannon is to marry and because of chivalry Pwyll agrees to the terms. Meanwhile Pwyll and Rhiannon devise a plan to trick Gwawl out of his marriage rite, which succeeds.
Pwyll and Rhiannon are married but produce no heir. Pwyll's friends call Pwyll to take another wife but he asks for one more year's time. Rhiannon bears a son within the year but the child mysteriously disappears. The maidens to Rhiannon devise a scheme to kill a foal and put it in the room and blame Rhiannon for killing her own son. Rhiannon is punished. Meanwhile, Teirnon, a former man of Pwyll, has a great horse. But every time the horse gives birth its foal disappears. This time Teirnon watches over the foal and a giant eagle claw comes and smothers it up.
Tiernon cuts off the claw and saves the foal. Tiernon then finds a boy and gives it to his wife. They name the boy Gwri Golden Hair. They raise him and he grows up to be supernaturally strong. One day Tiernon hears of the punishment of Rhiannon and looks at Gwri and realizes it is the son of his friend Pwyll. They take Gwri to Pwyll and Rhiannon where they rename him Pryderi. Pwyll dies and Pryderi becomes king and rules justly and expands the territory.
Branwen, Daughter of Llyr
Lord Mallolwch, King of Ireland, came to Wales to seek an alliance with Bran, King of the Island of the Mighty. Mallolwch sought the hand of Branwen, daughter of Llyr. Bran agreed and there was a feast.
Evnissyens, the brother of Branwen was outraged at his sister being married off without his permission so he disfigured Mallolwch's horses, thus insulting him. Mallolwch set out for vengeance but Bran appeased him with gifts, including a magic cauldron. This magic cauldron was a gift from a giant to Bran. When a man died he could be placed in the cauldron and boiled. The next day he would be alive again, but could not speak.
Mallolwch left with his bride for Ireland. She bore him a son named Gwern. After a year Mallolwch's men mocked him for the insult on the horses until he could take no more and disgraced Branwen, sister of Evnissyen. Branwen trained a bird to carry a letter to her other brother Bran, the king of the Island of the Mighty telling of her disgrace.
Bran armed his men and went to Ireland. Bran was a giant and laid across a river so his men could pass. When the Irish saw this they tried to appease the army.
The built Bran a house, which because of his size, he had never had a house big enough for him. In the house hid 200 Irish warriors, but Evnissyen squeezed their heads until they died. There was a feast where Gwern, son of Mallolwch and Branwen met Bran. Bran received the boy well, but Evnissyen through the boy in the fire.
A battle began and the Irish kept respawning every night until Evnissyen, saddened by the grief he caused sacrificed himself and destroyed the cauldron. At the end of the battle all the Irish had been killed except for five pregnant women. Only seven of the Island of the Mighty survived.
Bran, as he was dying, prophesied to his men, ordering them to cut off his head and bury it in London. When the men returned to England, Branwen died of a broken heart at the grief she had caused both islands. The men eventually came to London where they learned another king had taken rule. They buried the head of Bran and so long as it was buried there, there were no plagues in England.
I think it might have been a mistake to move from the language rich work of Virgil to a compiling of Welsh folklore in The Mabinogion. Jeffery Gantz, the translator, even mentions the rough around the edges stuff in the introduction. But, as it is mythology and of a pseudohistorical nature I'm sure I'll enjoy it - though maybe not as much as The Aeneid.
Pwyll Lord of Dyved
Further Reading for Comparison : The Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulaind
Pwyll, a king, is asked by Arawn, a king of the otherworld, to defeat another otherworld king in battle to secure friendship. He does so and forms an alliance.
Pwyll then meets a woman in a vision named Rhiannon. Rhiannon requests that Pwyll marry her so that she does not have to wed a man she does not wish to. During a feast Pwyll gives his word to Gwawl, son of Clud to grant him his wish. Unfortunately, Gwawl is the man Rhiannon is to marry and because of chivalry Pwyll agrees to the terms. Meanwhile Pwyll and Rhiannon devise a plan to trick Gwawl out of his marriage rite, which succeeds.
Pwyll and Rhiannon are married but produce no heir. Pwyll's friends call Pwyll to take another wife but he asks for one more year's time. Rhiannon bears a son within the year but the child mysteriously disappears. The maidens to Rhiannon devise a scheme to kill a foal and put it in the room and blame Rhiannon for killing her own son. Rhiannon is punished. Meanwhile, Teirnon, a former man of Pwyll, has a great horse. But every time the horse gives birth its foal disappears. This time Teirnon watches over the foal and a giant eagle claw comes and smothers it up.
Tiernon cuts off the claw and saves the foal. Tiernon then finds a boy and gives it to his wife. They name the boy Gwri Golden Hair. They raise him and he grows up to be supernaturally strong. One day Tiernon hears of the punishment of Rhiannon and looks at Gwri and realizes it is the son of his friend Pwyll. They take Gwri to Pwyll and Rhiannon where they rename him Pryderi. Pwyll dies and Pryderi becomes king and rules justly and expands the territory.
Branwen, Daughter of Llyr
Lord Mallolwch, King of Ireland, came to Wales to seek an alliance with Bran, King of the Island of the Mighty. Mallolwch sought the hand of Branwen, daughter of Llyr. Bran agreed and there was a feast.
Evnissyens, the brother of Branwen was outraged at his sister being married off without his permission so he disfigured Mallolwch's horses, thus insulting him. Mallolwch set out for vengeance but Bran appeased him with gifts, including a magic cauldron. This magic cauldron was a gift from a giant to Bran. When a man died he could be placed in the cauldron and boiled. The next day he would be alive again, but could not speak.
Mallolwch left with his bride for Ireland. She bore him a son named Gwern. After a year Mallolwch's men mocked him for the insult on the horses until he could take no more and disgraced Branwen, sister of Evnissyen. Branwen trained a bird to carry a letter to her other brother Bran, the king of the Island of the Mighty telling of her disgrace.
Bran armed his men and went to Ireland. Bran was a giant and laid across a river so his men could pass. When the Irish saw this they tried to appease the army.
The built Bran a house, which because of his size, he had never had a house big enough for him. In the house hid 200 Irish warriors, but Evnissyen squeezed their heads until they died. There was a feast where Gwern, son of Mallolwch and Branwen met Bran. Bran received the boy well, but Evnissyen through the boy in the fire.
A battle began and the Irish kept respawning every night until Evnissyen, saddened by the grief he caused sacrificed himself and destroyed the cauldron. At the end of the battle all the Irish had been killed except for five pregnant women. Only seven of the Island of the Mighty survived.
Bran, as he was dying, prophesied to his men, ordering them to cut off his head and bury it in London. When the men returned to England, Branwen died of a broken heart at the grief she had caused both islands. The men eventually came to London where they learned another king had taken rule. They buried the head of Bran and so long as it was buried there, there were no plagues in England.
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Medieval Notes, Including John Scotus
(Originally written December 7, 2006 in Book 11)
The History of Philosophy vol. 2
Chapter 5 - The Medieval Interval
Plato and Aristotle dominated the Classical period. Augustine and Aquinas dominated the Medieval period; but, lived 8 centuries apart. Augustine and Aquinas dealt with different problems, whereas Plato and Aristotle dealt with the same problems.
The Dark Ages
The barbarian conquering of Rome caused enormous stress. The barbarians were incapable of sustaining such a complex culture like Rome's.
The collapse of a uniform society caused man to primarily focus on staying alive.
The Classical philosophy was lost to Europe in the Dark Ages.
Literacy declined to the point that Charlemagne complained that the clergy did not know enough Latin to interpret the Scriptures.
The Church
Anything surviving from the Roman World in the Dark Ages was due to the Church.
Christianity made converts out of the pagan and Arian barbarians.
"By the end of the Dark Ages, Christianity was more widely spread and Orthodoxy more firmly entrenched than before the barbarian invasions began" (Jones, 142).
The Rise of the Papacy
The early Church was ruled by bishops, not by the Pope.
The doctrine of Papal primacy made the Pope the head of the Church and gave it temporal authority.
A Christian king was subject to the Pope.
Pope Gregory VII in the 11th century pulled papal primacy to its extreme. The power of the Popes stopped Europe from instituting a unified government until the rise of nationalism in the early Modern period.
Monasticism
While the Papacy drove the Church to become a secular power, the spiritual nature was preserved by two things:
1) Monasticism
2) The Friars
Monasticism began in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D.
Monasticism got its credibility from St. Benedict.
Humility was the top virtue in monastic life.
The monastic movement constantly reformed to maintain a spiritual primacy over a temporal primacy. Though it wasn't perfect it worked well enough.
The Friars of St. Francis
Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
Francis of Assisi was a mystic reformer and founded the Order of the Friars Minor.
He was dedicated to poverty, simplicity and good works.
He achieved a large measure of success in inflaming the hearts of the average man with the love of God.
The main difference between now and the Dark Ages is that men in the Dark Ages were ready at any moment to be touched by the otherworldly.
Feudalism
Particularism began to grow in the fragmented ruins of the old Empire.
Men with property gained power as central governments were too weak to perform duties.
