Videos by Lydia Schumacher
Interviews with the Slovenian National Television during their coverage of a conference organised... more Interviews with the Slovenian National Television during their coverage of a conference organised at the Ljubljana Theology Faculty celebrating the 800th anniversary of Bonaventure's birth 50 views
Books by Lydia Schumacher
Forthcoming, December 2022, Cambridge University Press
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Veröffentlichungen des Grabmann-Institutes zur Erforschung der mittelalterlichen Theologie und Philosophie, 2021
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https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684... more Full text available for download here:
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684834/html
The thirteenth century was a dynamic period in intellectual history which witnessed the establishment of the first universities, most famously at Paris and Oxford. At these and other major European centres of learning, English-born Franciscans came to hold prominent roles both in the university faculties of the arts and theology and in the local studia across Europe that were primarily responsible for training Franciscans. This volume explores the contributions to scholarship of some of the leading English Franciscans or Franciscan associates from this period, including Roger Bacon, Adam Marsh, John Pecham, Thomas of Yorke, Roger Marston, Robert Grosseteste, Adam of Exeter, Richard Rufus of Cornwall, and Bartholomew of England. Through focussed studies of these figures’ signature ideas, contributions will provide a basis for drawing comparisons between the English Franciscan school and others that existed at the time, most famously at Paris.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684834/html
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Full text available for download here:
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684... more Full text available for download here:
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684827/html?lang=en
The legacy of late medieval Franciscan thought is uncontested: for generations, the influence of late-13th and 14th century Franciscans on the development of modern thought has been celebrated by some and loathed by others. However, the legacy of early Franciscan thought, as it developed in the first generation of Franciscan thinkers who worked at the recently-founded University of Paris in the first half of the 13th century, is a virtually foreign concept in the relevant scholarship. The reason for this is that early Franciscans are widely regarded as mere codifiers and perpetrators of the earlier medieval, largely Augustinian, tradition, from which later Franciscans supposedly departed. In this study, leading scholars of both periods in the Franciscan intellectual tradition join forces to highlight the continuity between early and late Franciscan thinkers which is often overlooked by those who emphasize their discrepancies in terms of methodology and sources. At the same time, the contributors seek to paint a more nuanced picture of the tradition’s legacy to Western thought, highlighting aspects of it that were passed down for generations to follow as well as the extremely different contexts and ends for which originally Franciscan ideas came to be employed in later medieval and modern thought.
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Full text available for download here:
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110685... more Full text available for download here:
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110685008/html
For generations, early Franciscan thought has been widely regarded as unoriginal: a mere attempt to systematize the longstanding intellectual tradition of Augustine in the face of the rising popularity of Aristotle. This volume brings together leading scholars in the field to undertake a major study of the major doctrines and debates of the so-called Summa Halensis (1236-45), which was collaboratively authored by the founding members of the Franciscan school at Paris, above all, Alexander of Hales, and John of La Rochelle, in an effort to lay down the Franciscan intellectual tradition or the first time. The contributions will highlight that this tradition, far from unoriginal, laid the groundwork for later Franciscan thought, which is often regarded as formative for modern thought. Furthermore, the volume shows the role this Summa played in the development of the burgeoning field of systematic theology, which has its origins in the young university of Paris. This is a crucial and groundbreaking study for those with interests in the history of western thought and theology specifically.
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Full text available for download here:
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110685... more Full text available for download here:
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110685022/html
For generations, early Franciscan thought has been widely regarded a relatively unoriginal attempt to systematize the longstanding intellectual tradition of Augustine. This volume brings leading scholars of medieval thought together to undertake the first major study of the sources and context of the so-called Summa Halensis (1236-45), which was one of the earliest and most signifi cant instalments in the Summa genre. This Summa was collaboratively authored by the founding members of the Franciscan school at Paris, who sought to lay down a uniquely Franciscan intellectual tradition for the fi rst time. In examining how the Summa reckons with some of the most signifi cant sources of the day, the contributions to the volume illustrate that early Franciscans interpreted their authorities to their own ends, developing highly innovative ideas that had a lasting impact on the Franciscan intellectual tradition and the disciplines of philosophy and theology.
