In the first half of the 13th century, and through the translations and comments of Arab philosophers, Aristotelian ideas are recovered in Christian Europe. This seemingly trivial fact is tremendously important for understanding the course of the history of Western philosophy.
Aristotle’s philosophy spread like wildfire through European universities; especially in England, where Oxford had a group of philosophers who renewed the history of philosophy. This group is called the “Roger Bacon Circle” (after one of his most important thinkers), “Oxford School” or, simply, “Oxford Circle.”. Today we talk about this school and its importance in the Middle Ages.
We cannot begin this article without defining what exactly we mean by “Oxford circle.” Although we have described it briefly in the introduction, it is necessary to undo the possible ambiguities that the name may generate, since other groups with this name have existed in history.
For example, the group of renovators of the Anglican religion who, in the 19th century, sought to make it equal in importance to Catholicism is also known as the “Oxford circle” or “Oxford movement.” Nothing to do with the protagonists of this article, since the “Oxford circle” to which we refer It was formed in the Middle Ages and was made up of some of the best Franciscan intellectuals of the time.
The context: the turbulent and changing Europe of the 13th century
In reality, this medieval Oxford circle had practically no cohesion, beyond the fact that its representatives belonged to their university circle. However, it does share a very defined context: the turbulent and changing Europe of the 13th century.
Let’s put ourselves in situation. About a hundred years before the time of which we speak, the 12th century (called by the medievalist CH Haskins the “12th century renaissance”) marked a transcendental change for medieval Europe, changes that had already begun to take shape in the previous century. Among them, it is worth highlighting the growth of cities, the rise of the bourgeoisie (and, therefore, of commercial exchanges) and, of course, the birth of universities, which began to take their first steps in these years.
The most important universities on the continent were, without a doubt, those of Bologna and Paris. In the case of the British Isles, it was Oxford that enjoyed significant weight and that would be the epicenter, in the 13th century, of a philosophical revolution that would change the course of history. Because, although the subsequent Scientific Revolution is not exclusively the daughter of medieval empiricists, it does owe a lot (a lot) to the changes that happened at this time.
Between tradition and modernity
Although medieval philosophy is more complex than it may seem at first glance, we could summarize it with a single word: scholasticism. Scholasticism (which comes from the Latin term scholasticus, “scholastic” or “scholar”) was the method followed by the centers of knowledge in the Middle Ages, which consisted of an attempt to reconcile reason and faith, although the former was always, ultimately subordinated to the second. In this sense, philosophy, as a science of reason, was considered the ancillary Theologiae (the slave of Theology).
In the 13th century something begins to change. The economic impulse, social ups and downs and, above all (and this is the key cause) the recovery of Aristotelian texts of natural philosophy make schoolchildren or scholars at universities begin to consider a possible separation between faith and reason. Of course, not because they were atheists (atheism emerged much later), but simply because they both had different paths. This differentiation will be definitive with William of Ockham (1285 -1347), precisely one of the most illustrious names of the Oxford circle.
So that, In the 13th century we already see a kind of classification among the intellectuals of “ancient logic.” (that is, scholasticism, a group led especially by the University of Paris) and the followers of “modern logic”, whose main thinkers belong to the University of Oxford.
Main characteristics of the new philosophy
Once the context in which this new philosophy was created (which would be the germ of modern science) was briefly presented, we can talk about its characteristics, which we detail below:
Empiricism
For these followers of “modern logic” the main thing was the direct observation of nature and the study of its laws. As we see, this idea has its roots in Aristotle’s natural theory, which was beginning to reach Europe translated and commented on by Arab and Jewish philosophers.
Emergence of new disciplines
Empiricism entails, of course, the appearance of new disciplines that are the roots of the science of modernity: optics, mechanics, the study of light… Without a doubt, the artistic revolution that occurred precisely in the 13th and 14th centuries (and which will see its apogee in the 15th century) will be largely due to direct studies of nature.
This empiricist rise and its consequent observation of the laws of nature leads to a new vision of the world, which loses its status as a “divine theater” to have its own operating rules. This will be, precisely, one of the main debates of the time: whether God continues to be behind these laws and is fundamental for their achievement or if, on the contrary, once created, divinity leaves the world to function alone, like a magnificent and great gear.
Oxford’s great thinkers
Talking about the circle or the Oxford school without even briefly mentioning its protagonists is impossible, since it is precisely in their works where we find their essence. Let’s look below at some of Oxford’s great thinkers.
1. Roger Bacon (c. 1214-1294)
Nicknamed Doctor mirabilis (Admirable Doctor), this thinker is one of the school’s leading scholars, to the point that the circle is also known as the “Roger Bacon circle.” Franciscan like his companions, he was a disciple of the great Robert Grosseteste (1175-1253), considered the founder of the circle.
Grosseteste is one of the great medieval philosophers; He was interested in practically all disciplines, especially the study of light and color. In his famous treatise De Luce (On Light), written in 1225, Grosseteste proposes an explanation of the creation of the world surprisingly similar to that of the Big Bang, according to which everything originated through an explosion of divine light…
With such a teacher, it is not surprising the value that Roger Bacon placed on experience. Like Grosseteste, the student carried out interesting studies on optics and the nature of light, convinced that there was an “experimental science” beyond philosophy and theology. His main work, Opus maius, was written in 1268 and sent to the pope himself.
It seems that he was suspected of heresy and imprisoned, although this episode of his life has notable gaps. Bacon most likely fell from grace because of the Franciscan promotion of poverty and his consequent criticism of papal wealth.
2. John Duns Scotus (1266-1308)
This other of Oxford’s greats was born in Scotland (hence his nickname), and was an important character in the struggle between theology and philosophy at that time. Let us remember: philosophy was the “slave” of theology, so any knowledge remained subordinate to the latter. This was a concept that these early empiricist thinkers began to question.
Scotus studied at the University of Paris in the last decade of the 13th century; In 1302 he is appointed professor of the cloister and three years later he receives the title of Master Theologiae. His premature death, which occurred in Cologne in 1308, cut short a very interesting career. The main contribution of Duns Scotus is his will to overcome the eternal struggle between philosophy and theology. Thus, through the theory of double truth, the philosopher establishes two truths: one rational (which can be perceived through experience) and another absolute, which is acquired through Revelation.
His theory of divine omnipotence is equally interesting, because this was one of the basic Nicene creeds on which Christianity relied. The problem came from what we have already mentioned previously: If causality existed (that is, natural laws), the question was, did God participate in them? According to Scotus, there are no such secondary causes, since God, through his omnipotence, also establishes this natural cause-consequence.
3. William of Ockham (1285-1347)
And finally we come to what is traditionally considered the great initiator of modern (or, at least, proto-modern) science: William of Ockham. A radical follower of “modern logic”, this philosopher was born at the end of the 13th century in Surrey, England, in the small village of Ockham, from which he takes his name. His ideas, too advanced for the time (and inscribed in a late context, in which prohibitions on Aristotelian writings were already abundant) prevented him from serving as an official magister at the University of Paris.
In 1324, with Christianity torn apart by the Schism (which had brought the popes to the city of Avignon, in France), William is summoned before the Avignon court accused of heresy. He managed to flee in May 1328 and took refuge in Munich, from where he continued to attack, increasingly fiercely, against the papal institution.
Before dying in 1349 as a victim of the terrible Black Death, William of Ockham left invaluable works for posterity, among which his Summa Logicae (a compendium of “ancient” and “modern” philosophy) and, above all, his famous “Ockham’s razor” theory, by which (and very briefly) the simple answer is, possibly, the most accurate; true starting point of modern science.
