Nicholas Bonetus, Scotism, metaphysics, Franciscus de Mayronis, Theologia naturalis, Duns Scotus

Journal title RIVISTA DI STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA
Author/s Garrett Smith
Publishing Year 2021 Issue 2021/4
Language English Pages 26 P. 642-667 File size 299 KB
DOI 10.3280/SF2021-004003
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

This contribution investigates the first treatise on natural theology intended as such by its author. Nicholas Bonetus is the author of this treatise. The article examines Bonetus’ life, works, and commitment to Scotism before surveying Duns Scotus’ views on natural theology. Scotus is shown to have been optimistic regarding whether some doctrines now regarded to be strictly theological, such as the Trinity, can be proven by pure reason. Bonetus followed in Scotus’ footsteps. The article surveys Bonetus’ fundamental ideas on the nature of natural theology. It is shown that he organized the science along the lines of an Aristotelian science, with the result that natural theology has a subject, and attributes that are demonstrated of the subject. The subject according to Bonetus is the first immoveable mover, and the science demonstrates various attributes of God, such as divine intellect and will, from which Bonetus derives the Trinitarian processions. Following the article is an appendix containing descriptions of the manuscripts, where it is shown that the majority do name the text «theologia naturalis».

Keywords: Nicholas Bonetus, Scotism, metaphysics, Franciscus de Mayronis, Theologia naturalis, Duns Scotus

  1. - Aertsen 2012: Jan A. Aertsen, Medieval Philosophy as Transcendental Thought: From Philip the Chancellor (ca. 1225) to Francisco Suárez, Brill, Leiden-Boston 2012.
  2. - Avicenna 1977: Avicenna, Liber de philosophia prima sive scientia divina I-IV, Avicenna Latinus, ed. S. van Riet, Brill, Leiden 1977.
  3. - Bakker 2014: Paul J. J. M. Bakker, The Anonymous Liber de anima ascribed to Nicholas Bonet (†1343), «Bulletin de philosophie médiévale» 56 (2014), pp. 201-219.
  4. - de Barcelone 1926: Martin de Barcelone, Fr. Nicolas Bonet, O.M. (†1343) “Doctor Proficuus,” «Estudis Franciscans» 37 (1926), pp. 96-111.
  5. - Bayerri y Bertomeu 1962: Enrique Bayerri y Bertomeu, Los Códices Medievales de la Catedral de Tortosa, Porter-Libros, Barcelona 1962.
  6. - Bérubé 1984: Camille Bérubé, La première école scotiste, in Zénon Kaluza and Paul Vignaux (éds.), Preuve et raisons à l’université de Paris. Logique, ontologie et théologie au XIVe siècle, J. Vrin, Paris 1984, pp. 9-24.
  7. - Bessarion 1997: Bessarion, De arcanis dei, I maestri Francescani 8, ed. G. J. Etzkorn, Miscellanea Franciscana, Roma 1997.
  8. - Blum 2010: Paul R. Blum, Philosophy in the Renaissance in Paul R. Blum (ed.), Philosophers of the Renaissance, The Catholic University of America Press, Washingon, D.C. 2010, pp. 1-11.
  9. - Boulnois 2013: Olivier Boulnois, Métaphysiques rebelles. Genèse et structures d’une science au Moyen Âge, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 2013.
  10. - Brent 2020: James Brent, Natural Theology, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISSN 2161-0002, -- https://www.iep.utm.edu/, accessed 9/5/2020.
  11. - Brown and Dumont 1989: Stephen F. Brown and Stephen D. Dumont, Univocity of Being in the Fourteenth Century: III. An Early Scotist, «Mediaeval Studies» 51 (1989), pp. 1-129.
  12. - Buffenoir 2015: Aude Buffenoir, Une science naturelle de Dieu? Edition de la theologia naturalis de Nicolas Bonet (+1343). Histoire et enjeux de la theologie naturelle en sa premiere figure, 3 vols., Thèse pour le diplôme d’archiviste paléographe, École nationale des chartes 2015.
  13. - Bushey 2004: Betty Bushey, Bibliographien und Kataloge der Herzogin-Anna-Amalia-Bibliothek zu Weimar: die lateinischen Handschriften bis 1600, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2004.
