La filosofía en la Facultad de Artes de París. La <i>Divisio scientiarum</i> de Arnulfo de Provenza

Abstract

The “college experience” performed by the Parisian Facultas artium has been reflected in the so-called didascalical works, which exhibit how philosophy is practiced and taught in the first half of the XIIIth century. In this regard, we will examine a) the influence of neoplatonic Scholastic in the philosophical development of the Late Middle Ages and b) the possibility to talk about the philosophy of the magistri artium, being both issues linked to one another. With respect to b), we will review De Libera’s and Lafleur’s positions, who discuss the conception of philosophy and the philosophical ideal proper of the XIIIth century in order to determine which the status of philosophy in the Faculty of Arts of Paris was and if it is or is not a Faculty of philosophy. On this basis, we will analyze a paradigmatic text in its kind, the Division scientiarum of the master of art Arnulf of Provence –especially the “Introdvctio” and the “Philosophia moralis”–, noting how pertinent the conclusions of both authors prove to be in this case. By means of such an analysis, we expect to show to what extent we can speak of the philosophy of the magistri artium, considering the late-ancient influence as much as the configuration and the claims for a certain way of life that is developed within the specific institutional framework of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Paris.