"Immunity" was granted to land owners by the central government which gave them the power of controlling their lands with no government interference.
Small peasant farmers would "commend" their lands to these large land owners. "Commendation" was the act of giving up one's land for protection and security. The ones who commended their lands would live on them and work them still, but they would no longer own the land.
Charlemagne (742-814) organized a strong central government and was crowned Emperor by the Pope. But his kingdom collapsed shortly after his death.
Feudalism was born out of the rapid commending process that followed the collapse of Charlemagne.
Authority and power and administration became inextricable from land ownership.
Medieval society was dominated by the concept of status, not the concept of citizenship.
The Middle Ages had a very fragmented society.
Chivalry
Chivalry was an ideal that emphasized private honor and public service.
Along with the Church and feudalism Chivalry marked the culture of the Middle Ages.
St. Louis, King of France
Louis IX was born in 1214 and set out to recapture Jerusalem in 1248. It failed, but he tried again in 1270.
Louis IX described chivalry as "upright" and "worthy".
Uprightness involved courage, modesty, charitableness, sobriety, faithfulness and justice.
Louis IX saw sin as a disease, much like Augustine.
Louis IX did not extend his notions of charity and humility to the Jews.
Louis IX distrusted education. As St. Francis, Louis IX was satisfied with simple faith.
Louis IX saw outward dignity as vital in society. His count was elaborate and attendants were lavishly dressed to show their rank.
Feudalism was so deeply entrenched in Louis IX's society that his closest friend and biographer, Sire de Joinville would not swear an oath of allegiance to Louis' family in the event he died in Crusade because Joinville was not his liegeman.
Art and Letters
Architecture
The 12th and 13th centuries were a period of great artistic blossoming.
Vaulted circling and stained glass windows marked the new Gothic style. The abbey church of St. Denis, the Cathedral of Noyon, Enlis, Paris, Rheims and the Sainte Chapelle are perfect examples of the Gothic style. The architecture reflected Christian piety.
Painting and Poetry
Painting and poetry moved from static, unmoving depictions to depictions of living, breathing men in nature.
It focused on the world, but their was still an otherworldly element: case in point - Dante.
The chasm between the otherworld and this world was removed. The two worlds were no longer bitter hostiles at war with each other.
Science
Bartholomew the Englishmen
Bartholomew was one of the most popular science writers of the Middle Ages.
He used Aristotle only in a way to describe it in a very confusing manner.
Science was mixed with heresy and old wives tales.
Aristotle and Medieval Science
It took time to assimilate Aristotle to science.
Men in the Middle Ages were more concerned with salvation, not with accumulating the facts.
Vincent Beauvais
Bartholomew and Vincent Beauvais were very unscientific.
The Universities
Some monastic and cathedral schools popped up after Charlemagne's renaissance.
The Universities slowly arose over Europe to satisfy the new hunger for knowledge slowly awakened over the 8th-11th centuries.
Philosophy during the Medieval Interval
The cultural problem for the 13th century philosopher was to find a place for these this-worldly ends in a scheme of life that still had a basically otherworldly orientation. The success of Aquinas lies in solving this central problem.
There was virtually no philosophical development in the 8 centuries between Augustine and Aquinas, save for Boethius, Isidore of Seville and John Scotus Erigena.
John Scotus Erigena
John Scotus Erigena (ca. 810-877) was born in Ireland. He studied Greek in an Irish monastery at a time when Greek was nearly lost in all the west.
He travels to France in 847 and taught at Paris in the palace school that Charlemagne founded.
He was involved in deep theological topics like Free Will and the Eucharist. He avoided the extreme forms of predestination, but went too far and was condemned as a Pealagian. His views were condemned in 855. Then his views on the Eucharist were condemned (he denied the Doctrine of Transubstantiation)
He decided to take a safer task of translating Greek into Latin.
John Scotus Erigena was deeply concerned with synthesis. As a Christian, Erigena must have a synthesis, an overarching philosophy that fit with the Catholic dogma.
Nature
John began with the nature of reality.
He believed that things fall into two classes:
1) Things that are
2) Things that are not
Things that are not have different modes, they are modes of non-being
1) Sinful man
2) Changing particulars
3) Potential being
4) Things that are "beyond our intellect"
Things that are are those things that we can comprehend.
John Scotus Erigena's divisions are influence by Plato (most of the texts he translated were neoplatonic ones)
Like Plato and the Neoplatonists, John identified the form of the Good with God.
God
According to John, God is "beyond being" and thus, not to be. John had a problem in attempting to reconcile Neoplatonic metaphysics and Christian dogma.
John held that there were two ways for finite minds to approach God:
1) An affirmative way
2) A negative way
The affirmative way consists of stating things like God is being, God is good, etc. These assertions are neither wholly true nor wholly false.
Every positive or affirmative statement about God must be supplemented by a negative statement.
Instead of stating the negative and positive about God as "God is being and not-being" he stated then like "God is super being"
John Scotus Erigena believed that God was truly Good, but to say that God was good was misleading because it wasn't the whole truth.
Creation
John Scotus Erigena started with a paradox in dealing with creation. If God made the world He must move, but how can He who is immutable move?
John asserted that the concepts of making and creation (like the concepts of being and goodness) applied to God in only a metaphorical sense.
He also asserted that the transcendence of the the Creator and the dependence of the creature (Two vitally important Church doctrines) were contradictory.
Theophanies
John held the world to be a "theophany" of God (an appearance of God). It is not an illusion, but the chosen method of God to reveal Himself to man. Human minds are a part of this theophany and thus their understanding is a part of God's theophany.
Knowledge is Illumination
"Everything that exists is an aspect of the divine nature reflected from some perspective or other" (Jones, 179).
Knowledge is fundamentally an act of grace by God in which He illumines our mind.
Four-Fold Division of Nature
While nature is truly one and beyond being, the human mind divides and classifies as was God's intention. There are four divisions of nature:
1) God - the nature that creates and is uncreated
2) The Platonic archetypes - the nature that creates and is created
3) The Physical World - the nature that does not create and is created
4) God - The nature that does not create and is not created
"God issues into the world and returns from it to Himself" (Jones, 180).
God is not conscious until he creates His mind. The archetypes are the divine images of God. They do not exist independently. They are the divine mind.
The archetypes (primordial causes) are the sources of the essences of the particulars in the physical world.
The primordial causes are: goodness, being, life, wisdom, truth, intelligence, reason, virtue, justice, health, greatness, omnipotence, eternity and peace. While we view them as a plurality, they are really a unity.
Anything that exists in the physical world that is describable as one of these primordial causes is so because it takes part (a finite part) in them.
The physical world has being by participating in the various primordial substances.
Is John's view Christian?
There are some Neoplatonic interpretations of nature that readily fit within the framework of Catholic Christianity.
John's metaphysics is a rational system, but is in danger of collapsing into subjectivism and mysticism.
The mystic elements were too strong for a Christian standard at his time. A private mystical basis was not the solution the Church as an institution was looking for.
John's fourth level (not-created and non-creating) seems to destroy individuality. Man's eternal salvation is done through a return to God by all souls. It is not exactly Kosher with the Church. It is blasphemy and heresy.
John's neoplatonism also renders sin and evil as unreal.
John also had to interpret the Scriptures rather loosely.
He also used the writings of St. Dionysius the Areopagite as an almost canonical authority. Unfortunately, St. Dionysius the Areopagite was later shown to be a fake.
The Neoplatonic Problem
Neoplatonic metaphysics and Christian Dogma are antagonistic. The problem was to include some deeply entrenched Neoplatonic ideals of the Middle Ages into Christianity.
The Controversy over Universals
The thinkers of the 11th century were logicians, not metaphysicians. They focused their energy on two very technical problems:
1) The status of universals
2) the relation between the spheres of faith and reason
It was desirable, if only for pragmatic reasons, to prove the Christian truths.
Reason was an indispensable weapon agains infidels and heretics.
Men of the Middle Ages basically agreed there were three modes of cognition
1) Revelation
2) Reason
3) Perception
The problem of universals and the scope of faith and reason was (and is) an interrelated problem.
The History of Philosophy vol. 2
Chapter 5 - The Medieval Interval
Plato and Aristotle dominated the Classical period. Augustine and Aquinas dominated the Medieval period; but, lived 8 centuries apart. Augustine and Aquinas dealt with different problems, whereas Plato and Aristotle dealt with the same problems.
The Dark Ages
The barbarian conquering of Rome caused enormous stress. The barbarians were incapable of sustaining such a complex culture like Rome's.
The collapse of a uniform society caused man to primarily focus on staying alive.
The Classical philosophy was lost to Europe in the Dark Ages.
Literacy declined to the point that Charlemagne complained that the clergy did not know enough Latin to interpret the Scriptures.
The Church
Anything surviving from the Roman World in the Dark Ages was due to the Church.
Christianity made converts out of the pagan and Arian barbarians.
"By the end of the Dark Ages, Christianity was more widely spread and Orthodoxy more firmly entrenched than before the barbarian invasions began" (Jones, 142).
The Rise of the Papacy
The early Church was ruled by bishops, not by the Pope.
