‘Fides mater virtutum est’

Abstract

Peter Martyr Vermigli’s elevation of faith over charity displays similarities and differences with Thomas Aquinas and other medieval authors. For Thomas, faith does not perceive its object and thus denotes an uncertain assent to imperfectly revealed truths. Aquinas posits a reordering of will and intellect in order to explain how faith is more certain than ‘scientia.’ Vermigli on the other hand attempts to maintain the natural order between intellect and will in virtuous action (that is, natural law) even for the theological virtues. He likens faith to vision and practical wisdom arguing that God illuminates the mind to make the object of faith apprehensible to the judgment of reason. This perspective presents a more optimistic account of temporal, intellectual perfection via grace.     

Peter Martyr Vermigli on grace and free choice

Abstract

Within contemporary scholarship there has been considerable debate over the character and scope of Peter Martyr Vermigli’s scholasticism, which has sought to locate his thought between the two poles of the ‘via Thomae’ and the ‘via Gregorii.’ This paper traces the Augustinian-Thomist polarity throughout Vermigli’s doctrine of grace and free choice. In particular it seeks to discover Gregorian distinctives in his thought, namely, doctrinal points shared by Vermigli and Rimini, representing a development of Augustine and a departure from Aquinas. Without denying the important Thomist and Aristotelian elements of his thought, this paper concludes that renewed attention now needs to be paid to his profound debt to late-medieval Augustinian scholasticism and its global impact on his theology.     

Cardinal Wolsey: A Life in Renaissance Europe by Stella Fletcher

Abstract

Before his flight north to teach theology in many of the leading centres of the Reformation, Peter Vermigli Martyr was, among other things, a member of the Lateran Congregation of Canons Regular of St. Augustine (Austin canons). Much Vermigli scholarship has been dedicated to exploring the continuing intellectual imprint of Vermigli’s education and years in Italy on his Protestant theology, viz. Augustinianism, Aristotelianism, and Humanism. However, less has been said about the continuing influence of his almost twenty-eight-year career as a canon regular (1514–1542). Many have noted that the books that he read in Italy still played a major positive role in his life as a Reformed theologian and churchman. Can the same be said of ‘monastic’ practice and spirituality? After clarifying Vermigli’s experience of the consecrated, conventual life in Italy, this essay will explore his understanding of it after his conversion to the Reformation. We will note both his more critical comments about Roman Catholic religious life and how he continued to be influenced by it.     

Dynamics of scientific change and cognitive science. An epistemological update / Dinámica de cambio y ciencias cognitivas. Una puesta al día epistemológica

Abstract

I explore two proposals on the dynamics of scientific change in the general philosophy of science and I evaluate the extent to which they can be applied in the cognitive sciences. I do this by paying special attention to the youth and diversity which characterize this field of scientific research. Firstly, I distinguish two kinds of uses of Kuhn’s work: direct but loose applications of Kuhnean concepts to the history of cognitive science, on the one hand, and indirect applications of certain aspects of Kuhnean ideas, on the other hand. Secondly, I criticize their pertinence on the basis of the secondary role which theories play in the field. Finally, I defend the fertility of the concept of ‘research tradition’ proposed by Laudan, by focusing on the previously highlighted set of idiosyncratic characteristics of the cognitive sciences.     

Sin, suffering, and the need for the theological virtues.

This article examines the account of the relationship between sin and suffering provided by J. L. A. Garcia in "Sin and Suffering in a Catholic Understanding of Medical Ethics," in this issue. Garcia draws on the (Roman) Catholic tradition and particularly on the thought of Thomas Aquinas, who remains an important resource for Catholic theology. Nevertheless, his interpretation of Thomas is open to criticism, both in terms of omissions and in terms of positive claims. Garcia includes those elements of Thomas that are purely philosophical, such as natural law and acquired virtue, but neglects the theological and infused virtues, the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, and the beatitudes. These omissions distort his account of the Christian life so that he underplays both the radical problem posed by sin (and suffering), and the radical character of the ultimate solution: redemption in Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit.     

Neither Enemy Nor Friend: Nature as Creation in the Theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas

This paper traces three paradigmatic responses to the presence of evil in nature. Thomas Henry Huxley depicts nature as the enemy of humanity that morality combats "at every step." Henry Drummond views nature as benevolent, a friend of humanity, and the ultimate basis for morality. The paper argues that a third view, that of Thomas Aquinas, regards nature as creation, capable of being neither enemy nor friend of humanity but rather the context within which relations of enmity or friendship develop between human beings and God.     

PROPERTY OR PERSONS: ON A “PLAIN READING” OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

The views of Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall, and Clarence Thomas on how the United States Constitution should be read are examined. Thomas claims that his understanding of the Constitution aligns with Douglass. I conclude that Thomas misunderstands the strategy of Douglass and fails to appreciate the honesty of Marshall.     

Evaluating the stage learning hypothesis

A procedure for evaluating the Genevan stage learning hypothesis is illustrated by analyzing Inhelder, Sinclair, and Bovet's (Learning and the development of cognition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press 1974) guided learning experiments. The method is a chi-square-based model fitting strategy which enables comparisons to be made among different models. The method eschews critical measurement problems and is easily implemented. There appears little evidence for the Genevan position, although failure to report critical data and sample size considerations makes definitive evaluation of the Genevan position difficult. Suggestions for future research are proposed.     

Population states and eigenstructure: A simplifying view of Markov learning models

The structure of a Markov learning model can often be appreciably simplified by analyzing the eigenstructure (eigenvectors and eigenvalues) of its transition operator, and by focusing on population states representing distributions of individuals rather than on subject states representing individuals. This view often produces considerably simpler “reduced” models, which are equivalent to the originals in that they make identical predictions. We apply these reduced representations to determine the number of estimable parameters a model supports and to answer questions of model identifiability: when two models are mathematically equivalent and when they are likely to predict observations in practice distinguishable on the basis of limited data.     

Competency-based training in behavioral consultation

The design of competency-based training in behavioral consultation is described as involving the specification of objectives, training procedures, and evaluation techniques. The relationship of training and evaluation to behavioral-consultation training objectives and the benefits to a competency-based training approach are discussed.