Theology at Paris, 1316-1345

Chris Schabel presents a detailed analysis of the radical solution given by the Franciscan Peter Auriol to the problem of reconciling divine foreknowledge with the contingency of the future, and of contemporary reactions to it. Auriol's solution appeared to many of his contemporaries to deny God's knowledge of the future altogether, and so it provoked intense and long-lasting controversy; Schabel is the first to examine in detail the philosophical and theological background to Auriol's discussion, and to provide a full analysis of Auriol's own writings on the question and the immediate reactions to them. This book sheds new light both on one of the central philosophical debates of the Middle Ages, and on theology and philosophy at the University of Paris in the first half of the 14th century, a period of Parisian intellectual life which has been largely neglected until now.

Chris Schabel, University of Cyprus

Contents: Introduction; The Background: The roots of the debate; The immediate context; Peter Auriol's Theory: Immutability equals necessity; Indistant knowledge of the future; Neutral propositions; Intrinsic and extrinsic willing; The Reaction to Auriol's Theory at Paris: Franciscans against the God of the philosophers; The reaction outside the Franciscan convent at Paris; The Marchist School; The Reaction in England and in the Late Middle Ages: London and Oxford 1317-1344; Paris 1343-1345; Auriol's theory in the late Middle Ages; Epilogue: the quarrel at Louvain; Bibliography; Indexes.