Richard Fishacre (or Fitzacre) (c. 1200–1248) was an English
Dominican theologian, the first to hold the Dominican chair at the University of Oxford.
[ He taught at Oxford and authored the first commentary on the ]Four Books of Sentences
''The Four Books of Sentences'' (''Libri Quattuor Sententiarum'') is a book of theology written by Peter Lombard in the 12th century. It is a systematic compilation of theology, written around 1150; it derives its name from the ''sententiae'' o ...
of Peter Lombard to be issued from the Oxford schools. Fishacre wrote his commentary between 1241 and 1245.[''Richard Fishacre'',
''The Problem Of The Rational Soul In The Thirteenth Century'', Richard C. Dales, E.J. Brill, 1995, pp. 52 ''-'' 56.]
Philosophical influences; composition of the soul
According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'', he influenced Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon (; la, Rogerus or ', also '' Rogerus''; ), also known by the scholastic accolade ''Doctor Mirabilis'', was a medieval English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empiri ...
. Fishacre was himself influenced largely by the works and personality of Robert Grosseteste. He agreed with
Grosseteste that man is not essentially a soul. They both thought that light is the medium between body and soul. Fishacre is unique in his belief that the soul is like the modern idea of a ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
.Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
. Like him Fishacre thought that the soul and body are distinct substances. The Oxford Dominican accepted universal hylomorphism
Hylomorphism (also hylemorphism) is a philosophical theory developed by Aristotle, which conceives every physical entity or being (''ousia'') as a compound of matter (potency) and immaterial form (act), with the generic form as immanently real w ...
without doubt. Fishacre is uncertain, as were his Oxford colleagues, concerning the unity
or plurality of forms in the soul. Fishacre asserted that the soul shares the form of rationality with angels. He concluded that the word soul indicated something common to the vegetable, sensible, and rational.[
]
Notes
External links
A Guide to Thirteenth Century Theologians
*
Citations from Fishacre relative to the ordination of women
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fishacre, Richard
1248 deaths
English Dominicans
English theologians
Year of birth uncertain