The doctrine of Papal primacy made the Pope the head of the Church and gave it temporal authority.
A Christian king was subject to the Pope.
Pope Gregory VII in the 11th century pulled papal primacy to its extreme. The power of the Popes stopped Europe from instituting a unified government until the rise of nationalism in the early Modern period.
Monasticism
While the Papacy drove the Church to become a secular power, the spiritual nature was preserved by two things:
1) Monasticism
2) The Friars
Monasticism began in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D.
Monasticism got its credibility from St. Benedict.
Humility was the top virtue in monastic life.
The monastic movement constantly reformed to maintain a spiritual primacy over a temporal primacy. Though it wasn't perfect it worked well enough.
The Friars of St. Francis
Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
Francis of Assisi was a mystic reformer and founded the Order of the Friars Minor.
He was dedicated to poverty, simplicity and good works.
He achieved a large measure of success in inflaming the hearts of the average man with the love of God.
The main difference between now and the Dark Ages is that men in the Dark Ages were ready at any moment to be touched by the otherworldly.
Feudalism
Particularism began to grow in the fragmented ruins of the old Empire.
Men with property gained power as central governments were too weak to perform duties.
"Immunity" was granted to land owners by the central government which gave them the power of controlling their lands with no government interference.
Small peasant farmers would "commend" their lands to these large land owners. "Commendation" was the act of giving up one's land for protection and security. The ones who commended their lands would live on them and work them still, but they would no longer own the land.
Charlemagne (742-814) organized a strong central government and was crowned Emperor by the Pope. But his kingdom collapsed shortly after his death.
Feudalism was born out of the rapid commending process that followed the collapse of Charlemagne.
Authority and power and administration became inextricable from land ownership.
Medieval society was dominated by the concept of status, not the concept of citizenship.
The Middle Ages had a very fragmented society.
Chivalry
Chivalry was an ideal that emphasized private honor and public service.
Along with the Church and feudalism Chivalry marked the culture of the Middle Ages.
St. Louis, King of France
Louis IX was born in 1214 and set out to recapture Jerusalem in 1248. It failed, but he tried again in 1270.
Louis IX described chivalry as "upright" and "worthy".
Uprightness involved courage, modesty, charitableness, sobriety, faithfulness and justice.
Louis IX saw sin as a disease, much like Augustine.
Louis IX did not extend his notions of charity and humility to the Jews.
Louis IX distrusted education. As St. Francis, Louis IX was satisfied with simple faith.
Louis IX saw outward dignity as vital in society. His count was elaborate and attendants were lavishly dressed to show their rank.
Feudalism was so deeply entrenched in Louis IX's society that his closest friend and biographer, Sire de Joinville would not swear an oath of allegiance to Louis' family in the event he died in Crusade because Joinville was not his liegeman.
Art and Letters
Architecture
The 12th and 13th centuries were a period of great artistic blossoming.
Vaulted circling and stained glass windows marked the new Gothic style. The abbey church of St. Denis, the Cathedral of Noyon, Enlis, Paris, Rheims and the Sainte Chapelle are perfect examples of the Gothic style. The architecture reflected Christian piety.
Painting and Poetry
Painting and poetry moved from static, unmoving depictions to depictions of living, breathing men in nature.
It focused on the world, but their was still an otherworldly element: case in point - Dante.
The chasm between the otherworld and this world was removed. The two worlds were no longer bitter hostiles at war with each other.
Science
Bartholomew the Englishmen
Bartholomew was one of the most popular science writers of the Middle Ages.
He used Aristotle only in a way to describe it in a very confusing manner.
Science was mixed with heresy and old wives tales.
Aristotle and Medieval Science
It took time to assimilate Aristotle to science.
Men in the Middle Ages were more concerned with salvation, not with accumulating the facts.
Vincent Beauvais
Bartholomew and Vincent Beauvais were very unscientific.
The Universities
Some monastic and cathedral schools popped up after Charlemagne's renaissance.
The Universities slowly arose over Europe to satisfy the new hunger for knowledge slowly awakened over the 8th-11th centuries.
Philosophy during the Medieval Interval
The cultural problem for the 13th century philosopher was to find a place for these this-worldly ends in a scheme of life that still had a basically otherworldly orientation. The success of Aquinas lies in solving this central problem.
There was virtually no philosophical development in the 8 centuries between Augustine and Aquinas, save for Boethius, Isidore of Seville and John Scotus Erigena.
John Scotus Erigena
John Scotus Erigena (ca. 810-877) was born in Ireland. He studied Greek in an Irish monastery at a time when Greek was nearly lost in all the west.
He travels to France in 847 and taught at Paris in the palace school that Charlemagne founded.
He was involved in deep theological topics like Free Will and the Eucharist. He avoided the extreme forms of predestination, but went too far and was condemned as a Pealagian. His views were condemned in 855. Then his views on the Eucharist were condemned (he denied the Doctrine of Transubstantiation)
He decided to take a safer task of translating Greek into Latin.
John Scotus Erigena was deeply concerned with synthesis. As a Christian, Erigena must have a synthesis, an overarching philosophy that fit with the Catholic dogma.
Nature
John began with the nature of reality.
He believed that things fall into two classes:
1) Things that are
2) Things that are not
Things that are not have different modes, they are modes of non-being
1) Sinful man
2) Changing particulars
3) Potential being
4) Things that are "beyond our intellect"
Things that are are those things that we can comprehend.
John Scotus Erigena's divisions are influence by Plato (most of the texts he translated were neoplatonic ones)
Like Plato and the Neoplatonists, John identified the form of the Good with God.
God
According to John, God is "beyond being" and thus, not to be. John had a problem in attempting to reconcile Neoplatonic metaphysics and Christian dogma.
John held that there were two ways for finite minds to approach God:
1) An affirmative way
2) A negative way
The affirmative way consists of stating things like God is being, God is good, etc. These assertions are neither wholly true nor wholly false.
Every positive or affirmative statement about God must be supplemented by a negative statement.
Instead of stating the negative and positive about God as "God is being and not-being" he stated then like "God is super being"
John Scotus Erigena believed that God was truly Good, but to say that God was good was misleading because it wasn't the whole truth.
Creation
John Scotus Erigena started with a paradox in dealing with creation. If God made the world He must move, but how can He who is immutable move?
John asserted that the concepts of making and creation (like the concepts of being and goodness) applied to God in only a metaphorical sense.
He also asserted that the transcendence of the the Creator and the dependence of the creature (Two vitally important Church doctrines) were contradictory.
Theophanies
John held the world to be a "theophany" of God (an appearance of God). It is not an illusion, but the chosen method of God to reveal Himself to man. Human minds are a part of this theophany and thus their understanding is a part of God's theophany.
Knowledge is Illumination
"Everything that exists is an aspect of the divine nature reflected from some perspective or other" (Jones, 179).
Knowledge is fundamentally an act of grace by God in which He illumines our mind.
Four-Fold Division of Nature
While nature is truly one and beyond being, the human mind divides and classifies as was God's intention. There are four divisions of nature:
1) God - the nature that creates and is uncreated
2) The Platonic archetypes - the nature that creates and is created
3) The Physical World - the nature that does not create and is created
4) God - The nature that does not create and is not created
"God issues into the world and returns from it to Himself" (Jones, 180).
God is not conscious until he creates His mind. The archetypes are the divine images of God. They do not exist independently. They are the divine mind.
The archetypes (primordial causes) are the sources of the essences of the particulars in the physical world.
The primordial causes are: goodness, being, life, wisdom, truth, intelligence, reason, virtue, justice, health, greatness, omnipotence, eternity and peace. While we view them as a plurality, they are really a unity.
Anything that exists in the physical world that is describable as one of these primordial causes is so because it takes part (a finite part) in them.
The physical world has being by participating in the various primordial substances.
Is John's view Christian?
There are some Neoplatonic interpretations of nature that readily fit within the framework of Catholic Christianity.
John's metaphysics is a rational system, but is in danger of collapsing into subjectivism and mysticism.
The mystic elements were too strong for a Christian standard at his time. A private mystical basis was not the solution the Church as an institution was looking for.
John's fourth level (not-created and non-creating) seems to destroy individuality. Man's eternal salvation is done through a return to God by all souls. It is not exactly Kosher with the Church. It is blasphemy and heresy.
John's neoplatonism also renders sin and evil as unreal.
John also had to interpret the Scriptures rather loosely.
He also used the writings of St. Dionysius the Areopagite as an almost canonical authority. Unfortunately, St. Dionysius the Areopagite was later shown to be a fake.
The Neoplatonic Problem
Neoplatonic metaphysics and Christian Dogma are antagonistic. The problem was to include some deeply entrenched Neoplatonic ideals of the Middle Ages into Christianity.
The Controversy over Universals
The thinkers of the 11th century were logicians, not metaphysicians. They focused their energy on two very technical problems:
1) The status of universals
2) the relation between the spheres of faith and reason
It was desirable, if only for pragmatic reasons, to prove the Christian truths.
Reason was an indispensable weapon agains infidels and heretics.
