Albert of Saxony (philosopher)

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Albert of Saxony (Latin Albertus de Saxonia; (c. 1316 – 8 July 1390) was a German philosopher known for his contributions to logic and physics. He was bishop of Halberstadt from 1366 until his death.

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[edit] Life

Albert was born at Rickendorf near Helmstedt, the son of a farmer in a small village; but because of his talent, he was sent to study at the University of Prague and the University of Paris.

At Paris, he became a master of arts (a professor), and held this post from 1351 until 1362. In 1353, he was rector of the University of Paris. After 1362, Albert went to the court of Pope Urban V in Avignon as an envoy of Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, in order to negotiate the founding of the University of Vienna. The negotiations were successful, and Albert became the first rector of this University in 1365.

In 1366, Albert was elected bishop of Halberstadt (counted as Albert III), Halberstadt being the diocese in which he was born. As Bishop of Halberstadt, he allied himself with Magnus with the Necklace, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, against Gebhard, Bishop of Hildesheim, and was taken prisoner by Gebhard in the battle of Dinckler in 1367.

He died at Halberstadt in 1390.

[edit] Philosophy

Albert was a pupil of Jean Buridan and was very much influenced by Buridan's teachings on physics and logic. As a natural philosopher, he worked in the tradition of John Buridan and contributed to the spread of Parisian natural philosophy throughout Italy and central Europe. Albert's work in logic also shows strong influence by William of Ockham, whose commentaries on the logica vetus (on Porphyry, and Aristotle's Catagoriae and De interpretatione) were made the subject of a series of works called Quaestiones by Albert.

Albert of Saxony's teachings on logic and metaphysics were extremely influential. Although Buridan remained the predominant figure in logic, Albert's Perutilis logica was destined to serve as a popular text because of its systematic nature and also because it takes up and develops essential aspects of the Ockhamist position. But it was his commentary on Aristotle's Physics that was especially widely read. Many manuscripts of it can be found in France and Italy, in Erfurt and Prague. Albert's Physics basically guaranteed the transmission of the Parisian tradition in Italy, where it was authoritative along with the works of Heytesbury and John Dumbleton. His commentary on Aristotle's De caelo was also influential, eventually eclipsing Buridan's commentary on this text. Blasius of Parma read it in Bologna between 1379 and 1382. A little later, it enjoyed a wide audience at Vienna. His Treatise on Proportions was often quoted in Italy where, in addition to the texts of Bradwardine and Oresme, it influenced the application of the theory of proportions to motion.

Albert played an essential role in the diffusion throughout Italy and central Europe of Parisian ideas which bore the mark of Buridan's teachings, but which were also clearly shaped by Albert's own grasp of English innovations. At the same time, Albert was not merely a compiler of the work of others. He knew how to construct proofs of undeniable originality on many topics in logic and physics.

[edit] Works

  • Question on the Squaring of the Circle
  • Treatise on Proportions
  • Perutilis logica (Very Useful Logic)
  • Quaestiones on the Ars Vetus
  • Quaestiones on the Posterior Analytics
  • Quaestiones logicales (Logical Questions)
  • De consequentiis (On Consequences) - attributed
  • De locis dialecticis (On Dialectical Topics) - attributed
  • Sophismata

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

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