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Medieval Philosophers
5
Transcript
Who's the boss?
Papal Authority
Conclusion
- Medieval Philosophers believed that nature was made up of hierarchies, and humans were the same. So to live justly, you had to be obeying the right person.
- But when both the Pope and the King claimed authority, who did you obey?
- Jesus said "All authority in Heavy and on Earth has been given to me..." and the Pope used the title "Vicar of Christ," so shouldn't the Pope be at the top?
- But in the book of Romans, Paul says earthly rulers receive their power from God... So who is in charge?
- Many thinkers believed the Pope was the highest earthly authority because he answered directly to Christ.
- Thomas Aquinas wrote that the source of something had authority over it. God was the source of both Spiritual and Political power.
- He looked back to Aristotle, who said things were defined by thier purpose.
- Aquinas claimed that society exists to support people's lives, but living virtuously was more important than just living, so the thing that helped you live virtuously (the Church) was more important than the thing that just helped you live (Feudalism).
- What is most interesting here, is that all of these thinkers were priests.
- This thinking about whether the King or Pope was supreme led to a discussion of how much authority the government had at all.
- It led people to begin to even question whether monarchy was the best government, and began a discussion about individual rights, which would eventually lead to the U.S. Bill of Rights.
Separation of Powers
- Other thinkers argued that Spiritual power was separate from political power.
- John of Paris (1255-1306) agreed with Aquinas that the source of something has power over it, but pointed out that the Pope was not the source of the King's power. God was the source of both the Pope's and the King's powers, so they were separate and equal.
- Marsilius of Padua (1275-1342) went even further and claimed the Pope did not have political authority because political authority originated with the members of a society (citizens), looking back to Athenian democracy and the Roman Republic for examples. He even argued the Pope should have no more authority than any priest. This was too much and he had to flee Italy to avoid arrest.
Individual Rights
- Marsilius inspired William of Ockham (1287-1347), who argued that the Pope was not only not a political authority, but that his power (and the King's) was limited by the law, using Aristotle's argument that societies should be 'of laws' not 'of men.'
- Ockham claimed that a Pope or King who violated moral laws could be removed from power.
- He also claimed that there were 'natural laws' set down by God. This meant that people had 'natural rights' that came neither from the Chruch nor the King, but from God Himself.
- Finally, Okham argued that people who disagreed with church teaching should not be simply excommunicated. There should be a freedom of of discussion in the Church.
Medieval Philosophy: Church and State
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