Condemnations of 1210–1277

The Paris convictions of numerous theses of Averroism and Aristotelianism by the Bishop of Paris, Étienne Tempier on December 10, 1270 and March 7, 1277 at the Sorbonne mark a high point in the discussion of the Augustinian monastic theology with these philosophical currents of the High Middle Ages.

History at the University of Paris

Condemnation of 1270

Étienne Tempier condemned on December 10, 1270 thirteen theses, without the names to mention those who spread these teachings.

Condemnation of 1277

On November 23, 1276 Inquisitor Simon du Val had invited the former teacher of the faculty of arts at Paris ( Siger of Brabant, Gosvin of La Chapelle and Bernier of Nivelles ) before his tribunal. On January 18, 1277 Tempier was Pope John XXI. asked to investigate rumors of recent heresies at the University of Paris. Tempier called together a commission of theologians, who was also Henry of Ghent.

On March 7, 1277 Tempier published a Syllabus of 219 Theses, which were discussed at the Faculty of Arts. They relate to philosophical and theological topics such as the scientific character of theology, the knowledge of God, the divine knowledge, the omnipotence of God, the will of God, the freedom of the human will, the immortality of the soul, the Eucharist, the morality, the angelology and cosmology.

Prologue of the Decree

It is the teaching of the 219 theses placed under the penalty of excommunication and condemns the double truth: They say namely, these heresies were true in the sense of philosophy, but not in the sense of the Catholic faith, as if there were two equally opposite truths.

In addition, a three-volume work De amore about courtly love, a book on geomancy and writings about necromancy, customs of sorcerers, devil worships and soul hazardous incantations are prohibited.

Adjustments after 1277

• The two convictions from 1270 and 1277 have been combined with those of the Paris condemnation of Bishop William of Auvergne of 1241 and that of the Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Kilwardby of 1277 to the collection " Collectio of Errors in Anglia et Parisius condemnatorum ".

• Among the 219 theses are some doctrines of Thomas Aquinas. To prevent his conviction, Godfrey of Fontaines presented in 1296 as part of a Quaestio quodlibetalis the question of whether the successor Tempiers committing a sin if he do not correct the syllabus because of its defects. After the canonization of Thomas Aquinas in 1323 corrected the Paris Bishop Etienne Bourret 1325 error list.

Effects

• Double truth: the condemnation text of 1277 survived, which by ecclesiastical decree should not be thought, and the philosophy freed consequently increasingly lower alia with William of Ockham on the influence of theology.

• The French physicist and historian of science Pierre Duhem considered the convictions as birth of modern science, because the Aristotelian physics rejected her horror vacui and thus room for modern science was created.

• The convictions in Paris were called by historians of philosophy Steenberghen as "true hub of the intellectual history of this era " and Gilson as an epochal " landmark " ( boundary markers ).