Riccardo Saccenti

Il passaggio storico fra la “Rinascita” culturale del XII secolo e l’affermarsi dell’istituzione universitaria nella prima metà del XIII secolo rappresenta un tornante nella costruzione del lessico filosofico e teologico europeo. All’interno di questo processo, il lessico morale rappresenta un terreno sul quale sono misurabili gli effetti della ricezione delle versioni greco-latine di alcune opere. Fra queste spicca il De fide orthodoxa di Giovanni Damasceno, tradotto da Burgundio da Pisa attorno alla metà del XII secolo. Lo studio qui presentato ricostruisce la genesi, le caratteristiche e la fortuna della versione latina di un’opera che divenne da subito un “classico” per la cultura latina medievale.

In Debating Medieval Natural Law: A Survey, Riccardo Saccenti examines and evaluates the major lines of interpretation of the medieval concepts of natural rights and natural law within the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries and explains how the major historiographical interpretations of ius naturale and lex naturalis have changed. His bibliographical survey analyzes not only the chronological evolution of various interpretations of natural law but also how they differ, in an effort to shed light on the historical debate and on the medieval roots of modern human rights theories.

Saccenti critically examines the historical analyses of the major historians of medieval political and legal thought while addressing how to further research on the subject. His perspective interlaces different disciplinary points of view: history of philosophy, as well as history of canon and civil law and history of theology. By focusing on a variety of disciplines, Saccenti creates an opportunity to evaluate each interpretation of medieval lex naturalis in terms of the area it enlightens and within specific cultural contexts. His survey is a basis for future studies concerning this topic and will be of interest to scholars of the history of law and, more generally, of the history of ideas in the twentieth century.

“With exemplary scholarship, Riccardo Saccenti provides a clear and unbiased presentation of the evolution of natural law theory, practice, and interpretation from the Middle Ages to the present. His welcome and original work expands our understanding of how medieval natural law, and in particular how the relationship between natural rights and both the church and society, has been viewed by original authors and scholars. This is a valuable resource in its thorough and even-handed treatment of primary sources as well as its inclusion of the vast secondary literature.” — Mark Clark, Catholic University of America

“Scholars from the early twentieth century to the present have disagreed on how to interpret the multiform traditions of natural law in medieval thought and their relations to modern natural law theories. In addition to providing a lucid and up-to-date survey of the historiography of this debate, placing its participants in their own disciplinary and methodological contexts, Riccardo Saccenti also argues persuasively for a more holistic approach to this subject. His valuable study should be required reading for scholars interested in medieval natural law theories, both in their own right and in their continuing relevance to philosophy, theology, law, and political theory.” — Marcia L. Colish, Yale University

“Thoroughly conversant with primary and secondary sources, Riccardo Saccenti offers a new approach to divergent interpretations of the idea of natural law in the Middle Ages. With a rare blend of philosophical competence and historical perceptivity, he succeeds in explaining the positions of acknowledged scholars, such as Finnis, Oakley, Tierney, Nederman, and Brett, both in their presuppositions and in their relevance for current discussions on natural rights. While previous contributions risk being one-sided or limited by their polemical attitude, Debating Medieval Natural Law gives for the first time a comprehensive and balanced survey of the many issues at stake. A long-awaited, reliable guide through the intriguing and sophisticated debates about the origins of a crucial and controversial idea of Western civilization.” — Roberto Lambertini, University of Macerata

ISBN: 978-0-268-10040-7
170 pages
Publication Year: 2016

La riflessione attorno alla natura della libertà e del libero arbitrio è un tassello fondamentale nel percorso storico di “scoperta” della soggettività. Agli inizi del XIII secolo il profondo mutamento del quadro politico, economico e religioso europeo sposta su questi temi l’attenzione degli uomini di cultura. Tra i teologi si fa strada il problema del rapporto fra i contenuti della "sacra pagina" e una realtà segnata da un profondo dinamismo testimoniato dalla nascita di università e ordini mendicanti. In particolare lo "studium" parigino, fra il 1225 e il 1235, è teatro di una discussione sull’atto morale che ambisce ad assorbire i contenuti dell’etica aristotelica e della tradizione patristica greca in un quadro dottrinale che rimonta ad Anselmo d’Aosta e Abelardo e alla loro rilettura di Agostino e di altri Padri della Chiesa. Attraverso due fra le maggiori opere teologiche composte in questo arco temporale, la "Summa de bono" di Filippo il Cancelliere e il "Super quatuor libros Sententiarum" del domenicano Ugo di Saint-Cher, il volume ripercorre le tappe del tentativo di costruire una visione unitaria dell’agire morale. Il risultato di tale processo è la nascita di quel nuovo lessico morale che sarà poi adottato e sviluppato da autori come Alberto Magno, Bonaventura da Bagnoregio, Tommaso d’Aquino.

