John Baconthorpe (also Bacon, Baco, and Bacconius) ( 1290 – 1347) was a learned English Carmelite

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

and

scholastic philosopher 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 translat ...

Life

John Baconthorpe was born at Baconsthorpe, Norfolk, he seems to have been the grandnephew of Roger Bacon (Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 19. 116). In youth, he joined the Carmelite Order, becoming a

Gracia, J. J. & Noone, T. B. (2003). A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Oxford: Blackwell. pg. 338-9. at Blakeney,Pasnau, R. (2010), The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy, Vol. II. Cambridge. pg. 291–292. near Walsingham. He studied at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and Paris. He became regent master of the theology faculty at Paris by 1323. He is believed to have taught theology at Cambridge and Oxford. Eventually, he became known as ''doctor resolutus,''Nolan, S. (2011) "John Baconthorp." Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy. Lagerlund: Springer, Henrik (Ed.) XXIII, 1423. though the implication of this is unclear. He was a provincial prior of England from 1327 to 1333. He appears to have anticipated Wycliffe in advocating the subordination of the clergy to the king. In 1333 he was sent for to Rome, where, we are told, he first maintained the pope's authority in cases of divorce; but this opinion he retracted. He died in London, around 1347. Long after his death, during the Renaissance, he became known as the authority on Carmelite theology.

Works

There are various surviving written works by Baconthorpe. His best-known work, a commentary on the ''Sentences'' by Peter Lombard, survives in multiple versions. Nearly three centuries later, it was still studied at

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 ...

, the last home of Averroism, and Lucilio Vanini spoke of him with great veneration. (The text can be found in original Latin under the title ''Doctoris resoluti Joannis Bacconis Anglici Carmelitae radiantissimi opus super quattuor sententiarum libris''.) Additionally, there are three ''Quodlibeta'', questions on canon law, and commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew, Augustine, and Anselm that have survived.

Philosophy

Although well versed in various theological perspectives, Baconthorpe was first and foremost a Carmelite. As a theologian, he made a point to defend the doctrine of Immaculate Conception, and to assert the importance of his order in the context of historical and spiritual tradition. Similarly, Baconthorpe openly debated with his contemporaries, such as

Henry of Ghent Henry of Ghent (c. 1217 – 29 June 1293) was a scholastic philosopher, known as '' Doctor Solemnis'' (the "Solemn Doctor"), and also as Henricus de Gandavo and Henricus Gandavensis. Life Henry was born in the district of Mude, near Ghent. He ...

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( – 8 November 1308), commonly called Duns Scotus ( ; ; "Duns the Scot"), was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher, and theologian. He is one of the four most important ...

, and Peter Auriol, and consistently challenged the perspectives of earlier philosophers. He even took issue with fellow Carmelites such as

Gerard of Bologna Gerard of Bologna (died 1317) was an Italian Carmelite theologian and scholastic philosopher. A convinced Thomist, he took a doctorate in theology in 1295 at the University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg ...

, Guido Terreni, and Robert Walsingham. Baconthorpe is commonly viewed as an Averroist (a follower of

Ibn Rushd Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, ...

, or Averroes in the Latin world), though it is unlikely he viewed himself as such. He was given the title ''princeps Averroistarum'', meaning "prince of Averroists," by masters at the University of Padua centuries after his death. Further, he was given this title not because he agreed with Averroes, but merely because of his skill in explaining some of Averroes' philosophical ideas. Most notably, in his ''Sentences'' commentary, he discusses the perspective of Averroes in great depth, along with that of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

. Similarly, Renan says that he merely tried to justify Averroism against the charge of heterodoxy. Averroes was certainly a relevant influence on Baconthorpe, and he would sometimes reference Averroes' commentaries in making his own arguments; however, he commonly referenced other theologians, including many of his contemporaries, thus it should not be assumed that Averroes was the primary influence on Baconthorpe's thinking. Perhaps the most important influence on John Baconthorpe was the Oxford and Paris Condemnations of 1277, in which teaching any of 219 philosophical and theological theses was prohibited by the Bishop, Stephen Tempier.Thijssen, H. (2008, Fall). "Condemnation of 1277", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Baconthorpe openly disagreed with many of these prohibited works, such as those by

Giles of Rome Giles of Rome O.S.A. (Latin: ''Aegidius Romanus''; Italian: ''Egidio Colonna''; c. 1243 – 22 December 1316), was a Medieval philosopher and Scholastic theologian and a friar of the Order of St Augustine, who was also appointed to the ...

and

Godfrey of Fontaines Godfrey of Fontaines (born sometime before 1250, died 29 October 1306 or 1309), in Latin Godefridus de Fontibus, was a scholastic philosopher and theologian, designated by the title Doctor Venerandus. He made contributions to a diverse range of sub ...

. This ultimately served to support the doctrines of the church. He paid particular attention to

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

' works on natural philosophy,Wallace, W. A. (1982). "St. Thomas’s conception of natural philosophy and its method", in ''La Philosophie de la nature de Saint Thomas d’Aquin'', Pontificia Editrice Vaticana. pg. 7–27. which Baconthorpe comes to target in many of his arguments. In contrast to Aquinas, Baconthorpe's perspective was that there are two substances, the human body and the eternal soul. Baconthorpe's perspective on angels was similarly influenced by the Condemnations at Paris, in strict opposition to Aquinas. Many of Baconthorpe's theological discussions focus largely on the form and function of humanity. In accordance with the notion that the human body and the eternal soul are separate entities, he asserted that the soul is the cause of intellect—specifically, that the soul is an intellectual substance which renders the human form intelligible.Etzwiler, J. P. (1971), "Baconthorp and the Latin Averroism: The Doctrine of the Unique Intellect", Carmelus, 19: 235–292. Despite this, he still believed that free will exists, without decisions necessarily having a cause. Effectively, he believed that souls make their own decisions which are imposed on human bodies, but God maintains a complete knowledge of each soul and each decision that will be made. As a result, he denies the possibility of any material mechanisms being involved in intellect.

References

;Attribution which in turn cites: * Brucker, ''Hist. Crit.'' iii. 865. * Stuckl, ''Phil. d. Mittel.'' ii. 1044–1045. * Haureau, ''Phil. Scol.'' ii. 476. * K. Prantl, ''Ges. d. Logik'', iii. 318. * J. B. de Lezana's ''Annales Sacri'', iv. (for information as to his life not found otherwise, but of doubtful accuracy)

Bibliography

* Johannes de Baconthorpe or Anglicus, ''Quaestiones in quatuor libros Sententiarum'' (Cremona, 1618).

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baconthorpe, John 1290s births 1346 deaths Carmelites People from Baconsthorpe English Christian monks 14th-century English people Scotism 14th-century philosophers