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Cambridge University Press, 2019
Franciscan theology before Bonaventure has long been regarded as a relatively unoriginal attempt ... more Franciscan theology before Bonaventure has long been regarded as a relatively unoriginal attempt to systematize the tradition of Augustine, which prevailed in the West for most of the earlier Middle Ages. In contrast, this book sets out to demonstrate the innovativeness of early Franciscan theology by attending to the historical, philosophical, and religious contexts in which it was developed, and by highlighting how thinkers from this period deployed authoritative sources like Augustine as ‘proof texts’ for their own novel positions. In the process, the book exposes the continuity between the early and later Franciscan schools, which have normally been perceived as quite distinct. In doing so, it emphasizes the ethos that inspired the development of medieval Franciscan thinking and distinguishes it from any modern intellectual trends with which it has recently been associated. Ultimately, the book lays the foundation for future efforts to recover Franciscan theology in the contemporary context on its own terms.
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Routledge, 2015
For much of the modern period, theologians and philosophers of religion have struggled with the p... more For much of the modern period, theologians and philosophers of religion have struggled with the problem of proving that it is rational to believe in God. Drawing on the thought of Thomas Aquinas, this book seeks to overturn the longstanding problem of proving faith’s rationality, and to establish instead that rationality requires to be explained by appeals to faith. To this end, Schumacher builds on a constructive argument developed in a companion book, Rationality as Virtue, according to which rationality is a matter of intellectual and above all moral virtue, or a commitment to accomplish the highest good or ‘bear things well’ in all circumstances. On this basis, she posits the need for a concept of transcendence, which provides accountability when it comes to prioritizing greater over lesser goods, and thus for maintaining rationality. Through a further explanation as to how the doctrines of God as Triune and Incarnate respectively explain not only the capacity of the transcendent being to communicate himself but also the reality of his self-revelation, she bolsters the conclusion that belief in the God of Christian faith provides an exceptionally robust rationale for rationality, and is intrinsically rational in that sense. At the same time, she overcomes a common tendency to separate the spiritual from the ordinary life of virtue, and construes the latter as the locus of proof for the rationality of Christian faith.
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For much of the modern period, theologians and philosophers of religion have struggled with the p... more For much of the modern period, theologians and philosophers of religion have struggled with the problem of proving that it is rational to believe in God. Drawing on the thought of Thomas Aquinas, this book lays the foundation for an innovative effort to overturn the longstanding problem of proving faith's rationality, and to establish instead that rationality requires to be explained by appeals to faith. To this end, Schumacher advances the constructive argument that rationality is not only an epistemological question concerning the soundness of human thoughts, which she defines in terms of ‘intellectual virtue’. Ultimately, it is an ethical question whether knowledge is used in ways that promote an individual's own flourishing and that of others. That is to say, rationality in its paradigmatic form is a matter of moral virtue, which should nonetheless entail intellectual virtue. This conclusion sets the stage for Schumacher's argument in a companion book, Theological Philosophy, which explains how Christian faith provides an exceptionally robust rationale for rationality, so construed, and is intrinsically rational in that sense.
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At least 14 reviews in the following journals: Scottish Journal of Theology (Phillip Cary); Heyth... more At least 14 reviews in the following journals: Scottish Journal of Theology (Phillip Cary); Heythrop Journal (Laura Holt); International Journal of Systematic Theology (Stephen Pardue); Journal of the History of Philosophy (Stephen Marrone); Augustinian Studies (Ian Clausen and Frederick Van Fleteren); Tildschrift voor Theologie (Anthony Dupont); Speculum (Anthony Calcagno); New Blackfriars (Ian Logan); Reviews in Religion and Theology (Robert Miner); Modern Theology (Kevin Hughes); Etudes Franciscaines (Francois Delmas-Goyon); Religious Studies Review (Josh Sehorn); Theological Book Review (John Sullivan)
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Papers by Lydia Schumacher
Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie, 2023
This article argues that Kant's famous theory of 'radical evil', according to which there is a na... more This article argues that Kant's famous theory of 'radical evil', according to which there is a natural propensity for evil as well as good in all human beings, has precedent in the medieval Franciscan intellectual tradition. In the early thirteenth century, members of this tradition, inspired by its founder Alexander of Hales, developed a novel account of free will, according to which the will is capable of choosing between equally legitimate options of good and evil. In affirming this, early Franciscans departed from the longstanding tradition of Augustine, for whom free will can only choose the good, since evil is merely a privation of the good that limits human freedom. By the same token, they anticipated the Kantian contention that freedom entails the ability to choose between good and evil maxims.