  14. - Chignell and Pereboom 2020: Andrew Chignell and Derk Pereboom, Natural Theology and Natural Religion, in Edward N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Fall 2020 Edition, URL = -- https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/natural-theology/
  15. - Courtenay 2011: William J. Courtenay, Early Scotists at Paris: A Reconsideration, «Franciscan Studies», 69 (2011), pp. 175-229.
  16. - Craig and Moreland 2009: William L. Craig and J. P. Moreland (eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, UK 2009.
  17. - De Cruz and De Smedt 2015: Helen De Cruz and Johan De Smedt, A Natural History of Natural Theology, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA 2015.
  18. - Doyle 1997: John P. Doyle, Between Transcendental and Transcendental: The Missing Link?, «The Review of Metaphysics», 50 (1997), pp. 783-815.
  19. - Duba 2014: William O. Duba, Three Metaphysicians After Scotus in Francesco Amerini and Gabriele Galluzzo (eds.), A Companion to the Latin Medieval Commentaries on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Brill, Leiden-Boston, 2014, pp. 413-493.
  20. - Duba 2017: William Duba, The Forge of Doctrine. The Academic Year 1330-31 and the Rise of Scotism at the University of Paris, Brepols, Turnhout 2017.
  21. - Duba 2018: William O. Duba, From Scotus to the Platonici: Hugh of Novocastro, Landulph Caracciolo and Francis of Meyronnes, in Jacopo Francesco Falà and Irene Zavattero (eds.), Divine Ideas in Franciscan Thought (XIIIth-XIVth Century), Aracne, Roma 2018, pp. 239-369.
  22. - Dumont 1987: Stephen D. Dumont, The Univocity of the Concept of Being in the Fourteenth Century: John Duns Scotus and William of Alnwick, «Mediaeval Studies», 49 (1987), pp. 1-75.
  23. - Dumont 1988: The Univocity of the Concept of Being in the Fourteenth Century: II. The De ente of Peter Thomae, «Mediaeval Studies», 50 (1988), pp. 186-256.
  24. - Dumont 2005: Stephen D. Dumont, Duns Scotus’s Parisian Question on the Formal Distinction, «Vivarium», 43 (2005), pp. 7-62.
  25. - Duns Scotus 1966: Duns Scotus, Tractatus de primo principio/A Treatise on God as First Principle, ed. and trans. with commentary by Allan Wolter, Franciscan Herald Press, Chicago, IL 1966.
  26. - Duns Scotus 2004: Duns Scotus, The Examined Report of the Paris Lecture Reportatio I-A, ed. and trans. Allan B. Wolter and Oleg V. Bychkov, The Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure, NY 2004.
  27. - Duns Scotus 2006: Duns Scotus, Quaestiones super secundum et tertium De anima, Opera philosophica [= OPh] V, Carlos Bazán, Kent Emery, Romuald Green, Timothy Noone, Roberto Plevano, Andrew Traver (eds.), The Catholic University of America Press, Washington, D.C. 2006.
  28. - Forlivesi 2008: Marco Forlivesi, Quae in hac quaestione tradit Doctor videntur humanum ingenium superare. Scotus, Andrés, Bonet, Zerbi, and Trombetta Confronting the Nature of Metaphysics, «Quaestio», 8 (2008), pp. 219-277.
  29. - Franciscus de Mayronis 1520: Franciscus de Mayronis, Quodlibet, Venezia 1520.
  30. - Franciscus de Mayronis, Tractatus de primo principio complexo (redaction «Auditum audivi»; München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 18530b).
  31. - Friedman 2016: R. L. Friedman, Peter Auriol, in Edward N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2016 Edition, -- https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/auriol/ (accessed 9-8-2020).
  32. - Goris 2008: Wouter Goris, After Scotus: Dispersions of Metaphysics, of the Scope of Intelligibility, and of the Transcendental in the Early 14th Century, «Quaestio», 8 (2008), pp. 139-157.
  33. - Goris 2011: Wouter Goris, The Foundation of the Principle of Non-Contradiction. Some Remarks on the Medieval Transformation of Metaphysics, «Documenti e studi sulla tradizione filosofica medievale», 22 (2011), pp. 527-557.
  34. - Guillelmus de Alnwick 1937: Guillelmus de Alnwick, Quaestiones disputatae de esse intelligibili et de Quodlibet, ed. Athanasius Ledoux, Typographia Collegii S. Bonaventurae, Firenze-Quaracchi 1937.
