A Companion to Angels in Medieval Philosophy

Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-90-04-18346-9
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 35, 336 Seiten, Format (B × H): 163 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 611 g

Reihe: Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition

Humanist prejudice famously made medieval angelology the paradigm of ludicrous speculation with its caricature of “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” The truth is quite the opposite: many of medieval philosophy’s most original and ingenious contributions actually came to light in discussions of angelology. In fact, angelology provided an ideal context for discussing issues such as the structure of the universe, the metaphysical texture of creatures (e.g. esse-essentia composition and the principle of individuation), and theories of time, knowledge, freedom, and linguistics—issues which, for the most part, are still highly relevant for contemporary philosophy. Because this specifically philosophical interest in angels developed mainly during the course of the thirteenth and early fourteenth century, this volume centers on the period from Bonaventure to Ockham. It also, however, discusses some original positions by earlier thinkers such as Augustine and Anselm of Canterbury. Its nine thorough studies bring to light some neglected but highly fascinating aspects of medieval philosophy, thus filling an important gap in the literature.

Contributors include: Richard Cross, Gregory T. Doolan, H.J.M.J. Goris, Tobias Hoffmann, Peter King, Timothy B. Noone, Giorgio Pini, Bernd Roling, and John F. Wippel.

Zielgruppe

All those interested in medieval philosophy and theology, intellectual history, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hoffmann, Tobias

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Mittelalterliche & Scholastische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments
Introduction
I. Aquinas on the Demonstrability of Angels
Gregory T. Doolan
II. Metaphysical Composition of Angels in Bonaventure, Aquinas, and Godfrey of Fontaines
John F. Wippel
III. The Individuation of Angels from Bonaventure to Duns Scotus
Giorgio Pini
IV. Angelic Time and Motion: Bonaventure to Duns Scotus
Richard Cross
V. Angelic Knowledge in Aquinas and Bonaventure
Harm Goris
VI. Duns Scotus on Angelic Knowledge
Timothy B. Noone
VII. Angelic Language and Communication
Bernd Roling
VIII. Augustine and Anselm on Angelic Sin
Peter King
IX. Theories of Angelic Sin from Aquinas to Ockham
Tobias Hoffmann
Bibliography
Index of Manuscripts
Index of Names

Leseproben

INTRODUCTION

Angels are, so to speak, situated between human beings and God. Like humans, they are ra-tional creatures; like God, they are immaterial. This is what made angels interesting to medieval thinkers, whose treatises on angelology at times exceed in length those of theological and philosophical anthropology. Their motivation was not only to reflect on the role of angels in the history of salvation, as God’s messengers and as protectors (or tempters) of human beings. They were also interested, and perhaps more so, in clarifying problems that concerned angels and humans alike. For example, angelology provided an ideal context for discussions about the ontological status of creatures, the characteristics and mechanics of knowledge, the conditions for the exercise of free will, and the supernatural destiny of rational creatures.
The present volume explores the philosophical side of medieval angelology as developed by Christian theologians. As a matter of fact, some of the most famous doctrines of medieval philosophy were developed by discussing angels, such as Anselm of Canterbury’s two affections of the will (for self-benefit and for justice), Thomas Aquinas’s distinction of essence and esse (the act of existence), Duns Scotus’s theory of an individual difference (haecceitas), and—as Timothy Noone argues in his essay—Scotus’s doctrine of intuitive cognition. Literature on these topics tends to mention the angelological background of these doctrines in passing, at best. The emergence itself of these notions or theories from within the context of angelology, however, is something worth studying in ist own right.
The idea that there are immaterial beings other than God is not unique to Christian theology. Not only other theological traditions, such as Judaism and Islam, but also pagan philosophers assumed their existence. Apart from God, Aristotle also posited other “separate substances” (that is, bodiless intelligent beings) in order to account for the movement of the heavenly spheres. Neoplatonic thinkers posited angels as mediators between the One and humanity and in order to avoid any gaps in the hierarchy of beings. Accordingly, Christian theologians could assume their existence not only on account of Christian revelation, but also on philosophical grounds. Carlos Bazán recently argued, however, that all philosophical arguments for the existence of non-divine separate substances as proposed by Ancient or Medieval philosophers fail, inasmuch as they are either based upon obsolete astronomical assumptions or upon questionable epistemological premises. He concludes that “[s]ince there are no valid philosophical demonstrations of their existence, separate substances should no longer be a subject of philosophical consideration.”
Whatever one might think about the demonstrative force of philosophical arguments for the existence of angels—a topic that will be addressed by Gregory Doolan in the first chapter—Bazán’s conclusion that “their notion should be excluded from philosophical discourse” does not follow. Rather, as I hope this volume will show, the notion of angels is eminently illuminating for philosophical reflections.
There are several advantages to discussing philosophical issues in connection with an-gels. First, taking the situation of angels into account implies transcending the conditions of material reality, allowing us to study creatureliness as such. Thus angelology provided the medievals with the context for clarifying the act-potency composition of creatures as well as the individuation of substances in general. Second, this perspective simplifies complex issues by reducing the parameters to a minimum, much like classroom physics that calculates acceleration under ideal conditions by ignoring friction. Whether or not one believes in the existence of angels, the hypothesis of purely intellectual beings has a function analogous to contemporary thought experiments that investigate philosophical problem

Über Autor(innen)

Hoffmann, Tobias
Tobias Hoffmann, Ph.D. (1999) in Philosophy, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America. He has published extensively on practical philosophy and metaphysics, especially in Aquinas, Henry of Ghent, and Duns Scotus.

Tobias Hoffmann, Ph.D. (1999) in Philosophy, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America. He has published extensively on practical philosophy and metaphysics, especially in Aquinas, Henry of Ghent, and Duns Scotus.