THREE GREAT MEDIEVAL THINKERS: BONAVENTURE, AQUINAS, ECKHART

 

 

B. McGinn

Tuesday/Thursday: 12:30-1:45 (Rm 4201)

University of California at Santa Barbara

Spring 2007

RG ST 190MT

 

            Thirteenth-century Europe witnessed the triumph of Scholasticism, the new model of scientific study of philosophy and theology that produced the university and that has remained influential in Christianity down to our own time. Among the greatest Scholastic thinkers were the Franciscan Bonaventure (ca. 1217-74), and the Dominicans Thomas Aquinas (1224-74) and Meister Eckhart (ca. 1260-1328). These three thinkers produced some of the West’s most challenging thought about God, the world, human nature, and the process of salvation.

            This course will seek to compare aspects of the thinking of these three masters within the context of the cultural, religious, and intellectual life of their time. Our aim is to see how these thinkers continue to enrich and challenge contemporary philosophy, theology, and mysticism.

 

Format.

            With the exception of the first three classes, which will be largely lecture in form, the format of the course will be a mixture of: (1) introductory remarks by the instructor; (2) brief summaries of the key points of the readings by the members of the class (more on this below); and (3) group discussion of the readings organized according to these reports and specific issues announced by the instructor.

 

Requirements

Each participant will be expected to fulfill the following four requirements:

1. Finish the readings on time for the class in order to be able to contribute to the discussion.

2. The class will be divided into three groups (A, D, F), with each group taking responsibility for one of the selections for each day. A member or members of the group will present a summary introduction to one of the texts under discussion (5-10 minutes in length). Each student can expect to present one such summary. This introduction should not try to repeat what the text says, but rather to identify: (a) the key teachings of this text; and (b) to raise two or three points for discussion (problems, confusions, ideas worth pursuing, etc.)

3. Write a brief paper (5-7 typed double-spaced pages) comparing two of the figures we have studied on one specific theological issue. This paper should address how the figures argue their position, what conclusion they reach, and how you evaluate this position (i.e., who convinces you and why). The papers will be due at the end of the Seventh Week (May 18).

4. A take-home exam to be written over during the week of June 11-15. This exam will ask you to write an essay (choosing one of three topics offered) comparing the three figures on a specific issue. The essay cannot be longer than 7 double-spaced pages in length.   

 

 

 

 

Syllabus

 

First Week: Introduction I

 

Tues., April 3: Orientation to Medieval Theology

 

Thurs., April 5: Context I: The University and the Origins of Scholasticism

 

 

Second Week: Introduction II

 

Tues., April 10: Context II: The Mendicant Movement and the New Mysticism

 

Thurs., April 12: NO CLASS

 

 

Third Week: The Nature of the Theology and Role of the Bible

 

1. Tues., April 17: What is Theology?

            Readings: Bonaventure, Commentary on the Sentences, Bk. 1, prol. (5 pp. to be

                                   distributed)  TEAM A

                             Aquinas, Summa theologiae (STh), Ia, q. 1, aa. 1, 2, 8 (in Bauerschmidt, Holy

                                                Teaching, 27-39). TEAM D

                             Eckhart, Select passages in Colledge and McGinn, Essential Eckhart, 24-29,

                                                        122-23). TEAM F

 

2. Thurs., April 19: How to Read the Bible

            Readings: Bonaventure, Breviloquium (Brev.), prol. (1-23). TEAM D

                             Aquinas, STh Ia, q. 1, aa. 9-10  (Holy Teaching, 39-43). TEAM A

                            Eckhart, Commentary on Genesis II, Prol. (Essential Eckhart, 92-95). TEAM F

 

 

Fourth Week: God and Divine Attributes

 

3. Tues., April 23: Proving God’s Existence

            Readings: Aquinas, STh Ia, qq. 2-3 (Holy Teaching, 45-56). TEAM A (q. 2); TEAM D             

                                                                                                                (q. 3)

                             Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles, Bk, I.9-14 (Selected Writings, 244-56).

                                                                                                               TEAM F

                           

4. Thurs., April 25: Naming God

            Readings: Bonaventure, Mind’s Journey into God, chaps. 5-6 (5 pp. to be distributed).

                                        TEAM D

                             Aquinas, STh Ia, qq. 4-13, concentration on qq. 12-13 (Holy Teaching, 57-72),      

                               and “Prologue to Commentary On the Divine Names (Selected Writings,   

                                430-31). TEAM A

                             Eckhart, Selections from Commentary on Exodus (c. 15 pp., to be distributed).

                                         TEAM F

 

Fifth Week: God as Trinity

 

5. Tues., May 1: Teaching the Trinity

            Readings: Bonaventure, Brev., Part I (27-57). TEAM F

                            Aquinas, STh Ia, qq. 27-32 (Holy Teaching, 73-92). TEAM D

                           

6. Thurs., May 3: Preaching the Trinity

             Readings: Eckhart, Commentary on John (Essential Eckhart, 123-35); German Sermons

                                 (Pr.) 2, 48, 83 (Essential Eckhart, 177-81, 197-98, 206-08. TEAM A                                                                                  

 

 

Sixth Week: Creation and Temporality

 

