Albertus Magnus

[Guest guest]

Namaste Chittaranjanji,

You were thinking of Albertus Magnus:

(from Britannica)

 

The History of Western Philosophy

 

Albertus Magnus.

 

The achievement of the Dominican friar Albertus Magnus

(c.1200-80) was of vital importance for the development ofmedieval

philosophy. A man of immense erudition and

intellectual curiosity, he was one of the first to

recognize the true value of the newly translated

Greco-Arabic scientific and philosophical literature.

Everything he considered valuable in it, he included in

his encyclopaedic writings. He set out to teach this

literature to his contemporaries and in particular to make

the philosophy of Aristotle, whom he considered to be the

greatest philosopher, understandable to them. He also

proposed to write original works in order to complete what

was lacking in the Aristotelian system. In no small

measure, the triumph of Aristotelianism in the 13th

century can be attributed to him.

 

Albertus' observations and discoveries in the natural

sciences advanced botany, zoology, and mineralogy. In

philosophy he was less original and creative than his

famous pupil Thomas Aquinas. Albertus produced a synthesis

of Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism, blending together the

philosophies of Aristotle, Avicenna, and Ibn Gabirol, and,

among Christians, Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysius.

 

1994-1999 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

 

 

Best Wishes,

Michael

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sri Michaelji,

 

advaitin, ombhurbhuva <ombhurbhuva@e...> wrote:

>

> Namaste Chittaranjanji,

> You were thinking of Albertus Magnus: (from Britannica)

> The History of Western Philosophy

> Albertus Magnus.

>

> The achievement of the Dominican friar Albertus Magnus

> (c.1200-80) was of vital importance for the development of

> medieval philosophy. A man of immense erudition and

> intellectual curiosity, he was one of the first to

> recognize the true value of the newly translated

> Greco-Arabic scientific and philosophical literature.

> Everything he considered valuable in it, he included in

> his encyclopaedic writings. He set out to teach this

> literature to his contemporaries and in particular to make

> the philosophy of Aristotle, whom he considered to be the

> greatest philosopher, understandable to them. He also

> proposed to write original works in order to complete what

> was lacking in the Aristotelian system. In no small

> measure, the triumph of Aristotelianism in the 13th

> century can be attributed to him.

 

 

While it is true that Albertus Magnus was the first (in medieval

Europe) to recognise the value of Aristotle, the light that his pupil

Thomas Aquinas shed on Aristotle's writings eclipsed the works of

Magnus. Indeed there was a saying in those days which had become a

kind a maxim: "Sine Thoma Aristotles mutus esset: without Thomas,

Aristotle would be silent".

 

Aquinas re-interpreted Aristotle's writings, deviating from the

extant commentaries on them by the Arab philosophers, Averrois and

Avicenna, and showed that Aristotelian philosophy was not dissonant

with Christian Theology. He was initially condemned for his efforts,

but as we all know he went on to become one of the great canonical

figures of the Church.

 

Warm regards,

Chittaranjan