  35. - Hoenen 1998: Maarten J. F. M. Hoenen, Scotus and the Scotist School. The Tradition of Scotist Thought in the Medieval and Early Modern Period, in Egbert Bos (ed.), John Duns Scotus: Renewal of Philosophy. Acts of the Third Symposium Organized by the Dutch Society for Medieval Philosophy Medium Aevum (May 23 and 24, 1996), Editions Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam-Atlanta, GA, 1998, pp. 197-210.
  36. - Honnefelder 1994: Ludger Honnefelder, Scotus und der Scotismus. Ein Beitrag zur Bedeutung der Schulbildung in der mittelalterlichen Philosophie, in Maarten J. F. M. Hoenen et al. (edd.), Philosophy and Learning: Universities in the Middle Ages, Brill, Leiden 1994, pp. 249-262.
  37. - Ioannes Foxal, Commentarius super Primum Sententiarum magistri Ioannis Scoti Duns (Padova, Biblioteca Universitaria, Ms. 1560).
  38. - Ioannes Foxal, Quomodo per creaturas (Città del Vaticano, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Vat. lat. 9402).
  39. - Ioannes Foxal, Tractatus de productione creaturae (Città del Vaticano, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Vat. lat. 9402).
  40. - Kobusch 1996: Theo Kobusch, Das Seiende als transzendentaler oder supertranszendentaler Begriff. Deutungen der univozität des Begriffs bei Scotus und den Scotisten, in Ludger Honnefelder, Rega Wood, and Mechtild Dreyer (hrsgg.), John Duns Scotus: Metaphysics and Ethics, Studien und Texte zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters 53, Brill, Leiden-New York-Köln 1996, pp. 345-366.
  41. - Kockelmans 1992: Joseph Kockelmans, Hermaneutic Philosophy and Natural Theology, in Eugene T. Long (ed.), Prospects for Natural Theology, Studies in Philosophy and the History of Philosophy 25, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington, D.C. 1992, pp. 92-112.
  42. - Lilao Franca and Castrillo González 2002: O. Lilao Franca and C. Castrillo González, Catálogo de manuscritos de la Biblioteca Universitaria de Salamanca, vol. 2, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca 2002.
  43. - Long 1992: Eugene Thomas Long, «Introduction», in Eugene T. Long (ed.), Prospects for Natural Theology, Studies in Philosophy and the History of Philosophy 25, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington, D.C. 1992, pp. 1-27.
  44. - Mandrella 2008: Isabelle Mandrella, Metaphysik als Supertranszen dentalwissenschaft? Zum scotistischen Metaphysikentwurf des Nicolaus Bonetus, «Recherches de Théologie et Philosophie Médiévales», 75 (2008), pp. 161-193.
  45. - Manning 2013: Russell Re Manning (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2013.
  46. - Manuscrits de la bibliothèque de Saint-Omer, Catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publicques des départements, vol. 3, Imprimerie impériale, Paris 1861 (reprt. Gregg 1966).
  47. - Markowski and Wlodek 1968: M. Markowski and Z. Wlodek, Les oeuvres de Jean Duns Scot et de ses adhérents dans les manuscrits médiévaux de la bibliothèque Jagellone à Cracovie, in Commissio Scotistica (ed.), De doctrina Duns Scoti, vol. 1: Documenta et studia in Duns Scotum introductoria, Roma 1968, pp. 375-393.
  48. - Matthias Döring, Lectura (München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 8997).
  49. - Möhle 2007: Hannes Möhle, Formalitas und modus intrinsecus. Die Entwicklung der scotischen Metaphysik bei Franciscus de Mayronis, Aschendorff, Münster 2007.
  50. - Pelzer 1931: Augustus Pelzer, Codices Vaticani Latini, vol. 2 pt. 1: codices 679-1134, Bibliotheca Vaticana, Roma1931.
  51. - Roth 1936: Bartholomäus Roth, Franz von Mayronis O.F.M.: sein Leben, seine Werke, seine Lehre vom Formalunterschied in Gott, Franziskus-Druckerei, Werl in Westfalen, 1936.
  52. - Ruysschaert 1959: José Ruysschaert, Codices vaticani latini. Codices 11414-11709, Bibliotheca Vaticana, Roma 1959.
  53. - Pereira 2015: José Pereira, Original Features of Suarez’s Thought, in Victor M. Salas and Robert L. Fastiggi (eds.), A Companion to Francisco Suarez, Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition 53, Brill, Leiden-Boston 2015, pp. 297-312.