La legge di natura, nel suo essere oggetto di riflessione teologica, filosofica e giuridica, ha rappresentato nei secoli un punto di riferimento per definire la sfera, le competenze e i limiti del potere, soprattutto in rapporto con il magistero della Chiesa. Gli scivolamenti semantici di questo lessico rappresentano una preziosa cartina di tornasole di passaggi d’epoca, mutamenti culturali, riorganizzazione di equilibri religiosi e politici. È quanto avviene fra XV e XVI secolo, quando il dibattito sulla lex naturae, a cui i saggi qui raccolti sono dedicati, contribuisce a modellare la cultura teologica e politica dell’età moderna in un rapporto dialettico con l’eredità medievale.

In the last years, starting from the study of the foundatins of the human rights, Pier Cesare Bori has focused his research on the exegesis of "Genesis" 1, 26-28, according to which man is created in the image of God. In the Christian framework the "imago Dei" has led to different interpretations: a charismatic and eschatological, an ontological and a functional one. To solve the contradictionsbetween these different exegesis of "imago Dei" Bori has suggested to consider a larger context, looking not only at the Christian tradition, but also at the other monotheisms, cultures and religions. The proceedings here presentend are the result of this attempt to develop new approaches to the study of the topic of "imago Dei". It has been undertaken by an international group of scholars from different research fields (history, theology, hermeneutics, philosophy, exegesis) during a few days of scientific exchange and dialogue.

The anonymous Compendium philosophie was composed when the Aristotelianism was widespread at the University and is a witness of the changes in European culture in the middle of the XIIIth century. The aim of this article is twofold: first to summarize the current research dedicated to the text since Valentine Rose's article of 1871. Second to propose some considerations about the corpus aristotelicum as used by the author, together with some notes about the reception of the Compendium between the end of XIIIth century and the beginnings of the XIVth.

The Summa Alexandrinorum is an epitome of the Nicomachean Ethics, probably composed in the philosophical context of the Late Antiquity, translated into Arabic and then in Latin by Hermannus Alemannus (XIIIth century). Considering the results of the studies dedicated to this text the first part of the article reconstructs its history and its circulation in the Arabic and Latin world. The second part develops an analysis of the philosophical grounds of the Summa in which are clear the influences of peripatetic and Neoplatonic philosophy. An appendix offers an edition of a significant part of the Summa, the so-called “seventh book”, based on the most important manuscripts.

"Il sacramento del battesimo è al centro di un ampio dibattito teologico fra la metà del XII secolo e la metà del XIII secolo. A partire dalla trattazione delle Sententiae di Pietro Lombardo si sviluppò un progressivo approfondimento dei vari aspetti del sacramento battesimale che vide fra i principali teologi impegnati Stefano Langton, Guglielmo di Auxerre, Alessandro di Hales e Ugo di Saint-Cher. Le loro dottrine ebbero evidenti influenze sulle opere degli autori successivi come Bonaventura da Bagnoregio e Tommaso d’Aquino.

The sacrament of baptism is at the centre of a large theological debate between the middle of XIIth century and the middle of XIIIth century. Starting with the position assumed by Peter Lombard in his Sentences a progressive study of the various aspects of baptism is developed. The main theologians engaged in it were Stephen Langton, William of Auxerre, Alexander of Hales and Hugues of Saint-Cher. Their doctrines had an evident influence on the positions of the subsequent authors such as Bonaventure of Balneoregio and Thomas Aquinas."

Il saggio analizza come il pontificato di Papa Francesco abbia segnato un tornante nella storia recente della Chiesa italiana. In particolare si mettono in luce i nodi critici che l'insegnamento e lo stile di Francesco hanno fatto emergere nel quadro ecclesiale italiano.

The essay examines the genesis of the decree "Exivi de paradiso", adopted by the Councile of Vienne in 1312 and concerning the proper interpretation of the Franciscan rule. It analyse how the text tried to establish an effective equilibrium inside the Franciscan order between the conventuals and the spirituals.

The essay analyize how the contents of the "distinctio prima" of Gratian's Concordia discordantium canonum were considered in the fifteenth-century legal and theological debates. In particular, the essay focuses on the writings of Panormitanus, John of Torquemada, John Antionio San Giorgio , and Felinus Sandei.

Imago Dei is one of the important issues of the theological debate in western Europe between the twelfth and thirteenth century. Focusing on the exegesis of Genesis 1, 26 medieval theologians reconsider the patristic heritage. From the Sentences of Peter Lombard this heritage of interpretations is systematized and becomes the subject of a deep analysis. The result is a more articulated definition of anthropology, which in the age of the great Scholastic intersects with the dialectical tools and philosophical categories provided by the Latin versions of Aristotle and of neo-platonic sources such as Dionysus the Aeropagite. In the works by Bonaventure and Aquinas become also evident the ecclesiological implications of the discourse on the image of God.