Men of the Middle Ages basically agreed there were three modes of cognition
1) Revelation
2) Reason
3) Perception
The problem of universals and the scope of faith and reason was (and is) an interrelated problem.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
The 13th Century
(Originally written July 29, 2006 in Book 5)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter XII - The 13th Century
The great men of the 13th century were:
1) Innocent III
2) St. Francis
3) Frederick II
4) Thomas Aquinas
Pope Innocent III reigned from 1198-1216. Innocent III was a shrewd politician and assured Papal supremacy in Sicily, Portugal and Aragon. After resistance, King John conceded England under Papal supremacy.
He destroyed the Albigenses, a heretical group in southern France. He "rooted out heresy, happiness, and culture from southern France" (Russell, 442).
He had Emperor Otto deposed by the German people.
"Innocent III was the first great pope in whom there was no element of sanctity" (Russell, 443).
He codified Canon Law, increasing the power of the Curia.
Frederick II became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire through Innocent's endorsement. Innocent III would die before Frederick II assumed the position of a formidable antagonist to the Church.
Frederick II was the son of Henry IV and Constance (heir to the Sicilian throne). His childhood was marred with Sicilian wars with Muslims, Germans, Pisans, and Genoese.
The culture of Sicily was a combination of Arabic, Italian, Greek, Byzantine and German cultures.
Frederick II spoke six languages fluently and wittily. He was familiar with Arabic philosophy. He was a Hohenstaufen and could thus be considered German. He was culturally akin to Italians however.
Frederick II's problems with the papacy came when he refused to go on crusade. He was excommunicated later by Pope Gregory IX for not going on crusades and waging war in Lombardy.
He married the daughter of the King of Jerusalem and after the king's death calls himself the king of Jerusalem, infuriating the Pope. He integrated Muslims back into Jerusalem, thus further infuriating the Pope.
Eventually peace was restored between Emperor and Pope in 1230.
He systematized the laws of Sicily (where he was also king).
He founded an important university at Naples.
He freed up trade.
He was once again excommunicated in 1237 for waging war against the Lombards.
His successors after his death in 1250 were not as powerful and the Papacy absorbed power and Italy was left divided.
The heresies of the 13th century are important to study:
The Carthi or Albigenses were the largest sect of heresy at the time. They existed primarily in Northern Italy and Southern France. The Carthi were dualists. They regarded the Old Testament God as wicked. They regarded matter as evil. They believed that virtuous men had no resurrection of the body. They believed that the wicked would suffer transmigration into the bodies of animals. For this they were vegetarians, even abstaining from eggs, cheese, and milk. They ate fish because they did not think that fish reproduced sexually. They despised sex, even inside of marriage. They did not object to suicide. They interpreted the New Testament entirely literally. One who was persecuted offered his defense by claiming that he ate meat, lied and swore like any other good Catholic.
The genealogy of the Carthi is interesting. Carthi (from) Bogomiles (in Bulgaria) - a fusion of Manichaeans and Paulicians. The Manichaeans were founded by Mani and once had Augustine as a proponent.
The Paulicians were followers of Marcion. They were an Armenian sect. They rejected:
1) Infant baptism
2) Purgatory
3) The invocation of the saints
4) The Trinity
5) The Jewish elements of Christianity
The other important heresy of the 13th century were the Waldenses. They were followers of Peter Waldo.
Peter Waldo founded the "Poor Men of Lyons". They were originally papally sanctioned, but were condemned for condemning immorality in the clergy too vocally. They then split from the church.
They existed in Lombardy and Bohemia, eventually paving the way for Jan Hus. They still exist today in the Alpines and in the US.
Heresy was combatted by the Pope in founding the Inquisition in 1233 by Pope Gregory IX.
The Inquisition was mainly performed by the Dominican and Franciscans.
The Church was in danger of a revolt in the 13th century, but was saved by mendicant orders.
St. Francis of Assisi was born around 1181 and died in 1226. He was well-to-do, but later devoted himself to poverty, despite furious family members. Pope Innocent III recognized St. Francis' followers as an order around 1210. St. Francis was one of the most lovable men in History and a saint among saints. But after his death the Franciscans fell into a trap.
"If Satan existed, the future of the order founded by Saint Francis would afford him the most exquisite gratification" (Russell, 450). Linehan - this is an off-hand remark that is completely unnecessary to the conversation. It is another cheap shot by Russell.
The Franciscans became another wealthy order in the Church hierarchy after Francis' death. They took an active role in the Inquisition and suppression of free thought.
Saint Dominic (1170 - 1221) devoted himself to combatting heresy. He founded his order in 1215.
The Dominicans were even more active in the Inquisition. They were devoted to learning. Dominicans provided two great philosophers intent on reconciling Aristotle to Christ:
1) Albertus Magnus
2) Thomas Aquinas
The Franciscans produced three great philosophers:
1) Roger Bacon
2) Duns Scotus
3) William of Occam
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter XII - The 13th Century
The great men of the 13th century were:
1) Innocent III
2) St. Francis
3) Frederick II
4) Thomas Aquinas
Pope Innocent III reigned from 1198-1216. Innocent III was a shrewd politician and assured Papal supremacy in Sicily, Portugal and Aragon. After resistance, King John conceded England under Papal supremacy.
He destroyed the Albigenses, a heretical group in southern France. He "rooted out heresy, happiness, and culture from southern France" (Russell, 442).
He had Emperor Otto deposed by the German people.
"Innocent III was the first great pope in whom there was no element of sanctity" (Russell, 443).
He codified Canon Law, increasing the power of the Curia.
Frederick II became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire through Innocent's endorsement. Innocent III would die before Frederick II assumed the position of a formidable antagonist to the Church.
Frederick II was the son of Henry IV and Constance (heir to the Sicilian throne). His childhood was marred with Sicilian wars with Muslims, Germans, Pisans, and Genoese.
The culture of Sicily was a combination of Arabic, Italian, Greek, Byzantine and German cultures.
Frederick II spoke six languages fluently and wittily. He was familiar with Arabic philosophy. He was a Hohenstaufen and could thus be considered German. He was culturally akin to Italians however.
Frederick II's problems with the papacy came when he refused to go on crusade. He was excommunicated later by Pope Gregory IX for not going on crusades and waging war in Lombardy.
He married the daughter of the King of Jerusalem and after the king's death calls himself the king of Jerusalem, infuriating the Pope. He integrated Muslims back into Jerusalem, thus further infuriating the Pope.
Eventually peace was restored between Emperor and Pope in 1230.
He systematized the laws of Sicily (where he was also king).
He founded an important university at Naples.
He freed up trade.
He was once again excommunicated in 1237 for waging war against the Lombards.
His successors after his death in 1250 were not as powerful and the Papacy absorbed power and Italy was left divided.
The heresies of the 13th century are important to study:
The Carthi or Albigenses were the largest sect of heresy at the time. They existed primarily in Northern Italy and Southern France. The Carthi were dualists. They regarded the Old Testament God as wicked. They regarded matter as evil. They believed that virtuous men had no resurrection of the body. They believed that the wicked would suffer transmigration into the bodies of animals. For this they were vegetarians, even abstaining from eggs, cheese, and milk. They ate fish because they did not think that fish reproduced sexually. They despised sex, even inside of marriage. They did not object to suicide. They interpreted the New Testament entirely literally. One who was persecuted offered his defense by claiming that he ate meat, lied and swore like any other good Catholic.
The genealogy of the Carthi is interesting. Carthi (from) Bogomiles (in Bulgaria) - a fusion of Manichaeans and Paulicians. The Manichaeans were founded by Mani and once had Augustine as a proponent.
The Paulicians were followers of Marcion. They were an Armenian sect. They rejected:
1) Infant baptism
2) Purgatory
3) The invocation of the saints
4) The Trinity
5) The Jewish elements of Christianity
The other important heresy of the 13th century were the Waldenses. They were followers of Peter Waldo.
Peter Waldo founded the "Poor Men of Lyons". They were originally papally sanctioned, but were condemned for condemning immorality in the clergy too vocally. They then split from the church.
They existed in Lombardy and Bohemia, eventually paving the way for Jan Hus. They still exist today in the Alpines and in the US.
Heresy was combatted by the Pope in founding the Inquisition in 1233 by Pope Gregory IX.
The Inquisition was mainly performed by the Dominican and Franciscans.
The Church was in danger of a revolt in the 13th century, but was saved by mendicant orders.
St. Francis of Assisi was born around 1181 and died in 1226. He was well-to-do, but later devoted himself to poverty, despite furious family members. Pope Innocent III recognized St. Francis' followers as an order around 1210. St. Francis was one of the most lovable men in History and a saint among saints. But after his death the Franciscans fell into a trap.
"If Satan existed, the future of the order founded by Saint Francis would afford him the most exquisite gratification" (Russell, 450). Linehan - this is an off-hand remark that is completely unnecessary to the conversation. It is another cheap shot by Russell.
The Franciscans became another wealthy order in the Church hierarchy after Francis' death. They took an active role in the Inquisition and suppression of free thought.
Saint Dominic (1170 - 1221) devoted himself to combatting heresy. He founded his order in 1215.
