Richard Fishacre
Encyclopedia
Richard Fishacre (c. 1200 – 1248) was an English Dominican
theologian, the first to hold the Dominican chair at the University of Oxford. He taught at Oxford and authored the first commentary on the Four Books of Sentences of Peter Lombard
to be issued from the Oxford schools. Fishacre wrote his commentary between 1241 - 1245.
, he influenced Roger Bacon
. Fishacre was himself influenced largely by the works and personality of Robert Grosseteste
. He agreed with
Grosseteste that man is not essentially a soul. They both thought that light is the medium between body and soul. Fishacre is unique in his belief that the soul is like the modern idea of a ghost
.
Another philosopher who shaped the thought of Fishacre was Avicenna
. Like him Fishacre felt that the soul and body are distinct substances. The Oxford Dominican accepted universal hylomorphism without doubt. Fishacre is uncertain, as were his Oxford colleagues, concerning the unity
or plurality of forms in the soul. Fishacre asserted that the soul shares the form of rationality with angels. He concluded that the word soul indicated something common to the vegetable, sensible, and rational.
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...
theologian, the first to hold the Dominican chair at the University of Oxford. He taught at Oxford and authored the first commentary on the Four Books of Sentences of Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard was a scholastic theologian and bishop and author of Four Books of Sentences, which became the standard textbook of theology, for which he is also known as Magister Sententiarum-Biography:Peter Lombard was born in Lumellogno , in...
to be issued from the Oxford schools. Fishacre wrote his commentary between 1241 - 1245.
Philosophical influences; composition of the soul
According to the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
, he influenced 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...
. Fishacre was himself influenced largely by the works and personality of Robert Grosseteste
Robert Grosseteste
Robert Grosseteste or Grossetete was an English statesman, scholastic philosopher, theologian and Bishop of Lincoln. He was born of humble parents at Stradbroke in Suffolk. A.C...
. He agreed with
Grosseteste that man is not essentially a soul. They both thought that light is the medium between body and soul. Fishacre is unique in his belief that the soul is like the modern idea of a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
.
Another philosopher who shaped the thought of Fishacre was Avicenna
Avicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
. Like him Fishacre felt that the soul and body are distinct substances. The Oxford Dominican accepted universal hylomorphism without doubt. Fishacre is uncertain, as were his Oxford colleagues, concerning the unity
or plurality of forms in the soul. Fishacre asserted that the soul shares the form of rationality with angels. He concluded that the word soul indicated something common to the vegetable, sensible, and rational.