The Appearances of Medieval Rituals
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Book Series
Disputatio, vol. 8
John of Salisbury on Aristotelian Science
David Bloch
- Pages: 246 p.
- Size:156 x 234 mm
- Language(s):English, Latin
- Publication Year:2012
- € 90,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-54099-3
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- € 90,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-55872-1
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The book examines John of Salisbury’s Aristotelianism. In particular, it examines his views on Aristotelian science as a result of the 12th-century revolution in Aristotelian studies. It is argued that John of Salisbury was not quite as Aristotelian as he would have us believe, and that he apparently did not even study the entire Organon.
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Review(s)
"The merit of Bloch's study is to show how John of Salisbury's thinking was shaped by a fusion of intellectual influences, not just by the ideas of Aristotle." (Constant J. Mews, in: Vivarium, 53, 2015, p. 117-119)
Summary
This is the first substantial treatment of John of Salisbury’s views on Aristotelian science. In his great work on logic and education, John of Salisbury proposes an Aristotelian foundation for education, research, and science. Theories and methods of science and scholarship were central topics in twelfth-century discourse, and John is apparently the first to propose use of the entire Organon, the texts of which were to become very influential and important in the thirteenth century. However, his precise knowledge and understanding of Aristotle has never been thoroughly examined. The present book challenges the view that John read, understood, and used the entire Organon. It pays particular attention to the Metalogicon, but it draws upon a variety of other sources as well in arguing that John did not in fact study the Ars nova with any care, and that he probably never read the most important text, the Posterior Analytics, in its entirety. The conclusions of the book have important consequences not only for our conception of John of Salisbury, but also for our views and understanding of twelfth-century Aristotelianism and science in general.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1. John of Salisbury’s Studies
Chapter 2. John of Salisbury’s Sources
Chapter 3. Twelfth-Century Logic and Science
Chapter 4. John of Salisbury on Science
Conclusion
Appendix 1. Adam of Balsham and the Cornifician Problem
Appendix 2. Thierry of Chartres’s Heptateuchon
Bibliography
Index nominum et locorum