The Dominicans were even more active in the Inquisition. They were devoted to learning. Dominicans provided two great philosophers intent on reconciling Aristotle to Christ:
1) Albertus Magnus
2) Thomas Aquinas
The Franciscans produced three great philosophers:
1) Roger Bacon
2) Duns Scotus
3) William of Occam
The 12th Century (C)
(Originally written July 29, 2006 in Book 5)
Roscelin recanted the heresy at Rheims then fled to England. While in England he attacked Anselm, then fled to Rome.
Roscelin's writings are all lost except for a letter to Abelard on the Trinity. Roscelin mocks Abelard in the letter.
Ueberweg describes Roscelin as not a very nice man.
Roscelin's teachings are known through the writings of Abelard and Anselm.
Anselm states that Roscelin believed universals are "breath of voice" or that they physically occur when we speak them. Russell contends that Roscelin would not have believed something so foolish. Anselm states that Roscelin also believed man is not a unity, but a collection under a common name. Anselm stated that Roscelin believed reality is what is sensible. Roscelin believed (according to Anselm) that a whole is merely a word, but reality rests in the parts of a whole. He was led by this view to extreme atomism and troubles in dealing with the Trinity.
He held that the Godhead was three distinct substances and thus there are three Gods. He stated this because if they are one substance then all three had been incarnate in Jesus Christ. He couldn't accept that. But this is what he recanted in Rheims.
Abelard was Roselyn's pupil. He was born near Nantes in 1079. He first studied under the realist William of Champeaux in Paris. He taught at the Paris cathedral school where he argued against William's realism and compelled his former teacher to change his views. He left Paris to study theology under Anselm of Leon then returned to Paris in 1113. Upon returning he became widely popular as a teacher and became the lover of Heloïse, niece of Canon Fulbert. Canon Fulbert castrated him and he joined the monastery at St. Denis.
Abelard was vain, disputatious and tempts. After being castrated he was angry and humiliated. (Linehan - what a shock!)
He was condemned for an unorthodox book on the Trinity in 1121.
He then became the abbot of Saint Gildas in Brittany for four years. He hated it because he saw the monks as uncivilized.
In 1141 he was again condemned at the insistence of St. Bernard. He retired to Cluny and died in 1142.
Abelard's most famous book is "Yes and No". It is a dialectical argument for and against many theses. It did not however produce any conclusions.
Abelard held that, apart from Scriptures, dialectic is the sole road to truth.
He considered logic to be the chief science.
He is best known for logic and theory of knowledge.
Universals - "what can be predicated of many different things" (Russell, 430).
Abelard held that we do not predicate a thing, but only a word. He was a nomalist in this sense.
He fought realism.
He regards Platonic Ideas as the pattern of creation in the mind of God.
St. Bernard charged him without fully understanding Abelard's teachings. The heresies Bernard charged him with are:
1) Treating the Trinity like an Arian
2) Treating grace like a Pelagian
3) Treating the Person of Christ like a Nestorian
4) Being a heathen by making Plato to be a Christian
5) Destroying Christianity by maintaining that God can be understood through reason alone.
In all reality it was his hostile disposition towards clergy that caused his heretical label and not his teachings.
Abelard was more dialectical than any others at his time.
1) The school of Chartres was a humanistic movement
2) Abelard of Bath translated Euclid due to a renaissance of mathematical learning
3) There was a strong mystical movement headed by St. Bernard.
St. Bernard was not an intellectualist, but was extremely influential.
1) His father was a knight in the first Crusade
2) He was a Cistercian monk
3) He was the abbot at Clairvaux
4) He was influential in ecclesiastical politics
5) He fought antipopes
6) he combatted heresy in Northern Italy and Southern France
7) He brought philosophers down with the weight of orthodoxy
8) He set into motion the second Crusade
"Although a politician and a bigot, he was a man of genuinely religious temperament" (Russel, 439).
Bernard's reverence of the Papacy increased the power of the Pope.
Roscelin recanted the heresy at Rheims then fled to England. While in England he attacked Anselm, then fled to Rome.
Roscelin's writings are all lost except for a letter to Abelard on the Trinity. Roscelin mocks Abelard in the letter.
Ueberweg describes Roscelin as not a very nice man.
Roscelin's teachings are known through the writings of Abelard and Anselm.
Anselm states that Roscelin believed universals are "breath of voice" or that they physically occur when we speak them. Russell contends that Roscelin would not have believed something so foolish. Anselm states that Roscelin also believed man is not a unity, but a collection under a common name. Anselm stated that Roscelin believed reality is what is sensible. Roscelin believed (according to Anselm) that a whole is merely a word, but reality rests in the parts of a whole. He was led by this view to extreme atomism and troubles in dealing with the Trinity.
He held that the Godhead was three distinct substances and thus there are three Gods. He stated this because if they are one substance then all three had been incarnate in Jesus Christ. He couldn't accept that. But this is what he recanted in Rheims.
Abelard was Roselyn's pupil. He was born near Nantes in 1079. He first studied under the realist William of Champeaux in Paris. He taught at the Paris cathedral school where he argued against William's realism and compelled his former teacher to change his views. He left Paris to study theology under Anselm of Leon then returned to Paris in 1113. Upon returning he became widely popular as a teacher and became the lover of Heloïse, niece of Canon Fulbert. Canon Fulbert castrated him and he joined the monastery at St. Denis.
Abelard was vain, disputatious and tempts. After being castrated he was angry and humiliated. (Linehan - what a shock!)
He was condemned for an unorthodox book on the Trinity in 1121.
He then became the abbot of Saint Gildas in Brittany for four years. He hated it because he saw the monks as uncivilized.
In 1141 he was again condemned at the insistence of St. Bernard. He retired to Cluny and died in 1142.
Abelard's most famous book is "Yes and No". It is a dialectical argument for and against many theses. It did not however produce any conclusions.
Abelard held that, apart from Scriptures, dialectic is the sole road to truth.
He considered logic to be the chief science.
He is best known for logic and theory of knowledge.
Universals - "what can be predicated of many different things" (Russell, 430).
Abelard held that we do not predicate a thing, but only a word. He was a nomalist in this sense.
He fought realism.
He regards Platonic Ideas as the pattern of creation in the mind of God.
St. Bernard charged him without fully understanding Abelard's teachings. The heresies Bernard charged him with are:
1) Treating the Trinity like an Arian
2) Treating grace like a Pelagian
3) Treating the Person of Christ like a Nestorian
4) Being a heathen by making Plato to be a Christian
5) Destroying Christianity by maintaining that God can be understood through reason alone.
In all reality it was his hostile disposition towards clergy that caused his heretical label and not his teachings.
Abelard was more dialectical than any others at his time.
1) The school of Chartres was a humanistic movement
2) Abelard of Bath translated Euclid due to a renaissance of mathematical learning
3) There was a strong mystical movement headed by St. Bernard.
St. Bernard was not an intellectualist, but was extremely influential.
1) His father was a knight in the first Crusade
2) He was a Cistercian monk
3) He was the abbot at Clairvaux
4) He was influential in ecclesiastical politics
5) He fought antipopes
6) he combatted heresy in Northern Italy and Southern France
7) He brought philosophers down with the weight of orthodoxy
8) He set into motion the second Crusade
"Although a politician and a bigot, he was a man of genuinely religious temperament" (Russel, 439).
Bernard's reverence of the Papacy increased the power of the Pope.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
The 12th Century (B)
(Originally written July 27, 2006 in Book 5)
What a shitty day and week this has been.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter XI - The 12th Century
The crusades shifted culture beyond religion in Europe. The trade in the East, which had been a Jewish monopoly shifted to Christian merchants. The Crusades also facilitated learning of Constantinople to be translated from the Greek into Latin and thus transferred to the West.
Scholasticism began in the 12th century. Scholasticism has a number of distant characteristics:
1) It is confined by the limits of orthodoxy
2) Aristotelian doctrines within the limits of orthodoxy are supreme
3) Dialect and syllogistic reasoning
4) Universals become important
The dialectic approach of scholasticism hampered it by:
1) making it indifferent to science and facts
2) belief in reasoning over observation
3) too much emphasis on verbal distinctions and subtleties
The first strictly scholastic philosopher was Roscelin. Roscelin was born at Compiegne about 1050. He taught at Loches in Brittany, where he taught Abelard. He was accused of heresy at the council of Rheims in 1092.
What a shitty day and week this has been.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter XI - The 12th Century
The crusades shifted culture beyond religion in Europe. The trade in the East, which had been a Jewish monopoly shifted to Christian merchants. The Crusades also facilitated learning of Constantinople to be translated from the Greek into Latin and thus transferred to the West.
