Salvator Tongiorgi
Encyclopedia
Salvator Tongiorgi was an Italian Jesuit philosopher and theologian.
, Tongiorgi entered the Society of Jesus at the age of seventeen. After the usual noviceship, literary and philosophical studies, a half-decade was spent in teaching rhetoric at Reggio Emilia
and humanities at Forlì
. Then four years were passed in the study of theology, under the professors such as Giovanni Perrone
and Carlo Passaglia
.
Immediately after this, in 1853, the young priest was assigned to the chair of philosophy in the Roman College, and there during twelve years distinguished himself as a teacher and author. Within a few days of his forty-fourth birthday he was appointed assistant to the provincial of the Roman Province; but his health gave way before a year had elapsed.
On some of the mooted questions in philosophy the author departed from Scholastic
traditions, rejecting the Peripatetic theory of matter and form, denying the real distinction between accidents and substance, and claiming that mere resultants of mechanical and chemical forces could produce the life-activity seen in the vegetable world. These doctrines were not widely accepted; yet they stimulated neo-scholastics to make better use of the researches carried on in the physical sciences.
Life
Born in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Tongiorgi entered the Society of Jesus at the age of seventeen. After the usual noviceship, literary and philosophical studies, a half-decade was spent in teaching rhetoric at Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
and humanities at Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
. Then four years were passed in the study of theology, under the professors such as Giovanni Perrone
Giovanni Perrone
Giovanni Perrone was an Italian theologian born in Chieri .He studied theology at Turin and at the age of 21 went to Rome, where he joined the Society of Jesus. In 1816 he was sent as professor of theology to Orvieto, and in 1823 was appointed to a similar post in the Collegium Romanum...
and Carlo Passaglia
Carlo Passaglia
Carlo Passaglia , Italian divine, was born at Lucca.Passaglia was soon destined for the priesthood, and was placed under the care of the Jesuits at the age of fifteen. He became successively doctor in mathematics, philosophy and theology in the university of Rome. In 1844 he was made professor in...
.
Immediately after this, in 1853, the young priest was assigned to the chair of philosophy in the Roman College, and there during twelve years distinguished himself as a teacher and author. Within a few days of his forty-fourth birthday he was appointed assistant to the provincial of the Roman Province; but his health gave way before a year had elapsed.
Works
Tongiorgi wrote a well-known course of philosophy, Institutiones philosophicae, which he published in three volumes at Rome in 1861 and at Brussels in 1862. Nine editions appeared during the next eighteen years, some of them modified by Claude Ramiere. A compendium of the same work and a separate volume on ethics also came from his pen. All his works were used as text-books for college or seminary.On some of the mooted questions in philosophy the author departed from Scholastic
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
traditions, rejecting the Peripatetic theory of matter and form, denying the real distinction between accidents and substance, and claiming that mere resultants of mechanical and chemical forces could produce the life-activity seen in the vegetable world. These doctrines were not widely accepted; yet they stimulated neo-scholastics to make better use of the researches carried on in the physical sciences.