7. Tues., May 8: The Meaning of Creation

            Readings: Bonaventure, Brev., Part II, chaps. 1-8 (59-84). TEAM A

                             Aquinas, STh Ia, q. 44 (Selected Writings, 360-68); and q. 45, a. 1 (Holy

                                                                       Teaching, 101-06). TEAM D

                            

8. Thurs., May 10: Is the Universe Eternal or Temporal? TEAM F

            Readings: Bonaventure, Select passages denying possibility of eternal universal (5 pp. to    

                                                            be distributed)

                             Aquinas, “On the Eternity of the Universe” (Selected Writings, 710-17)

                             Eckhart, Commentary on Genesis I, selections (Essential Eckhart, 82-91)

 

 

Seventh Week:  A) Humanity “Made to the Image and Likeness”

 

9. Tues., May 15: In the Image of God

            Readings:  Bonaventure, Brev., Part II, chaps. 9-12 (84-98). TEAM D

                              Aquinas, STh Ia, qq. 75 and 91 (12 pp. to be distributed), and Commentary on

                              Aristotle’s “On the Soul,” Lesson 1 (Selected Writings, 411-18). TEAM A

                              Eckhart, Commentary on Genesis II (Essential Eckhart, 108-21); Latin      

                                                    Sermon XLIX (3 pp. to be distributed). TEAM F

 

B) The Role of Christ                                                   

 

 10. N.B. Date Change: Wed., May 16: The Mystery of the Incarnation

            Readings: Bonaventure, Brev. Part IV (131-68, selected pages). TEAM A

                             Aquinas, STh IIIa, qq. 1-2, 8-9, 16-17 (Holy Teaching, 163-203, selected

                                                pages). TEAMS D and F

 

 

Eighth Week: The Role of Christ Cont.

 

11. Tues., May 22: Preaching the Godman

            Readings: Bonaventure, Sermon II for 3rd Sunday of Advent (20 pp. to be distributed).

                                                                TEAM F            

                             Eckhart, Prr. 6 and 22 (Essential Eckhart, 185-89, 192-96). TEAM A (Pr. 6);

                                                                TEAM D (Pr. 22)

 

Grace and the Sacraments

 

12. Thurs., May 24:  What is Grace?

             Readings: Bonaventure, Brev., Part V, chaps. 1-6 (pp. 169-96). TEAM D

                              Aquinas, STh IIaIIae, qq. 109-14, selections (Holy Teaching, 122-29 + several

                                   pp. to be distributed). TEAM A

                               Eckhart, Latin Sermon XXV (5 pp. to be distributed). TEAM F

 

 

Ninth Week: Grace and the Sacraments Cont.

 

13. Tues., May 29: The Sacraments and How They Work

            Readings: Bonaventure, Brev., Part VI, chaps. 1-6 (pp. 211-29). TEAM A

                             Aquinas, STh IIIa, q. 60 (Selected Writings, 771-85). TEAM D. Also qq. 61-                 

                                 65 (Holy Teaching, 253-73). TEAM F

 

The Return to God

 

14. Thurs., May 31: The Return Process and Its Requirements

             Readings: Bonaventure, Mind’s Journey into God (21 pp. to be distributed). TEAM F

                              Aquinas, STh IIaIIae, qq. 179-81 on Action and Contemplation (Selected

                                                 Writings, pp. 682-709). TEAMS A and D

                              Eckhart, Pr. 52 (Essential Eckhart, 199-203). ALL TEAMS!

 

 

Tenth Week: Reading Period

           

FINAL TAKE HOME EXAM DUE:  Week of June 11-15

 

 

REQUIRED TEXTS

Works of St. Bonaventure. Volume IX. Breviloquium, edited by Dominic V. Monti (St. Bonaventure: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2005) ISBN 1-57659199-9

Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt, Holy Teaching. Introducing the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005)   ISBN 1-58743-035-5

Thomas Aquinas. Selected Writings, edited by Ralph McInerny (New York: Penguin Books, 1998)   ISBN 0-140-43632-4

Meister Eckhart. The Essential Sermons, Commentaries, Treatises, and Defense, trans. and introd. by Edmund Colledge and Bernard McGinn (New York: Paulist Press, 1981) 

 

 

TEAMS AND ASSIGNMENTS

N. B. Individual reports will only extend through the fifth week. After that I will direct questions to each group about their assigned readings.

 

A. AUGUSTINIANS

Aguirre, Rachel  (Tues., April 17: Bonaventure)

Bjerke, Ali (Thurs., April 19: Aquinas)

Forner, Daniel (Tues., April 23: Aquinas, a. 2)

Stukell, Eric (Thurs., April 25: Aquinas)

Webb, Laura (Tues., May 3: Eckhart, Sermons)

 

D. DOMINICANS

Allen, Jacob  (Tues., April 17, Aquinas)

Feldstein, Jaclyn (Thurs., April 19: Bonaventure)

Lindahl, Jared (Thurs., April 25: Bonaventure)

Plescia, David (Tues., May 1: Aquinas, qq. 27 and 29)

Windham, Colleen (Tues., May 1: Aquinas, q. 32)

 

F. FRANCISCANS

Arno, Martin  (Tues., April 17, Eckhart)

Fleming, Stephen  (Thurs., April 19: Eckhart)

Gonzales, Lucia (Tues., April 23: Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles)

Mireau, Andre (Thurs., April 25: Eckhart)

Moss, China (Tues., May 1, Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part I, chaps. 1-4)