The term Synderesis and its transformations: a conceptual history of Synderesis, ca. 1150-1450
<p>This dissertation explores the development of the concept of <em>synderesis</em> between 1150 and 1450. In medieval moral psychology, <em>synderesis</em> referred to the innate capacity of the mind to know the first principles of natural law, or, alternatively, the w...
| প্রধান লেখক: | |
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| অন্যান্য লেখক: | |
| বিন্যাস: | গবেষণাপত্র |
| ভাষা: | English |
| প্রকাশিত: |
2016
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| বিষয়গুলি: |
| _version_ | 1826315947854528512 |
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| author | Zamore, G |
| author2 | Smith, LJ |
| author_facet | Smith, LJ Zamore, G |
| author_sort | Zamore, G |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>This dissertation explores the development of the concept of <em>synderesis</em> between 1150 and 1450. In medieval moral psychology, <em>synderesis</em> referred to the innate capacity of the mind to know the first principles of natural law, or, alternatively, the will to follow these principles. But it was also interpreted as a mystical power of the soul, capable of uniting it to God. <em>synderesis</em> also appears in Late Medieval vernacular literature, as a character in moralising texts. By approaching <em>synderesis</em> from the point of view of conceptual history I synthesise these fields and explore how <em>synderesis</em> operated beyond the formal treatises of scholastic theology.</p> <p>Chapter two explores how <em>synderesis</em> developed in medieval scholasticism from Peter Lombard up to Thomas Aquinas. Chapters three and four explore how the mystical interpretation of <em>synderesis</em> first proposed by Thomas Gallus of Vercelli was incorporated into the mystical treatise <em>Itinerarium mentis in Deum</em> by Bonaventure of Balneoregio. Here, I analyse when, where and how Bonaventure integrated this mystical interpretation into his pre-existing moral-psychological interpretation of it and how his use of <em>synderesis</em> relates to the historical context in which the <em>Itinerarium</em> was written. I argue that <em>synderesis</em> should be seen as existing on a continuum of interpretations between moral psychology and mysticism. After Bonaventure and Aquinas, the concept undergoes a period of stagnation in academia, which is the subject of Chapter five. However, <em>synderesis</em> also appears in a number of non-academic texts in which the moral-psychological and mystical interpretations of the term coexist. Chapter six explores how Late Medieval vernacular authors drew on previous scholastic discussions of the concept. I focus here in particular on Guillaume de Deguileville’s <em>Le pèlerinage de l’âme</em>, where <em>synderesis</em> appears not as the moral guide of the soul, but as the accuser of the soul before the court of heaven.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T19:54:53Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:2538642d-4cf8-4286-b59a-3a4beeb7bffc |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-09T03:35:22Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:2538642d-4cf8-4286-b59a-3a4beeb7bffc2024-12-01T18:56:40ZThe term Synderesis and its transformations: a conceptual history of Synderesis, ca. 1150-1450Thesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:2538642d-4cf8-4286-b59a-3a4beeb7bffcIntellectual HistoryMiddle AgesMedieval Theology and PhilosophyEnglishORA Deposit2016Zamore, GSmith, LJSutherland, A<p>This dissertation explores the development of the concept of <em>synderesis</em> between 1150 and 1450. In medieval moral psychology, <em>synderesis</em> referred to the innate capacity of the mind to know the first principles of natural law, or, alternatively, the will to follow these principles. But it was also interpreted as a mystical power of the soul, capable of uniting it to God. <em>synderesis</em> also appears in Late Medieval vernacular literature, as a character in moralising texts. By approaching <em>synderesis</em> from the point of view of conceptual history I synthesise these fields and explore how <em>synderesis</em> operated beyond the formal treatises of scholastic theology.</p> <p>Chapter two explores how <em>synderesis</em> developed in medieval scholasticism from Peter Lombard up to Thomas Aquinas. Chapters three and four explore how the mystical interpretation of <em>synderesis</em> first proposed by Thomas Gallus of Vercelli was incorporated into the mystical treatise <em>Itinerarium mentis in Deum</em> by Bonaventure of Balneoregio. Here, I analyse when, where and how Bonaventure integrated this mystical interpretation into his pre-existing moral-psychological interpretation of it and how his use of <em>synderesis</em> relates to the historical context in which the <em>Itinerarium</em> was written. I argue that <em>synderesis</em> should be seen as existing on a continuum of interpretations between moral psychology and mysticism. After Bonaventure and Aquinas, the concept undergoes a period of stagnation in academia, which is the subject of Chapter five. However, <em>synderesis</em> also appears in a number of non-academic texts in which the moral-psychological and mystical interpretations of the term coexist. Chapter six explores how Late Medieval vernacular authors drew on previous scholastic discussions of the concept. I focus here in particular on Guillaume de Deguileville’s <em>Le pèlerinage de l’âme</em>, where <em>synderesis</em> appears not as the moral guide of the soul, but as the accuser of the soul before the court of heaven.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Intellectual History Middle Ages Medieval Theology and Philosophy Zamore, G The term Synderesis and its transformations: a conceptual history of Synderesis, ca. 1150-1450 |
| title | The term Synderesis and its transformations: a conceptual history of Synderesis, ca. 1150-1450 |
| title_full | The term Synderesis and its transformations: a conceptual history of Synderesis, ca. 1150-1450 |
| title_fullStr | The term Synderesis and its transformations: a conceptual history of Synderesis, ca. 1150-1450 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The term Synderesis and its transformations: a conceptual history of Synderesis, ca. 1150-1450 |
| title_short | The term Synderesis and its transformations: a conceptual history of Synderesis, ca. 1150-1450 |
| title_sort | term synderesis and its transformations a conceptual history of synderesis ca 1150 1450 |
| topic | Intellectual History Middle Ages Medieval Theology and Philosophy |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zamoreg thetermsynderesisanditstransformationsaconceptualhistoryofsynderesisca11501450 AT zamoreg termsynderesisanditstransformationsaconceptualhistoryofsynderesisca11501450 |