Module description
This year we’ll cover both earlier philosophers (Boethius and Anselm) and later ones (Aquinas and Ockham), and the topics covered will range over metaphysics, philosophical logic, philosophical theology, and the metaphysics of value.
First up is Anselm: we’ll look at his often neglected but elegant and plausible argument for the necessary existence of truth, and his defence of the logical consistency of the Trinity.
Then we’ll move on to Aquinas and his account of the nature of goodness, and in particular the relation between goodness and being (and, relatedly, the relation between badness and non-being).
Our last topic will look at Boethius’ and Ockham’s attempts to defend the idea that God has knowledge of “future contingents” (“truths about the open (not yet fixed, not yet determined) future.
Students with interests in metaphysics, philosophical logic, the philosophy of religion, and ethics/metaethics should find much to think about, and connections between medieval and contemporary issues will be stressed, so the course isn’t simply for those with a strong historical interest in the period covered.
Educational aims & objectives
Getting a sense of the contributions of medieval philosophers to philosophy, especially in the areas of metaphysics, philosophical logic, and philosophical theology.