Papers by John W Peck, SJ
Medioevo 40 (2015), pp. 265-330, 2015
First page only
Although the contemporary Italian political philosopher Giorgio Agamben is not a religious thinke... more Although the contemporary Italian political philosopher Giorgio Agamben is not a religious thinker, there is a remarkable affinity between aspects of his thought and that of St. Augustine of Hippo. This paper attempts to show that, like Agamben, Augustine locates the origin of sovereignty in the sovereign’s decision to place some person(s) outside the protection of law. Moreover, both thinkers are alert to the fact that, given the structure of sovereignty, sovereign authority’s decision to deprive persons of legal protection is not subject to oversight, even when the sovereign acts unjustly. In other words, Augustine and Agamben agree that sovereigns murder with impunity. To prove this thesis, the paper first outlines Agamben’s account of how sovereignty constitutes itself, namely, through the exclusion of “bare life.” Next, it examines several texts from The City of God to show that Augustine holds a similar theory regarding the historical origins and character of political authority. Finally, the paper considers how Augustine’s Regula ad servos Dei anticipates Agamben’s call to found political communities outside the purview of law.
St. Augustine and Albert Camus consider the possibility that an agent may perform an unmotivated ... more St. Augustine and Albert Camus consider the possibility that an agent may perform an unmotivated act. In accord with his intellectualism, Aquinas thinks an act of reason informs every volitional act. Is this view correct? To approach an answer, this paper considers Aquinas’ account of angelic fall: since angels are purely intellectual, if Aquinas accounts successfully for their primal sin, this would offer considerable support to his view that there can be no senseless act. After examining Aquinas’ views regarding the structure of moral agency, this paper considers the extent of angelic knowledge to determine what could not have been the object of the angels’ sin. After treating Aquinas’ account of angelic fall, the paper concludes by arguing that one element of the account, namely angelic inconsideratio, renders the account incoherent. This conclusion gives us reason to doubt whether intellectualism clarifies the behavior of more complex agents like Augustine or Camus’ Meursault.
Journal "Medioevo" – Tables of Contents by John W Peck, SJ
Titolo del volume: Teologia, fisica ed etica nel pensiero medievale latino (secoli XI-XIV) / Theo... more Titolo del volume: Teologia, fisica ed etica nel pensiero medievale latino (secoli XI-XIV) / Theology, Physics, and Ethics in Latin Medieval Thought (11th-14th Centuries), a cura di / edited by Giovanni Catapano & Fabio Zanin, 380 pp.
Articoli di: Fabrizio Amerini, Lydia Schumacher, Irene Zavattero, Andrea Colli, Roberto Lambertini, Magali Roques, Fabio Zanin, Riccardo Saccenti, John W. Peck, Chris Schabel, Emanuele Fontana
Book Reviews by John W Peck, SJ
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Papers by John W Peck, SJ
Journal "Medioevo" – Tables of Contents by John W Peck, SJ
Articoli di: Fabrizio Amerini, Lydia Schumacher, Irene Zavattero, Andrea Colli, Roberto Lambertini, Magali Roques, Fabio Zanin, Riccardo Saccenti, John W. Peck, Chris Schabel, Emanuele Fontana
Book Reviews by John W Peck, SJ
Articoli di: Fabrizio Amerini, Lydia Schumacher, Irene Zavattero, Andrea Colli, Roberto Lambertini, Magali Roques, Fabio Zanin, Riccardo Saccenti, John W. Peck, Chris Schabel, Emanuele Fontana