Scholasticism began in the 12th century. Scholasticism has a number of distant characteristics:
1) It is confined by the limits of orthodoxy
2) Aristotelian doctrines within the limits of orthodoxy are supreme
3) Dialect and syllogistic reasoning
4) Universals become important
The dialectic approach of scholasticism hampered it by:
1) making it indifferent to science and facts
2) belief in reasoning over observation
3) too much emphasis on verbal distinctions and subtleties
The first strictly scholastic philosopher was Roscelin. Roscelin was born at Compiegne about 1050. He taught at Loches in Brittany, where he taught Abelard. He was accused of heresy at the council of Rheims in 1092.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
The 12th Century (A)
(Originally written July 26, 2006 in Book 5)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter XI - The 12th Century
Four aspects of the 12th century are of special interest to Russell:
1) The continued conflict of empire and papacy
2) The rise of the Lombard cities
3) The Crusades
4) The growth of scholasticism
Conflict of Empire & Papacy
The Popes gained more power over the kings in the 12th century. They consolidated power in the Church and Church officials were better behaved than before the reform.
The Lombard cities achieved a sense of independence through wars against Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire.
The cities of Northern Italy rose through trade, not through the Church.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter XI - The 12th Century
Four aspects of the 12th century are of special interest to Russell:
1) The continued conflict of empire and papacy
2) The rise of the Lombard cities
3) The Crusades
4) The growth of scholasticism
Conflict of Empire & Papacy
The Popes gained more power over the kings in the 12th century. They consolidated power in the Church and Church officials were better behaved than before the reform.
The Lombard cities achieved a sense of independence through wars against Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire.
The cities of Northern Italy rose through trade, not through the Church.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Mohammedan Culture B
(Originally written July 25, 2006 in Book 5)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter X - Mohammedan Culture
The Muslim Empire gradually split into four main factions:
1) Spain
2) Persia
3) N. Africa
4) Egypt
All these four were basically independent of one another.
The Arabs preferred Aristotle to Plato, but it was a sort of Platonic Aristotle.
Al-Kindi (died ca. 873) was the first philosopher to write in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi translated Indian Sanskrit astronomy and mathematical books into Arabic around 830. It was translated into Latin in the 11th century along with an algebra book he wrote. This is when the West learned Arabic numerals. (But since the Arabians adopted them from India they ought to have been labeled Indian numerals).
Omar Ahayyám reformed the calendar in 1079. He was a Persian poet and mathematician. The Persians were great poets.
Firdowsi (941) wrote Shahlnama and is said to be an equal of Homer.
Persians were also superior mystics to the rest of the Mohammedans. The Sufi sect (still existent) came from Persian mystic interpretation of the Koran in a mystical, Neoplatonic way.
Greek influenced entered the Muslim world through the Syrain Nestorians. The Nestorians only valued Aristotle for his logic.
Arabic philosophers placed logic as the highest point and importance, but gradually accepted Aristotelian metaphysics.
Arabic philosophers were primarily concerned with:
1) Alchemy
2) Astrology
3) Astronomy
4) Zoology
Philosophers were looked on suspiciously by the bigoted public Arabs.
Avicenna (Ibn Sina) lived from 980 -1037 and traveled extensively, finally settling in Tehran. He taught philosophy and medicine. His medicine techniques were used widespread in Europe from the 12th - 17th century. He was not a saint, easily entrapped by wine and women. He was not favored in the East because of the Orthodoxy but the West admired him and his work. His psychology was empirical of a sort. His philosophy was closer to Aristotle and less Platonic than his Muslim predecessors.
He was concerned with the problem of universals. He believed that universals were at the same time:
1) before things
2) in things
3) after things
They are before in God's understanding. They are in things when particulars exist. They are after things in the thoughts of man.
Averroes (Ibn Rushd) lived from 1126-1198. He was born in Cordova, Spain. he was a Cadi in Seville and then in Cordova. He studied theology, jurisprudence, medicine, mathematics and philosophy (in that order). He practiced medicine for the Spanish ruler but was exiled by the ruler's son for "cultivating the philosophy of the ancients at the expense of the true faith" (Russell, 425). He was exiled to Morocco.
The books of logic and metaphysics were burnt because the Orthodox Muslims believed that God damned men for believing truth could be found through undirected reason.
After the death of Averroes the Moorish territory in Spain was diminished by Christian conquests.
Aver roes sought to purge the Arabic understanding of Aristotle of the Neoplatonic influence. He believed that the existence of God could be proved without divine revelation.
Like most Mohammedan philosophers, Averroes was a believer, but not Orthodox.
A sect of completely orthodox theologians condemned all philosophical thought outright. Algazel pointed out that all Truth necessary was to be found in the Koran, so speculation was unnecessary.
Averroes believed religion was a wealth of philosophical truth displayed in allegorical form.
Averroes is more important in Christian philosophy than in Islamic.
Despite writing in the 12th century, he was surprisingly translated into Latin in the 13th century, very quick for that age.
Arabic philosophy was not original; philosophers were more like commentators.
Between ancient Europe and Modern Europe the Dark Ages virtually killed intellectualism in Europe. The Byzantines and Arabs, while not innovators, preserved the ancient philosophy and learning which served as the foundation for modern thought.
The integration of Arabic thought into Europe produced scholasticism in the 13th century. The integration of Byzantine thought (and other causes) produced the Renaissance in the 15th century.
The Jews served as a go between between the Christians and the Spanish Moors. Knowing both Arabic and Latin, they supplied translations.
The Spanish Jews produced one important philosopher: Maimonides. Maimonides was born in Cordova in 1135. He went to Cairo in 1165 and lived out his life there. He wrote in Arabic, which was immediately translated into Hebrew and translated into Latin a few decades after his death. He wrote a book called Guide to Wanderers which was a book for philosophers who lost their faith. The book reconciled Aristotelianism to Judaism. The Jews hated Maimonides and elicited the Christian ecclesiastics to stop him.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter X - Mohammedan Culture
The Muslim Empire gradually split into four main factions:
1) Spain
2) Persia
3) N. Africa
4) Egypt
All these four were basically independent of one another.
The Arabs preferred Aristotle to Plato, but it was a sort of Platonic Aristotle.
Al-Kindi (died ca. 873) was the first philosopher to write in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi translated Indian Sanskrit astronomy and mathematical books into Arabic around 830. It was translated into Latin in the 11th century along with an algebra book he wrote. This is when the West learned Arabic numerals. (But since the Arabians adopted them from India they ought to have been labeled Indian numerals).
Omar Ahayyám reformed the calendar in 1079. He was a Persian poet and mathematician. The Persians were great poets.
Firdowsi (941) wrote Shahlnama and is said to be an equal of Homer.
Persians were also superior mystics to the rest of the Mohammedans. The Sufi sect (still existent) came from Persian mystic interpretation of the Koran in a mystical, Neoplatonic way.
Greek influenced entered the Muslim world through the Syrain Nestorians. The Nestorians only valued Aristotle for his logic.
Arabic philosophers placed logic as the highest point and importance, but gradually accepted Aristotelian metaphysics.
Arabic philosophers were primarily concerned with:
1) Alchemy
2) Astrology
3) Astronomy
4) Zoology
Philosophers were looked on suspiciously by the bigoted public Arabs.
Avicenna (Ibn Sina) lived from 980 -1037 and traveled extensively, finally settling in Tehran. He taught philosophy and medicine. His medicine techniques were used widespread in Europe from the 12th - 17th century. He was not a saint, easily entrapped by wine and women. He was not favored in the East because of the Orthodoxy but the West admired him and his work. His psychology was empirical of a sort. His philosophy was closer to Aristotle and less Platonic than his Muslim predecessors.
He was concerned with the problem of universals. He believed that universals were at the same time:
1) before things
2) in things
3) after things
They are before in God's understanding. They are in things when particulars exist. They are after things in the thoughts of man.
Averroes (Ibn Rushd) lived from 1126-1198. He was born in Cordova, Spain. he was a Cadi in Seville and then in Cordova. He studied theology, jurisprudence, medicine, mathematics and philosophy (in that order). He practiced medicine for the Spanish ruler but was exiled by the ruler's son for "cultivating the philosophy of the ancients at the expense of the true faith" (Russell, 425). He was exiled to Morocco.
The books of logic and metaphysics were burnt because the Orthodox Muslims believed that God damned men for believing truth could be found through undirected reason.
After the death of Averroes the Moorish territory in Spain was diminished by Christian conquests.
Aver roes sought to purge the Arabic understanding of Aristotle of the Neoplatonic influence. He believed that the existence of God could be proved without divine revelation.
Like most Mohammedan philosophers, Averroes was a believer, but not Orthodox.
A sect of completely orthodox theologians condemned all philosophical thought outright. Algazel pointed out that all Truth necessary was to be found in the Koran, so speculation was unnecessary.
Averroes believed religion was a wealth of philosophical truth displayed in allegorical form.
Averroes is more important in Christian philosophy than in Islamic.
Despite writing in the 12th century, he was surprisingly translated into Latin in the 13th century, very quick for that age.
Arabic philosophy was not original; philosophers were more like commentators.
Between ancient Europe and Modern Europe the Dark Ages virtually killed intellectualism in Europe. The Byzantines and Arabs, while not innovators, preserved the ancient philosophy and learning which served as the foundation for modern thought.
The integration of Arabic thought into Europe produced scholasticism in the 13th century. The integration of Byzantine thought (and other causes) produced the Renaissance in the 15th century.
The Jews served as a go between between the Christians and the Spanish Moors. Knowing both Arabic and Latin, they supplied translations.