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Since modern research on medieval thought first began to gather momentum in the late nineteenth c... more Since modern research on medieval thought first began to gather momentum in the late nineteenth century, scholars have held fast to a number of key assumptions about the Franciscan intellectual tradition, which was founded early in the thirteenth century and continues to flourish to this day. In recent years, groundbreaking research has increasingly called these assumptions into question, opening up new directions in the field of Franciscan studies for assessing long-neglected aspects of the Franciscan intellectual tradition and nuancing its supposed relationship to the 'origins of modernity'.
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Modern Theology, 2011
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Videos by Lydia Schumacher
Books by Lydia Schumacher
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684834/html
The thirteenth century was a dynamic period in intellectual history which witnessed the establishment of the first universities, most famously at Paris and Oxford. At these and other major European centres of learning, English-born Franciscans came to hold prominent roles both in the university faculties of the arts and theology and in the local studia across Europe that were primarily responsible for training Franciscans. This volume explores the contributions to scholarship of some of the leading English Franciscans or Franciscan associates from this period, including Roger Bacon, Adam Marsh, John Pecham, Thomas of Yorke, Roger Marston, Robert Grosseteste, Adam of Exeter, Richard Rufus of Cornwall, and Bartholomew of England. Through focussed studies of these figures’ signature ideas, contributions will provide a basis for drawing comparisons between the English Franciscan school and others that existed at the time, most famously at Paris.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684834/html
https://research.library.fordham.edu/philos/26/
https://www.fordhampress.com/9780823298846/a-reader-in-early-franciscan-theology/
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684827/html?lang=en
The legacy of late medieval Franciscan thought is uncontested: for generations, the influence of late-13th and 14th century Franciscans on the development of modern thought has been celebrated by some and loathed by others. However, the legacy of early Franciscan thought, as it developed in the first generation of Franciscan thinkers who worked at the recently-founded University of Paris in the first half of the 13th century, is a virtually foreign concept in the relevant scholarship. The reason for this is that early Franciscans are widely regarded as mere codifiers and perpetrators of the earlier medieval, largely Augustinian, tradition, from which later Franciscans supposedly departed. In this study, leading scholars of both periods in the Franciscan intellectual tradition join forces to highlight the continuity between early and late Franciscan thinkers which is often overlooked by those who emphasize their discrepancies in terms of methodology and sources. At the same time, the contributors seek to paint a more nuanced picture of the tradition’s legacy to Western thought, highlighting aspects of it that were passed down for generations to follow as well as the extremely different contexts and ends for which originally Franciscan ideas came to be employed in later medieval and modern thought.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110685008/html
For generations, early Franciscan thought has been widely regarded as unoriginal: a mere attempt to systematize the longstanding intellectual tradition of Augustine in the face of the rising popularity of Aristotle. This volume brings together leading scholars in the field to undertake a major study of the major doctrines and debates of the so-called Summa Halensis (1236-45), which was collaboratively authored by the founding members of the Franciscan school at Paris, above all, Alexander of Hales, and John of La Rochelle, in an effort to lay down the Franciscan intellectual tradition or the first time. The contributions will highlight that this tradition, far from unoriginal, laid the groundwork for later Franciscan thought, which is often regarded as formative for modern thought. Furthermore, the volume shows the role this Summa played in the development of the burgeoning field of systematic theology, which has its origins in the young university of Paris. This is a crucial and groundbreaking study for those with interests in the history of western thought and theology specifically.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110685022/html
For generations, early Franciscan thought has been widely regarded a relatively unoriginal attempt to systematize the longstanding intellectual tradition of Augustine. This volume brings leading scholars of medieval thought together to undertake the first major study of the sources and context of the so-called Summa Halensis (1236-45), which was one of the earliest and most signifi cant instalments in the Summa genre. This Summa was collaboratively authored by the founding members of the Franciscan school at Paris, who sought to lay down a uniquely Franciscan intellectual tradition for the fi rst time. In examining how the Summa reckons with some of the most signifi cant sources of the day, the contributions to the volume illustrate that early Franciscans interpreted their authorities to their own ends, developing highly innovative ideas that had a lasting impact on the Franciscan intellectual tradition and the disciplines of philosophy and theology.
