Dante and Siger: An Intellectual Mission Overcoming Error and Authority
This article places the question of the presence of the Averroist philosopher Siger of Brabant in Dante’s <i>Paradiso</i> within the debate concerning Dante’s relationship with Averroistic philosophy throughout his works, particularly in the <i>Commedia.</i> The purpose of th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/13/1/16 |
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| author | Annalisa Guzzardi |
| author_facet | Annalisa Guzzardi |
| author_sort | Annalisa Guzzardi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article places the question of the presence of the Averroist philosopher Siger of Brabant in Dante’s <i>Paradiso</i> within the debate concerning Dante’s relationship with Averroistic philosophy throughout his works, particularly in the <i>Commedia.</i> The purpose of this research is to initially query the issue of Dante’s potential retraction of previously adopted Averroistic positions in the <i>Commedia</i>, and then to examine in greater detail the relationship between the Florentine poet and the Brabantian philosopher. United by the thematic and autobiographical thread of knowledge persecuted by power, embodied in the history of both figures, the proposed viewpoint is that Dante finds a model of intellectual honesty and freedom in Siger’s thought, ready to question even the authority of Aristotle, a model that Dante admires, places in Paradise, and upon which he structures his <i>poema sacro</i>. In conclusion, this work suggests a reading of some paradigmatic and antithetical pairs in the <i>Commedia</i>, linked by common principles yet opposite destinies, including Dante himself. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:29:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-10ab1919aede4d0c8a7e9d43464d7e19 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:29:19Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-10ab1919aede4d0c8a7e9d43464d7e192024-02-23T15:18:55ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872024-01-011311610.3390/h13010016Dante and Siger: An Intellectual Mission Overcoming Error and AuthorityAnnalisa Guzzardi0The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY 10016, USAThis article places the question of the presence of the Averroist philosopher Siger of Brabant in Dante’s <i>Paradiso</i> within the debate concerning Dante’s relationship with Averroistic philosophy throughout his works, particularly in the <i>Commedia.</i> The purpose of this research is to initially query the issue of Dante’s potential retraction of previously adopted Averroistic positions in the <i>Commedia</i>, and then to examine in greater detail the relationship between the Florentine poet and the Brabantian philosopher. United by the thematic and autobiographical thread of knowledge persecuted by power, embodied in the history of both figures, the proposed viewpoint is that Dante finds a model of intellectual honesty and freedom in Siger’s thought, ready to question even the authority of Aristotle, a model that Dante admires, places in Paradise, and upon which he structures his <i>poema sacro</i>. In conclusion, this work suggests a reading of some paradigmatic and antithetical pairs in the <i>Commedia</i>, linked by common principles yet opposite destinies, including Dante himself.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/13/1/16DanteSiger of BrabantAverroismphilosophyknowledgepower |
| spellingShingle | Annalisa Guzzardi Dante and Siger: An Intellectual Mission Overcoming Error and Authority Humanities Dante Siger of Brabant Averroism philosophy knowledge power |
| title | Dante and Siger: An Intellectual Mission Overcoming Error and Authority |
| title_full | Dante and Siger: An Intellectual Mission Overcoming Error and Authority |
| title_fullStr | Dante and Siger: An Intellectual Mission Overcoming Error and Authority |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dante and Siger: An Intellectual Mission Overcoming Error and Authority |
| title_short | Dante and Siger: An Intellectual Mission Overcoming Error and Authority |
| title_sort | dante and siger an intellectual mission overcoming error and authority |
| topic | Dante Siger of Brabant Averroism philosophy knowledge power |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/13/1/16 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annalisaguzzardi danteandsigeranintellectualmissionovercomingerrorandauthority |