  54. - Petrus Aureoli 1956: Petrus Aureoli, Scriptum, ed. Eligius Buytaert, The Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure, NY 1956.
  55. - Petrus Thomae, Quaestiones de ente, ed. Garrett Smith, Petri Thomae Opera II, Leuven University Press, Leuven 2018.
  56. - Plantinga 1991: Alvin Plantinga, The Prospects for Natural Theology, «Philosophical Perspectives», 5 (1991), pp. 287-315.
  57. - Roest 2000: Bert Roest, A History of Franciscan Education (c. 1210-1517), Brill, Leiden-Boston-Köln 2000.
  58. - Roling 2008: Bernd Roling, Locutio angelica: Die Diskussion der Engelsprache als Antizipation einer Sprechakttheorie in Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit, Studien und Texte zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters 97, Brill, Leiden 2008.
  59. - Ross and Bates 2003: James F. Ross and Todd Bates, Duns Scotus on Natural Theology, in Thomas Williams (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Duns Scotus, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003, pp. 193-237.
  60. - Schabel 2000: Christopher Schabel, Place, Space, and the Physics of Grace in Auriol’s Sentences Commentary, «Vivarium», 38 (2000), pp. 117-161.
  61. - Schum 1887: Wilhelm Schum, Beschreibendes Verzeichnis der Amplonianischen Handschriften-Sammlung zu Erfurt, Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, Berlin 1887.
  62. - Smith and van Croesdijk 2015: Garrett R. Smith and Benno van Croesdijk, Newly Identified Treatises by John Foxal, «Bulletin de philosophie médiévale», 57 (2015), pp. 335-381.
  63. - Keele 2015: Rondo Keele, The Early Reception of Peter Auriol at Oxford, «Recherches de Théologie et Philosophie médiévales», 82 (2015), pp. 301-361.
  64. - Smith 2014: Garrett Smith, The Origin of Intelligibility according to Duns Scotus, William of Alnwick, and Petrus Thomae, «Recherches de Théologie et Philosophie médiévales», 81 (2014), pp. 37-74.
  65. - Smith 2018a: Garrett Smith, John Duns Scotus’ Reportatio Parisiensis and the Origin of the Supertranscendentals, «Recherches de Théologie et Philosophie médiévales», 85 (2018), pp. 493-537.
  66. - Smith 2018b: Garrett Smith, Esse consecutive cognitum: A Fourteenth-Century Theory of Divine Ideas, in Andreas Speer and R. Hofmeister Pich (eds.), Contemplation and Philosophy: Scholastic and Mystical Modes of Medieval Philosophical Thought. A Tribute to Kent Emery, Jr., Brill, Leiden-Boston, 2018, pp. 477-527.
  67. - Smith 2019: Garrett Smith, The Analogy of Being in the Scotist Tradition, «American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly», 93 (2019), pp. 633-673 at pp. 652-654.
  68. - Terrero 1962: Jose Riesco Terrero, Nicolas Bonet escribe una metafisica sistematica dos siglos y medio antes que Suarez, «Salmanticensis», 9 (1962), pp. 1-21.
  69. - Thomson 2009: Rodney M. Thomson, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Medieval Manuscripts of Merton College, Oxford, D. S. Brewer, Cambridge, 2009 (available online: https://medieval.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/catalog/manuscript_10297).
  70. - Truhlář 1905: Joseph Truhlář, Codicum Manu Scriptorum Latinorum, vol. 1, Sumptibus Regiae Societatis Scientiarum Bohemicae, Praga 1905.
  71. Valentinelli 1871: Joseph Valentinelli, Bibliotheca Manuscripta ad S. Marci Venetiarum, vol. 4, Ex Typographia Commercii, Venezia 1871.
  72. - Vat.: Duns Scotus, Ordinatio, in Commissio Scotistica (ed.), Ioannis Duns Scoti Opera omnia, 14 vols., Civitas Vaticana 1950-2013.
  73. - Vos 2006: Antonie Vos, The Philosophy of John Duns Scotus, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2006.
  74. - Woolford 2011: Thomas Woolford, Natural Theology and Natural Philosophy in the Late Renaissance, Ph.D. Diss., University of Cambridge 2011.

Garrett Smith, The Natural Theology of Nicholas Bonetus in "RIVISTA DI STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA" 4/2021, pp 642-667, DOI: 10.3280/SF2021-004003