Papers by Lydia Schumacher
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684834/html
The thirteenth century was a dynamic period in intellectual history which witnessed the establishment of the first universities, most famously at Paris and Oxford. At these and other major European centres of learning, English-born Franciscans came to hold prominent roles both in the university faculties of the arts and theology and in the local studia across Europe that were primarily responsible for training Franciscans. This volume explores the contributions to scholarship of some of the leading English Franciscans or Franciscan associates from this period, including Roger Bacon, Adam Marsh, John Pecham, Thomas of Yorke, Roger Marston, Robert Grosseteste, Adam of Exeter, Richard Rufus of Cornwall, and Bartholomew of England. Through focussed studies of these figures’ signature ideas, contributions will provide a basis for drawing comparisons between the English Franciscan school and others that existed at the time, most famously at Paris.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684834/html
https://research.library.fordham.edu/philos/26/
https://www.fordhampress.com/9780823298846/a-reader-in-early-franciscan-theology/
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110684827/html?lang=en
The legacy of late medieval Franciscan thought is uncontested: for generations, the influence of late-13th and 14th century Franciscans on the development of modern thought has been celebrated by some and loathed by others. However, the legacy of early Franciscan thought, as it developed in the first generation of Franciscan thinkers who worked at the recently-founded University of Paris in the first half of the 13th century, is a virtually foreign concept in the relevant scholarship. The reason for this is that early Franciscans are widely regarded as mere codifiers and perpetrators of the earlier medieval, largely Augustinian, tradition, from which later Franciscans supposedly departed. In this study, leading scholars of both periods in the Franciscan intellectual tradition join forces to highlight the continuity between early and late Franciscan thinkers which is often overlooked by those who emphasize their discrepancies in terms of methodology and sources. At the same time, the contributors seek to paint a more nuanced picture of the tradition’s legacy to Western thought, highlighting aspects of it that were passed down for generations to follow as well as the extremely different contexts and ends for which originally Franciscan ideas came to be employed in later medieval and modern thought.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110685008/html
For generations, early Franciscan thought has been widely regarded as unoriginal: a mere attempt to systematize the longstanding intellectual tradition of Augustine in the face of the rising popularity of Aristotle. This volume brings together leading scholars in the field to undertake a major study of the major doctrines and debates of the so-called Summa Halensis (1236-45), which was collaboratively authored by the founding members of the Franciscan school at Paris, above all, Alexander of Hales, and John of La Rochelle, in an effort to lay down the Franciscan intellectual tradition or the first time. The contributions will highlight that this tradition, far from unoriginal, laid the groundwork for later Franciscan thought, which is often regarded as formative for modern thought. Furthermore, the volume shows the role this Summa played in the development of the burgeoning field of systematic theology, which has its origins in the young university of Paris. This is a crucial and groundbreaking study for those with interests in the history of western thought and theology specifically.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110685022/html
For generations, early Franciscan thought has been widely regarded a relatively unoriginal attempt to systematize the longstanding intellectual tradition of Augustine. This volume brings leading scholars of medieval thought together to undertake the first major study of the sources and context of the so-called Summa Halensis (1236-45), which was one of the earliest and most signifi cant instalments in the Summa genre. This Summa was collaboratively authored by the founding members of the Franciscan school at Paris, who sought to lay down a uniquely Franciscan intellectual tradition for the fi rst time. In examining how the Summa reckons with some of the most signifi cant sources of the day, the contributions to the volume illustrate that early Franciscans interpreted their authorities to their own ends, developing highly innovative ideas that had a lasting impact on the Franciscan intellectual tradition and the disciplines of philosophy and theology.
