Aristoteles imperfectus. Natural Divination, Dream and Prophecy in the Latin Middle Ages...

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Sebastià Giralt "Aristoteles imperfectus. Natural Divination, Dream and Prophecy in the Latin Middle Ages (1210–1310)" In: Fidora, Alexander (ed.), Die mantischen Künste und die Epistemologie prognostischer Wissenschaften im Mittelalter, Colònia - Weimar - Viena, Boehlau Verlag (Beihefte zum Archiv für Kulturgeschichte, 74), 2013, pp. 23-59, This study aims to examine the concept of natural divination both in dreams and in waking, according to the different approaches developed by eminent Latin thinkers of the thirteenth century after the reception of the “new Aristotle” and Arabic Aristotelianism. The concept of natural divination was spread in these textual corpora which had recently been translated or were still being translated. As a consequence, it became a controversial idea in a key period in which the boundaries between the sacred and the natural, between the spheres of religious and profane learning, were being redefining towards an increasing naturalization of the worldview. This particular issue can be considered a case study of how the naturalistic approach of Aristotle and Arabic Aristotelianism was assimilated and reconciled with the Christian faith. Divination and prophecy allow us to explore the boundaries between natural, divine and demoniac worlds in the late Middle Ages. Therefore, it is understandable that natural divination was discussed not only in works on natural philosophy but also in theological writings on account of the interest in discerning divine prophecy and natural prophecy. Some theologians also question the boundaries of both these prophecies with necromantic divination. The causality attributed to each of these prophetic experiences is also the basis for the considerations regarding their epistemological validity, their place in the system of sciences and the factors that condition the reception of knowledge about the future.

Transcript of Aristoteles imperfectus. Natural Divination, Dream and Prophecy in the Latin Middle Ages...

Sebastià Giralt "Aristoteles imperfectus. Natural Divination, Dream and Prophecy in the Latin Middle Ages (1210–1310)" In: Fidora, Alexander (ed.), Die mantischen Künste und die Epistemologie prognostischer Wissenschaften im Mittelalter, Colònia - Weimar - Viena, Boehlau Verlag (Beihefte zum Archiv für Kulturgeschichte, 74), 2013, pp. 23-59, This study aims to examine the concept of natural divination both in dreams and in waking, according to the different approaches developed by eminent Latin thinkers of the thirteenth century after the reception of the “new Aristotle” and Arabic Aristotelianism. The concept of natural divination was spread in these textual corpora which had recently been translated or were still being translated. As a consequence, it became a controversial idea in a key period in which the boundaries between the sacred and the natural, between the spheres of religious and profane learning, were being redefining towards an increasing naturalization of the worldview. This particular issue can be considered a case study of how the naturalistic approach of Aristotle and Arabic Aristotelianism was assimilated and reconciled with the Christian faith. Divination and prophecy allow us to explore the boundaries between natural, divine and demoniac worlds in the late Middle Ages. Therefore, it is understandable that natural divination was discussed not only in works on natural philosophy but also in theological writings on account of the interest in discerning divine prophecy and natural prophecy. Some theologians also question the boundaries of both these prophecies with necromantic divination. The causality attributed to each of these prophetic experiences is also the basis for the considerations regarding their epistemological validity, their place in the system of sciences and the factors that condition the reception of knowledge about the future.