Durandus of Saint-Pourçain (also known as Durand of Saint-Pourçain; c. 1275 – 13 September 1332 / 10 September 1334) was a
French Dominican,
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
,
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, and
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
.
Life
He was born at
Saint-Pourçain,
Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...
. Little is known of Durandus of Saint-Pourçain prior to 1307 but some small facts. His preliminary work was prepared in some Dominican ''studium''. He entered the
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
at
Clermont, and studied at the University of Paris to which he obtained his
doctoral degree
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
in 1313.
Clement V
Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his de ...
called him to be
Master of the Sacred Palace
In the Roman Catholic Church, Theologian of the Pontifical Household ( la, Pontificalis Domus Doctor Theologus) is a Roman Curial office which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher of the Dominican Order and may be described as the pope's ...
.
He lectured on the "Sentences" of
Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096, Novara – 21/22 July 1160, Paris), was a scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of '' Four Books of Sentences'' which became the standard textbook of ...
. He was at this time submitting ideas that were not exactly parallel to those of Thomas Aquinas. This was the production of the first extensive commentary on the "Sentences", published in 1303–8 (unedited). After review of the first commentary, it seemed very improbable that Durandus could have been a follower of Aquinas prior to 1307.
Since Thomas Aquinas was held at a higher standing than any other doctor within the Dominican order, they were to defend and uphold his ideas predominately. This caused Durand to be criticized from one of the leading Dominican followers of Aquinas,
Hervaeus Natalis. This was a doctoral quarrel and an illustration of the fourteenth-century doctoral tensions. It was at this time that Durandus of Saint-Pourçain set out to write his second commentary on the "Sentences", which he adhered more closely to Aquinas's way.
This second version of the commentary was written around 1310–1312 (unedited). This did much to help respond to the criticisms that he had received previously but instead brought on more criticism and grief. Additionally, his scholarly efforts and the receipt of his doctrine in theology, from the University of Paris in 1312, did not make much of a difference either, leading to the Dominican order initiating two formal investigations. The first investigation was in 1312–1314 and the other in 1316/17.
Despite these conflicts, Durandus was appointed to lecture at papal curia in Avignon. He was consecrated Bishop in three places; first of Limoux, then of Le Puy-en-Velay in 1318, and was transferred to the
diocese of Meaux
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Meaux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Meldensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Meaux'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the entire department of Seine-et-Marne. It was suff ...
in 1326, where he later died. He was highly regarded by Pope John XXII and assigned by him to examine the orthodoxy of William Ockham in 1324–25. The pope also consulted him on difficult cases with many entrusted diplomatic missions attributed to him.
Meanwhile, Durand wrote his last of the three commentaries, the one for which he is most famous. In this final commentary, Durand returned to several of his initial stances. He was not just famous for this controversial commentary and the earlier one, but also for his surveying of Aquinas in the Dominican order and being influential throughout the early modern period. He became known as ''Doctor Resolutissimus'' owing to his strenuous advocacy of certain opinions novel to contemporary academics. Although Durandus faced many controversial issues both inside and outside his order, centuries later he was commended for his work alongside
Bonaventure
Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher.
The seventh Minister G ...
.
Durand died in
Meaux
Meaux () is a commune on the river Marne in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the centre of Paris.
Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontainebleau, ...
.
Work
His writings include:
* Commentaries on the ''Sentences'':
** First Version (1303–08)
** Second Version (1310–12)
** Third Version (1317–27)
* Five ''Quodlibeta'' (1312–16).
His
nominalism
In metaphysics, nominalism is the view that universals and abstract objects do not actually exist other than being merely names or labels. There are at least two main versions of nominalism. One version denies the existence of universalsthings t ...
was so much opposed to the contemporary
philosophical realism
Philosophical realism is usually not treated as a position of its own but as a stance towards other subject matters. Realism about a certain kind of thing (like numbers or morality) is the thesis that this kind of thing has ''mind-independent exi ...
that the third period of
Scholasticism
Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...
is made to begin with him. He rejects both the sensible and the
intelligible species (''species intelligibiles''), introduced, he says, to explain sense-perception, as also the
active intellect The active intellect (Latin: ''intellectus agens''; also translated as agent intellect, active intelligence, active reason, or productive intellect) is a concept in classical and medieval philosophy. The term refers to the formal (''morphe'') aspec ...
. He denies the
principle of individuation The principle of individuation is a criterion that individuates or numerically distinguishes the members of the kind for which it is given, that is by which we can supposedly determine, regarding any kind of thing, when we have more than one of them ...
, as distinct from the specific nature of the individual.
Durandus invented the notion of an intrinsically evil act, which he explains in the context of the concept of fortification, where "it" is intrinsically evil. In the ideas of fortification, Durandus does indeed coincide with Thomas Aquinas and his natural-law argument, but only in simple fortification.
In theology he argued for a separation of
natural knowledge
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
(''cognitio naturalis'') from that obtained through faith and revelation. Certain
dogmas
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...
, as that of the Trinity, cannot be shown not to contain impossibilities, but to believe them, withal increases the merit of faith. Because the
miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
s of Christ do not prove His Divinity, His acceptance by the faithful enhances the merit of believing. After all, he says, theology is not strictly a science, since it rests on faith, not on the first principles of knowledge. In theology it is sufficient to know the idea of him who, being inspired, cannot err. He teaches, besides, that all actions proceed from God Who gives the power to act, but this is no immediate influx of the Creator upon the actions of the creature. The
sacrament
A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...
s are only causes without which grace is not conferred.
Marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
is not strictly a sacrament. He also insinuates that Christ could be present in the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
with the substances of bread and wine remaining.
Throughout, Durandus shows submission to the corrective prerogative of the Church, the exercise of which was not unnecessary. By order of
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334.
He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...
the treatise ''De statu animarum'' was examined, and was found to contain eleven errors.
References
* ''D. Durandi a Sancto Porciano super sententias theologiae Petri Lombardi commentariorum libri quatuor…'' (Paris, 1550).
*
Quétif-
Échard, ''Scriptores O. P.'', I, 586
*
A. Stöckl, ''Geschichte der Philosophie im M. A.'', II, 976
*
Hauréau, ''De la philosophie scolastique'', Pt. II (Paris, 1880), II 3446
*
Mortier, ''Histoire des mâitres géneraux de l'Ordre de Frères Prêcheurs'' (Paris, 1907) III, 69–86; ''La faculté de théologie de Paris et ses docteurs la plus célèbres'', III, 401–408.
*Iribarren, I. (2005), ''Durandus of St. Pourçain: A Dominican Theologian in the Shadow of Aquinas''. New York, United States: Oxford University Press.
*Gracia, J. J., & Noone, T. B. (2003), ''A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages''. Malden, MA, United States: Blackwell.
*Iribarren, I. (2002). "Some Points of Contention in Medieval Trinitarian Theology: The Case of Durandus of Saint-Pourçain in the Early Fourteenth Century." ''Traditio'', 57, 289–315.
*Pasnau, R. (2010). ''The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
*Dedek, J. F. (20 February 2012). "Premarital Sex: The Theological Argument From Peter Lombard to Durand." ''Theological Studies'', 41 (1980) 644–4.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Pourcain, Durandus Of
1275 births
1332 deaths
Bishops of Le Puy-en-Velay
Bishops of Meaux
French philosophers
Scholastic philosophers
14th-century French Catholic theologians
French Dominicans
14th-century philosophers
14th-century French philosophers