At least until recently, however, this important text has not received much attention from scholars. One reason for this neglect may have to do with the difficulties involved in determining the precise author of various sections of the Summa. While Alexander's own work may have been the basis for a good many of these, his chief collaborator and colleague, John of La Rochelle, is also believed to have acted as a major contributor, with others like William of Melitona and Odo Rigaldi playing roles as well. For reasons to do with the complex question of authorship and possibly others, consequently, scholars have tended to focus on the work of Bonaventure, who arguably incorporates the insights of his teachers into his own creative synthesis, and on later thinkers like John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham, who developed Franciscan insights in new and even ‘modern’ directions.
In spite of its longstanding neglect, the Summa, and in this case, its introductory discussion of the knowledge of God, merits scholarly attention on my argument, precisely because it represents the first major effort to articulate a Franciscan intellectual vision, and in that sense lays the foundation for the further development of Franciscan thought, with all its later innovations. As one of the first articles in the Summa, preceded only by a preliminary discussion of the status of theology as a science, this article is particularly important for scholarly purposes in that it sets the agenda in many respects for the questions to be treated subsequently in the Summa.
Although the Summa’s account of the knowledge of God is developed almost exclusively in conversation with Augustine and secondarily, Scripture, with only scant references to other sources like John of Damascus, Pseudo-Dionysius, Ambrose of Milan, Boethius, and Richard of St Victor, I will argue in this paper that it is not a mere re-iteration of Augustine’s outlook, as scholars have often supposed. Rather, the article under consideration offers an innovative and uniquely Franciscan account of the knowledge of God.
With a view to bolstering this claim, I will start below by offering an account of the key arguments of the article, noting at the end of this discussion various points of connection with the vision and values of the early Franciscan order. Next, I will analyse the Summist’s use of authorities, Augustine in particular, in this context, with the aim of illustrating how he enlists sources in the project of developing distinctly Franciscan ideas that transcend them. Finally, I will conclude with some observations about what this inquiry teaches us about the methods that should be employed in the study or interpretation of scholastic thought, particularly in its high period, the thirteenth century.
In this contribution, I wish to call the interpretation of forgiveness as reconciliation into question and offer an alternative to it. As an account of Christian forgiveness, it seems contrary to Christ’s purpose of restoring his image in all human beings, thus reinstating the capacity of individuals to realize the potential they receive through his creative work, which is inevitably thwarted by unjust treatment. As I understand it, the common tendency to conflate forgiveness and reconciliation is in many cases attributable to a misunderstanding of the precise way that forgetting factors into authentic forgiveness.
With a view to overcoming this misunderstanding, I will begin by delineating a general account of the way memory operates—first with regard to ordinary objects of knowledge and then in relation to God as an object of knowledge. In this connection, I will show how forgetting can either facilitate or hinder the work of the memory in both contexts. To this end, I will draw heavily on the work of St Augustine, especially his Confessions, and particularly book ten, which includes one of his most famous, focused treatments of memory and forgetting.
In the light of Augustine’s insights on memory and forgetting, I will construct an alternative definition of forgiveness. According to this definition, forgiveness is primarily ordered towards preserving the integrity of forgivers, by making it possible for them to heal and move on from painful experiences. So construed, forgiveness is concerned only secondarily, if at all, with the question of reconciling the offending and offended parties in any given instance. After advancing this argument, I will demonstrate how my fundamental conception of forgiveness plays out in four distinct contexts, namely, through self-forgiveness or efforts to renounce and avoid repeating personal mistakes; through forgiveness amongst individuals; forgiveness between groups and/or institutions; and divine forgiveness, which will be described in a certain sense as the precondition for the other forms of forgiveness.