James of Douai (french: Jacques de Douai, la, Jacobus de Duaco; ) was a French philosopher who taught at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. James was a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

who wrote

commentaries on Aristotle Commentaries on Aristotle refers to the great mass of literature produced, especially in the ancient and medieval world, to explain and clarify the works of Aristotle. The pupils of Aristotle were the first to comment on his writings, a tradition ...

. He defended the freedom of philosophers to engage in speculation.Marco Toste, "James of Douai", in Robert E. Bjork (ed.), ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages'' (Oxford University Press, 2010). In 1275, the papal legate Simon of Brion appointed him proctor of the Picard nation at the university.Luca Bianchi, "Peter of Auvergne and the Condemnation of 1277", in Christoph Flüeler, Lidia Lanza and Marco Toste (eds.), ''Peter of Auvergne: University Master of the 13th Century'' (De Gruyter, 2015), pp. 29–50. C. H. Lohr, "Medieval Latin Aristotle Commentaries Authors: Jacobus – Johannes Juff", ''Traditio'' 26(1970):135–216, at 139–141. He was probably one of the targets of the

Condemnation of 1277 Condemnation may refer to: * Damnation, the antithesis of salvation * The act of eminent domain which refers to the power of a government to take private property for public use * "Condemnation" (song), a 1993 song by Depeche Mode * ''Condemnat ...

. It is possible that the philosopher is the same person as the James of Douai who was a monk at the Abbey of Saint Bertin from 1287 to 1311.Thomas Sullivan, ''Benedictine Monks at the University of Paris, A.D. 1229–1500: A Biographical Register'' (E. J. Brill, 1995), p. 131. Two commentaries on Aristotle's ''

Meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

'' and '' Nicomachean Ethics'' were once attributed to James, but his authorship now doubted. The commentary on ''Meteorology'' does contain ideas similar to those in James's known commentary on ''

On the Soul ''On the Soul'' (Greek: , ''Peri Psychēs''; Latin: ''De Anima'') is a major treatise written by Aristotle c. 350 BC. His discussion centres on the kinds of souls possessed by different kinds of living things, distinguished by their different op ...

''. He adhered to the

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 ...

doctrine that knowledge was the ultimate perfecter of humans. James wrote commentaries of the '' summa'' and ''quaestiones'' form on Aristotle's '' On Length and Shortness of Life'', ''

On Memory ''On Memory'' (Greek: Περὶ μνήμης καὶ ἀναμνήσεως; Latin: ''De memoria et reminiscentia'') is one of the short treatises that make up Aristotle's '' Parva Naturalia''. It is frequently published together, and read together ...

'', ''

On Sleep ''On Sleep'' (or ''On Sleep and Sleeplessness''; Greek Περὶ ὕπνου καὶ ἐγρηγόρσεως; Latin: ''De somno et vigilia'') is a text by Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384� ...

'', '' Sense and Sensibilia'', ''

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

'', '' Prior Analytics'' and '' Posterior Analytics''.Norman Kretzmann, Anthony Kenny, Jan Pinborg and Eleonore Stump (eds.), ''The Cambridge History of Later Medieval Philosophy: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Disintegration of Scholasticism, 1100–1600'' (Cambridge University Press, 1988), p. 864.

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