The Spanish Jews produced one important philosopher: Maimonides. Maimonides was born in Cordova in 1135. He went to Cairo in 1165 and lived out his life there. He wrote in Arabic, which was immediately translated into Hebrew and translated into Latin a few decades after his death. He wrote a book called Guide to Wanderers which was a book for philosophers who lost their faith. The book reconciled Aristotelianism to Judaism. The Jews hated Maimonides and elicited the Christian ecclesiastics to stop him.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Mohammedan Culture A
(Originally written July 24, 2006 in Book 5)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter X - Mohammedan Culture
So after my 16 hour shift at AWS I came home and worked on "The Utopian Project" and am currently pleased with the rough draft as of yet. But I need to set up the events of WWIII in a chronological order rather than apply it in a haphazard way.
But I am relatively annoyed at the moment about today's events. She didn't get up until 2 pm in the afternoon. Then we went to go get lunch in Gas City because grocery shopping was delayed because Heather was coming with us. We ended up not eating out because we couldn't spare the money yet here in Muncie she dropped $20 on canvas material and I'm sure she'll drop an equal amount on paint supplies in Hobby Lobby.
(Omitted Paragraph Not Suitable for Blog) (I'm sure your curious now...)
Chapter X - Mohammedan Culture
The Hegira launched the age of Mohammedanism in 622. The Hegira was Mohammed's flight from Mecca to Medina.
Mohammed died in 632 and the Arab conquest of former Roman territory began shortly after. Syria was invaded in 634, conquered in 636. Persia was invaded in 637, conquered in 650. India was invaded in 664. Constantine was invaded in 669 and then again in 716-17. Egypt was conquered in 642. Carthage was conquered in 697.
The Arab Empire was an absolute monarchy under the power of the Caliph (who was the descendants of Mohammed). The first dynasty of the Arabs were the Umayyads and reigned until 750. The Umayyads accepted Mohammed on political levels and opposed religious fanaticism.
The Persians were much more religious than the Arabs and their conversion to Islam radically changed Islam itself.
The Islamic religion was divided into two sects after the death of Ali (Mohammed's son-in-law) in 661 into the Sunni and the Shiah. The Sunni have always been larger. The Shiah followed Ali and disliked the Umayyad Dynasty.
The Umayyad were overthrown by the Abbasids through Persian influence. The capital of the Empire moved from Damascus to Baghdad. The Abbasids were more fanatical but they lost Spain to the remnant of the Umayyad family.
Tarun-Al-Rashid was the best known Abbasid Caliph and was a contemporary of Charlemagne. He is known through The Arabian Nights. His empire stretched from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Indus. Rashid's will was absolute and traveled with an on-call executioner. The Abbasid dynasty lost the power and prestige after Rashid died due to the insubordination of the Turks, who were most of the army. The Abbasid Dynasty lasted though until 1256 when the last Caliph was murdered, along with 800,000 inhabitants of Baghdad by the Mongols.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter X - Mohammedan Culture
So after my 16 hour shift at AWS I came home and worked on "The Utopian Project" and am currently pleased with the rough draft as of yet. But I need to set up the events of WWIII in a chronological order rather than apply it in a haphazard way.
But I am relatively annoyed at the moment about today's events. She didn't get up until 2 pm in the afternoon. Then we went to go get lunch in Gas City because grocery shopping was delayed because Heather was coming with us. We ended up not eating out because we couldn't spare the money yet here in Muncie she dropped $20 on canvas material and I'm sure she'll drop an equal amount on paint supplies in Hobby Lobby.
(Omitted Paragraph Not Suitable for Blog) (I'm sure your curious now...)
Chapter X - Mohammedan Culture
The Hegira launched the age of Mohammedanism in 622. The Hegira was Mohammed's flight from Mecca to Medina.
Mohammed died in 632 and the Arab conquest of former Roman territory began shortly after. Syria was invaded in 634, conquered in 636. Persia was invaded in 637, conquered in 650. India was invaded in 664. Constantine was invaded in 669 and then again in 716-17. Egypt was conquered in 642. Carthage was conquered in 697.
The Arab Empire was an absolute monarchy under the power of the Caliph (who was the descendants of Mohammed). The first dynasty of the Arabs were the Umayyads and reigned until 750. The Umayyads accepted Mohammed on political levels and opposed religious fanaticism.
The Persians were much more religious than the Arabs and their conversion to Islam radically changed Islam itself.
The Islamic religion was divided into two sects after the death of Ali (Mohammed's son-in-law) in 661 into the Sunni and the Shiah. The Sunni have always been larger. The Shiah followed Ali and disliked the Umayyad Dynasty.
The Umayyad were overthrown by the Abbasids through Persian influence. The capital of the Empire moved from Damascus to Baghdad. The Abbasids were more fanatical but they lost Spain to the remnant of the Umayyad family.
Tarun-Al-Rashid was the best known Abbasid Caliph and was a contemporary of Charlemagne. He is known through The Arabian Nights. His empire stretched from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Indus. Rashid's will was absolute and traveled with an on-call executioner. The Abbasid dynasty lost the power and prestige after Rashid died due to the insubordination of the Turks, who were most of the army. The Abbasid Dynasty lasted though until 1256 when the last Caliph was murdered, along with 800,000 inhabitants of Baghdad by the Mongols.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Ecclesiastical Reform in the 11th Century
(Originally written July 23, 2006 in Book 5)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter IX - Ecclesiastical Reform in the 11th Century
The progress of the 11th century began with monastic reform.
The Church sought to consolidate its power but it had to clean up itself first by ridding themselves of two great evils:
1) Simony
2) Concubinage
Simony was the practice of selling a position in the Church for a sum of money.
Celibacy in the clergy was more for political reasoning then Biblical. Priests who had sons passed Church property onto them. The Church did not like this. Celibacy set men apart from others. For priests to be revered in the highest esteem they necessarily had to be celibate. The Church demanded them to be set apart from the laity. Celibacy was a means to this end.
William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, founded the Abbey of Cluny and the Cluniac reform movement in 910 AD.
The Camaldolese Orderwas founded by Romuad and the Camaldolese produced Peter Damian.
Bruno of Cologne founded the Carthusians in 1084.
In 1098 the Cistercian Order was founded. St. Bernard joined them in 1113.
The reform of the Papacy began with a simony Pope, Pope Gregory VI. Gregory VI was deposed for simony by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III in 1046. Henry III continually deposed popes and appointed new ones. Pope Leo IX was then appointed by Henry III in 1049.
Leo IX was a reformer. He claimed independence from Henry III and the Papacy claimed superiority over the Emperor.
The college of Cardinals was set up to select the Pope, depriving the Romans and the Emperors of power.
Pope Nicholas II played a large part in reducing simony. Nicholas II also fought with the archbishop of Milan, who thought he was independent of the Pope.
Saint Peter Damian was crucial to the Milanese clerics repenting of their simony and pledging allegiance to the Papacy.
Pope Gregory VII became Pope in 1073. He was one of the most eminent Popes of all time. Gregory VII enforced clerical celibacy more than any other previous pope. Gregory VII dealt with the Investiture controversy, excommunicating Emperor Henry IV and thus causing civil war in the feudal Holy Roman Empire.
The 10th century was almost devoid of philosophers except for Pope Sylvester II (999-1003).
The 11th century produced a number of philosophers:
1) Anselm
2) Roscelin
3) Peter Damian
4) Berengar of Tours - a semi rationalist
4) Lanfranc
Anselm came up with the ontological argument for the existence of God. The ontological argument states:
1) God is the greatest possible objet of thought
2) If an object of thought does not exist, another, exactly like it, which does exist is greater.
3) The greatest of all objects of thought must exist. Otherwise another object would exist and be greater.
4) Thus, God exists.
The ontological argument has been rejected by theologians, but has faired better among philosophers. Descartes used an amended formed. Leibniz used it to prove the possibility of God. It underlies the Hegelian system. Bradley used it.
Anselm believed in Platonic ideas. He used Neoplatonic arguments to prove the existence of the Trinity.
Anselm considered reason subordinate to faith.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter IX - Ecclesiastical Reform in the 11th Century
The progress of the 11th century began with monastic reform.
The Church sought to consolidate its power but it had to clean up itself first by ridding themselves of two great evils:
1) Simony
2) Concubinage
Simony was the practice of selling a position in the Church for a sum of money.
Celibacy in the clergy was more for political reasoning then Biblical. Priests who had sons passed Church property onto them. The Church did not like this. Celibacy set men apart from others. For priests to be revered in the highest esteem they necessarily had to be celibate. The Church demanded them to be set apart from the laity. Celibacy was a means to this end.
William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, founded the Abbey of Cluny and the Cluniac reform movement in 910 AD.
The Camaldolese Orderwas founded by Romuad and the Camaldolese produced Peter Damian.
Bruno of Cologne founded the Carthusians in 1084.
In 1098 the Cistercian Order was founded. St. Bernard joined them in 1113.
The reform of the Papacy began with a simony Pope, Pope Gregory VI. Gregory VI was deposed for simony by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III in 1046. Henry III continually deposed popes and appointed new ones. Pope Leo IX was then appointed by Henry III in 1049.
