Gaetano da Thiene (1387–1465) was an Italian
Renaissance philosopher and
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
who was born and lived in
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
.
[s.v. 'Gaetano da Thiene' in ]
Biography
A student of
Paul of Venice
Paul of Venice (or Paulus Venetus; 1369–1429) was a Catholic philosopher, theologian, logician and metaphysician of the Order of Saint Augustine.
Life
Paul was born, according to the chroniclers of his order, at Udine, about 1369 and died at V ...
, Gaetano, like his teacher, held an
Averroist
Averroism refers to a school of medieval philosophy based on the application of the works of 12th-century Andalusian philosopher Averroes, (known in his time in Arabic as ابن رشد, ibn Rushd, 1126–1198) a commentator on Aristotle, in 13th ...
interpretation of Aristotle's teachings. He worked towards a compromise between that position and Christian doctrines on the personal
immortality of the soul
Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the inte ...
, and in later life he abandoned Averroism entirely.
He was one of Paul of Venice's successors as professor of natural philosophy at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...
,
and in turn,
Nicoletto Vernia Nicoletto Vernia (c. 1420, in Chieti – October 31, 1499, in Vicenza) was an Italian Averroist philosopher, at the University of Padua.
Life
He studied at Pavia, under Paolo da Pergola in Venice, and with Gaetano da Thiene in Padua, graduating w ...
, who succeeded to the same position on Gaetano's death, was one of his pupils.
[s.v. 'Vernia, Nicoletto' in ] Among his pupils was also
Pietro Roccabonella, a well known professor of medicine in Padua.
He should not be confused with
Saint Cajetan
Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (6 October 1480 – 7 August 1547), known as Saint Cajetan (), was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, co-founder of the Theatines. He is recognised as a saint in the Catholic Church, and his feast day ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiene, Gaetano Da
15th-century philosophers
1465 deaths
1387 births
Physicians from Padua
Scholastic philosophers
Natural philosophers
Italian philosophers
Commentators on Aristotle
University of Padua faculty