Giles of Rome may be most famous (if you can even call him famous) for his commentries on the works of Aristotle. A major work of Giles' was entitled On the Errors of the Philosophers. As its name suggests, this work outlines the various statements of several philosophers which Giles deems to be invalid. The first philosopher addressed is Aristotle, and a totla of 14 errors are attributed to him. They are as follows:
That motion did not begin
That time is eternal
That the world did not begin
That the heavens are not created
That God could not make another world
That generation and corruption neither began nor will end
That the sun will always cause generation and corruption in this sublunary world
That nothing new can proceed imediately from God
That the ressuraction of the dead is impossible
That God cannot make an accident without a subject
That there is but one substantial form in any composite
That one cannot posit a first man or a first rainfall
That there is no way in which two bodies can be in the same place
That there are as many angels as there are orbs- because from this it follows that there are only 55 or 57
The first five errors are similar in that they address some fundamental principles of Christianity, primarily that God created all things, including time and motion. Aristotle held a cyclical view of time, where nothing begins or ends but simply changes. Christians however, believed time and all of creation as we know it to be very linear with a set beginning and end, and that God was responsible for it all. Aristotle also believed that things like time, motion and the heavens to be eternal, having always been and forever continuing to be. According to Giles, though, this is wrong because only God is eternal.
The sixth and seventh errors are considered such because they implicate a cyclical conception of time. Christianity adheres to a linear notion of time, because God is the beginning and end of all things, the Alpha and Omega. Error number eight is erroneous because it implies that God is not capable of creating new things, which therefore means that God’s power is limited. This is contrary to the belief that God is all-powerful.
Error number nine touches upon a fundamental aspect of Christianity, which is that Christ rose from the dead. Aristotle and reason hold that resurrection of the body is impossible. If such is true, the foundation of the Church would be false.
Aristotle’s tenth error again places limits on what God is capable of. God is omnipotent and therefore not subject to the laws of nature, which makes separating passions and accidents from substance entirely possible for Him. Error eleven involves the number of forms in a composite nature. Number twelve is an error because it, like 6 and 7, implicates the eternality of time rather than the creation of time. The thirteenth error is such because it implies that God cannot do something, namely be in two places at once. If God were not capable of this, He could not be God because God is all-powerful. The fourteenth and final error of Aristotle seems to be nothing more than a cosmological discrepancy.
The ultimate, fundamental error made by Aristotle is as follows: that “nothing new comes into being except there be a preceding motion.” Well, God is the primary cause, the ‘First Agent’ as Giles says, but he is non-instrumental so he can produce without motion. Creation is not motion or change, but “a simple precession of things from the first agent.” This probably is not supposed to make sense, because Giles asserts that any issue of creation is best left up to faith.
From the Errors of the Philosopher, one can deduce several things about Giles of Rome. One is that he was extremely scholarly. He was very well-read on the subjects that he so highly criticized, given the abundant specific references he makes to the Physics, or On Generation and Corruption. Giles is also well-versed in Scripture. That’s no surprise considering his background as an Augustinian friar; much of his time in the Order early on was probably spent studying Scripture. This can also account for the majority of his arguments relying on faith to be considered true. In theology, since certain things like the nature of God cannot be empirically known, faith is the assumption that what the Church has to say about those issues is true. Giles was adamant about the authority of the Church and its superiority in spiritual matters. So if a statement contradicts the Church, that statement must be false, even if it can be deductibly proven otherwise.
In the next chapter of the Errors, Giles goes after Averroes. His errors are considered to be more extreme than those of Aristotle. For one thing, he “scorns” and “mocks” the Christian law and the Saracen law, because they advocate the theory of creation of something from nothing. Actually, Averroes seems to reject law completely. Giles accuses him of scorning Christian thought several times, and contradicting the views of the Saints and the Church. He stresses limits on the powers of God, like that “God has no providence over some particulars” or that “God does not know singulars.” Averroes denied that God causes all things. He raised the issue of the Trinity in God, both denying it and saying that such a doctrine is a copout on the part of those who advocate it; what they really mean is that there are three Gods and one God. A further error of Averroes was that he believed there to be only one intellect in all, rather than each person having his own intellect and God having another. As with the errors of Aristotle, Giles’ twelve disagreements with Averroes stem mostly from contradictions of Church doctrine.
The same holds for the errors of Aviccenna. Twenty-two of these are given by Giles, and they deal with the same principles; creation and the formation of something from nothing, time having no beginning and no end, matters of the soul, orbs, et cetera.
The Condemnation of 1277
The Condemnation of 1277 was a compilation of beliefs, philosophies and teachings that the Church found to be troublesome. At the time, there was a resurgence of interest in the natural philosophies like that of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, among many others. There was also a growing interest in paganism, or at least in various aspects of pagan philosophy and astrology. Worst of all, discussion of these ideals was going on among students at the various universities in Paris, universities designed to inspire faith. Of course, the church hierarchy was not very pleased by this, and so assembled a council to deal with the situation.
With the full weight of the Scripture behind them, and “inspired by zeal for the faith” the church leaders set about compiling a list of all of those teachings they found to be offensive, unwise, ignorant and blasphemous. They came up with 219 propositions which they considered so, and condemned those who taught, discussed, or defended said to excommunication, or possibly more severe punishments. Needless to say, it was dangerous to contradict the orthodox faith.
One major issue was the division between philosophy and theology. In reality, theology is a specific form of philosophy dealing with the nature of God. The church leaders however felt that philosophy was corrupt because it does not hold to faith but rather to tangible principles. Because the Church’s power within society depended upon people accepting the idea of faith, they saw natural philosophy as a possible threat. The Church wanted people to believe what they told them, rather than give laypeople access to a school of thought that may help them discover that they don’t actually need the Church. The Church, however, needs faith because they cannot actually prove what they preach. The Condemnation also takes shots at philosophy because can prove things, all things in fact; this constitutes a direct attack on the authority of the Church, which considered itself absolute.
The Condemnation addressed other issues as well. For example, astrology and the study of how celestial bodies influence the lives of people on earth. The Church did not like such practices, and regarded them as pagan. Cyclical time was also condemned, because it refuted the idea that there was a first day and that there will be a last day when Judgment happens. Also condemned was the thought that the souls of all people are equal, since the Church wanted people to believe that some were of higher virtue than others. This belief not only made slavery acceptable for several more centuries, but ensured that class disparity could be justified by the Church. Passion was condemned as well. Such feelings lead to impure thoughts and actions, driving people into sin and driving their thoughts from God. In fact, passion is what keeps people from reaching that divine unity with God.
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