Leo IX was a reformer. He claimed independence from Henry III and the Papacy claimed superiority over the Emperor.
The college of Cardinals was set up to select the Pope, depriving the Romans and the Emperors of power.
Pope Nicholas II played a large part in reducing simony. Nicholas II also fought with the archbishop of Milan, who thought he was independent of the Pope.
Saint Peter Damian was crucial to the Milanese clerics repenting of their simony and pledging allegiance to the Papacy.
Pope Gregory VII became Pope in 1073. He was one of the most eminent Popes of all time. Gregory VII enforced clerical celibacy more than any other previous pope. Gregory VII dealt with the Investiture controversy, excommunicating Emperor Henry IV and thus causing civil war in the feudal Holy Roman Empire.
The 10th century was almost devoid of philosophers except for Pope Sylvester II (999-1003).
The 11th century produced a number of philosophers:
1) Anselm
2) Roscelin
3) Peter Damian
4) Berengar of Tours - a semi rationalist
4) Lanfranc
Anselm came up with the ontological argument for the existence of God. The ontological argument states:
1) God is the greatest possible objet of thought
2) If an object of thought does not exist, another, exactly like it, which does exist is greater.
3) The greatest of all objects of thought must exist. Otherwise another object would exist and be greater.
4) Thus, God exists.
The ontological argument has been rejected by theologians, but has faired better among philosophers. Descartes used an amended formed. Leibniz used it to prove the possibility of God. It underlies the Hegelian system. Bradley used it.
Anselm believed in Platonic ideas. He used Neoplatonic arguments to prove the existence of the Trinity.
Anselm considered reason subordinate to faith.
The Papacy of the Dark Ages
(Originally written July 23, 2006 in Book 5)
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter 7 - The Papacy of the Dark Ages
The Pope allied himself with the Franks, in Charlemagne, laying the foundations for the Holy Roman Empire. The Papal States were established by a union between Pope Stephen III and Pepin, who became king of the Franks. Pepin's son, Charlemagne, defeated the Lombards in Italy, giving the Papal States legitimacy. Charlemagne, though illiterate, revived literacy in the new Holy Roman Empire.
St. Boniface converted Germany through monasticism. Boniface was a native of Devonshire, England and was educated at Exeter and Winchester. It is Boniface's work that made German Christianity faithful to the Pope and not independent like Irish Christianity.
Alucin was important to culture and taught Charlemagne's court Latin.
The decay of Carolingian power after the death of Charlemagne allowed the Pope to claim more power in Pope Nicholas I.
During the 10th Century the Papacy was under control of the powerful Roman aristocratic families.
Monastic reform began around 1000 and brought the Church out of a very low time.
The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Chapter 7 - The Papacy of the Dark Ages
The Pope allied himself with the Franks, in Charlemagne, laying the foundations for the Holy Roman Empire. The Papal States were established by a union between Pope Stephen III and Pepin, who became king of the Franks. Pepin's son, Charlemagne, defeated the Lombards in Italy, giving the Papal States legitimacy. Charlemagne, though illiterate, revived literacy in the new Holy Roman Empire.
St. Boniface converted Germany through monasticism. Boniface was a native of Devonshire, England and was educated at Exeter and Winchester. It is Boniface's work that made German Christianity faithful to the Pope and not independent like Irish Christianity.
Alucin was important to culture and taught Charlemagne's court Latin.
The decay of Carolingian power after the death of Charlemagne allowed the Pope to claim more power in Pope Nicholas I.
During the 10th Century the Papacy was under control of the powerful Roman aristocratic families.
Monastic reform began around 1000 and brought the Church out of a very low time.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Can Man Live Without God? Appendix
(Originally Written September 22, 2005 in Book 1)
Can Man Live Without God?
Ravi Zacharias
1994
Appendix A
The theory that there is insufficient evidence for theism contains three logical blunders:
1. The move to atheism by default is not an academically credible switch to make when there are many other choices
2. To state that 'I am an atheist because there isn't enough evidence for theism' implies a logically satisfactory defense of atheism they do not possess. They hold it even though it is logically indefensible while at the same time rejecting theism on the basis that it is logically indefensible.
3. Atheism cannot be defended and that is why it has become a softer version of agnosticism.
Nietzsche may have created an environment for Hitler, but what about the crusades under Christianity?
The difference is that under the philosophy of Nietzsche, Hitler's ideology was permissible. The crusades were a political endeavor that was disguised as an outlet of Christianity. It takes a path starkly different than that of Christ's philosophies.
Appendix B
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Believed that "I think, therefore, I am"
Defends the existence of God by stating that the human mind cannot come up with the concept of a perfect mind because a man's mind is imperfect. It therefore must have been placed into the imperfect mind by the perfect mind, which is God.
Defends the existence of God by stating just as a triangle by definition must have three sides, so a necessary being must exist. God is necessary and therefore, He exists.
Descartes reduced God to an innate idea.
David Hume (1711-1776)
Believed knowledge could only be derived by experience.
Anything that transcends a man's finite existence on earth is meaningless. God and creation are therefore not worthy to question about.
Believed that man has no soul
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
Attempted a synthesis between empiricism (British philosophy) and rationalism (Continental European philosophy)
Kant's theory of knowledge (summary): Raw material consists of the outside world which is perceived by the senses, but that is inevitably processed by the human brain. It is the mind's perception of the object that we see, not the object in reality.
Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
The individual's ability to choose is of the supreme importance. Choosing God is a 'leap of faith' that affirms God's existence, but recognizes it as an intellectual absurdity.
Three stages of life:
-Aesthetic
-Ethical
-Religious
From Kierkegaard's journal: "The thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die". Thus, truth is relative to the individual.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Believed everything in life could be reduced to sheer will.
Belief in the superman. Superman was one who realizes the human predicament but who nevertheless creates his own values in the face of anguish or deprivation and can build his life in triumph over it.
Elizabeth (Friedrich's sister) called Hitler the superman
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
Concerned himself with dilemmas and argued against God by making the debater against him choose one of his either/or postulates.
His presuppositions were however, wrong.
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
A leading exponent of atheistic existentialism
Shifted from existentialism to a version of Marxist sociology later in life.
Sartre's philosophy led to the bloodshed in Cambodia
Man must choose for himself and author his own values.
Argued against the existence of God by stating that man cannot find God by himself.
Possibly disavowed his life's philosophy on his death bed.
Can Man Live Without God?
Ravi Zacharias
1994
Appendix A
The theory that there is insufficient evidence for theism contains three logical blunders:
1. The move to atheism by default is not an academically credible switch to make when there are many other choices
2. To state that 'I am an atheist because there isn't enough evidence for theism' implies a logically satisfactory defense of atheism they do not possess. They hold it even though it is logically indefensible while at the same time rejecting theism on the basis that it is logically indefensible.
3. Atheism cannot be defended and that is why it has become a softer version of agnosticism.
Nietzsche may have created an environment for Hitler, but what about the crusades under Christianity?
The difference is that under the philosophy of Nietzsche, Hitler's ideology was permissible. The crusades were a political endeavor that was disguised as an outlet of Christianity. It takes a path starkly different than that of Christ's philosophies.
Appendix B
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Believed that "I think, therefore, I am"
Defends the existence of God by stating that the human mind cannot come up with the concept of a perfect mind because a man's mind is imperfect. It therefore must have been placed into the imperfect mind by the perfect mind, which is God.
Defends the existence of God by stating just as a triangle by definition must have three sides, so a necessary being must exist. God is necessary and therefore, He exists.
Descartes reduced God to an innate idea.
David Hume (1711-1776)
Believed knowledge could only be derived by experience.
Anything that transcends a man's finite existence on earth is meaningless. God and creation are therefore not worthy to question about.
Believed that man has no soul
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
Attempted a synthesis between empiricism (British philosophy) and rationalism (Continental European philosophy)
Kant's theory of knowledge (summary): Raw material consists of the outside world which is perceived by the senses, but that is inevitably processed by the human brain. It is the mind's perception of the object that we see, not the object in reality.
Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
The individual's ability to choose is of the supreme importance. Choosing God is a 'leap of faith' that affirms God's existence, but recognizes it as an intellectual absurdity.
Three stages of life:
-Aesthetic
-Ethical
-Religious
From Kierkegaard's journal: "The thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die". Thus, truth is relative to the individual.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Believed everything in life could be reduced to sheer will.
Belief in the superman. Superman was one who realizes the human predicament but who nevertheless creates his own values in the face of anguish or deprivation and can build his life in triumph over it.
Elizabeth (Friedrich's sister) called Hitler the superman
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
Concerned himself with dilemmas and argued against God by making the debater against him choose one of his either/or postulates.
His presuppositions were however, wrong.
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
A leading exponent of atheistic existentialism
Shifted from existentialism to a version of Marxist sociology later in life.
Sartre's philosophy led to the bloodshed in Cambodia
Man must choose for himself and author his own values.
Argued against the existence of God by stating that man cannot find God by himself.
Possibly disavowed his life's philosophy on his death bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)