Boetius of Dacia
Encyclopedia
Boetius of Dacia (latin
ization for "Bo of Denmark" (as Dacia
was often used as the Latin term for Denmark)) was a 13th century Danish
philosopher
.
Boetius was born in the first half of the 13th century. Not much is known of his early life, and the attempt to connect him to known persons from Denmark or Sweden
has not been successful. All that is known is that he went to teach philosophy at the University of Paris
. There he associated with Siger of Brabant
, and with Siger (together with such figures as Roger Bacon
and Jean Buridan
) shared the unusual career path of continuing to teach for some time as arts masters rather than quickly moving on to study in the theology faculty or finding non-academic employment. He was condemned
by Stephen Tempier in 1277 as being a leading member of the Averroist movement
. Boetius fled Paris
with Siger, and appealed to Pope Nicholas III
. He was detained at the pontifical curia
at Orvieto
, and went on to join the Dominican
s in Dacia
.
Boetius was a follower of Aristotle
and Averroes
, and wrote on logic
, natural philosophy
, metaphysics
, and ethics
, though some of his works have not survived. His central position was that philosophy had to follow the arguments where they led, regardless of their conflict with religious faith. For him, philosophy was the supreme human activity, and in this world only philosophers attained wisdom; in his book On the Highest Good, or On the Life of the Philosopher he offers a fervently Aristotelian description of man's highest good as the rational contemplation of truth and virtue. Among the controversial conclusions that he reached are the impossibility of creation ex nihilo
, the eternity of the world
and of the human race, and that there could be no resurrection of the dead
.
Despite his radical views, Boetius remained a Christian
, and attempted to reconcile his religious beliefs with his philosophical position by assigning the investigation of the world and of human nature
to philosophy, while to religion he assigned supernatural revelation
and divine miracle
s. He was condemned for holding the doctrine of double truth, though he was careful to avoid calling philosophical conclusions that ran contrary to religion true simpliciter; in each branch of knowledge, one must be careful to qualify one's conclusions. The conclusions that the philosopher reaches are true "according to natural causes and principles" (De Aeternitate Mundi, p. 351).
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
ization for "Bo of Denmark" (as Dacia
Dacia (disambiguation)
Roman Dacia is , an ancient Roman province in modern Romania, after year 106 until 275 ....
was often used as the Latin term for Denmark)) was a 13th century Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
Boetius was born in the first half of the 13th century. Not much is known of his early life, and the attempt to connect him to known persons from Denmark or Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
has not been successful. All that is known is that he went to teach philosophy at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
. There he associated with Siger of Brabant
Siger of Brabant
Siger of Brabant was a 13th century philosopher from the southern Low Countries who was an important proponent of Averroism...
, and with Siger (together with such figures as Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon, O.F.M. , also known as Doctor Mirabilis , was an English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empirical methods...
and Jean Buridan
Jean Buridan
Jean Buridan was a French priest who sowed the seeds of the Copernican revolution in Europe. Although he was one of the most famous and influential philosophers of the late Middle Ages, he is today among the least well known...
) shared the unusual career path of continuing to teach for some time as arts masters rather than quickly moving on to study in the theology faculty or finding non-academic employment. He was condemned
Condemnations (University of Paris)
The Condemnations at the medieval University of Paris were enacted to restrict certain teachings as being heretical. These included a number of medieval theological teachings, but most importantly the physical treatises of Aristotle. The investigations of these teachings were conducted by the...
by Stephen Tempier in 1277 as being a leading member of the Averroist movement
Averroism
Averroism is the term applied to either of two philosophical trends among scholastics in the late 13th century: the Arab philosopher Averroës or Ibn Rushd's interpretations of Aristotle and his reconciliation of Aristotelianism with Islamic faith; and the application of these ideas in the Latin...
. Boetius fled Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with Siger, and appealed to Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III , born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, Pope from November 25, 1277 to his death in 1280, was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight Popes, been made cardinal-deacon of St...
. He was detained at the pontifical curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
at Orvieto
Orvieto
Orvieto is a city and comune in Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff...
, and went on to join the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
s in Dacia
Dacia
In ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians or Getae as they were known by the Greeks—the branch of the Thracians north of the Haemus range...
.
Boetius was a follower of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
and Averroes
Averroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
, and wrote on logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
, natural philosophy
Natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
, metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, and ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, though some of his works have not survived. His central position was that philosophy had to follow the arguments where they led, regardless of their conflict with religious faith. For him, philosophy was the supreme human activity, and in this world only philosophers attained wisdom; in his book On the Highest Good, or On the Life of the Philosopher he offers a fervently Aristotelian description of man's highest good as the rational contemplation of truth and virtue. Among the controversial conclusions that he reached are the impossibility of creation ex nihilo
Ex nihilo
Ex nihilo is a Latin phrase meaning "out of nothing". It often appears in conjunction with the concept of creation, as in creatio ex nihilo, meaning "creation out of nothing"—chiefly in philosophical or theological contexts, but also occurs in other fields.In theology, the common phrase creatio ex...
, the eternity of the world
Eternity of the world
The question of the eternity of the world was a concern of the philosophers of the classical period and particularly the medieval theologians and philosophers of the 13th century. The problem is whether the world has a beginning in time, or whether it has existed from eternity...
and of the human race, and that there could be no resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
.
Despite his radical views, Boetius remained a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and attempted to reconcile his religious beliefs with his philosophical position by assigning the investigation of the world and of human nature
Human nature
Human nature refers to the distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that humans tend to have naturally....
to philosophy, while to religion he assigned supernatural revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
and divine miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
s. He was condemned for holding the doctrine of double truth, though he was careful to avoid calling philosophical conclusions that ran contrary to religion true simpliciter; in each branch of knowledge, one must be careful to qualify one's conclusions. The conclusions that the philosopher reaches are true "according to natural causes and principles" (De Aeternitate Mundi, p. 351).
Sources
- Boethius. On the Supreme Good; on the Eternity of the World; on Dreams. Edited by John F. Wippel, Mediaeval Sources in Translation. Toronto, Ont. Canada: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1987.
- Boetius of Dacia, "The Sophisma 'Every Man Is of Necessity an Animal'", in Norman KretzmannNorman KretzmannNorman J. Kretzmann was a Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University who specialised in the history of medieval philosophy and the philosophy of religion.Kretzmann joined Cornell's Department of Philosophy in 1966...
and Eleonore Stump [edd & trans.] The Cambridge Translations of Medieval Philosophical texts. Volume One: Logic and the Philosophy of Language (1988, Cambridge University Press; ISBN 0-521-28063-X) - John Marenbon, Later Medieval Philosophy (1150–1350) (1991, Routledge; ISBN 0-415-06807-X)
- Armand A. Maurer, "Boetius of Dacia", in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy", ed. Paul EdwardsPaul EdwardsPaul Edwards may refer to:*Paul Edwards , Welsh shot putter*Paul A. Edwards, American cinematographer, camera operator and television director*Paul Edwards , English flyweight boxer...
(Collier Macmillan, 1967)