Beatific Enjoyment in Medieval Scholastic Debates

The Complex Legacy of Saint Augustine and Peter Lombard

By (author) Severin Valentinov Kitanov

Publication date:

25 March 2014

Length of book:

360 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

236x161mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739174159

Beatific Enjoyment in Medieval Scholastic Debates examines the religious concept of enjoyment as discussed by scholastic theologians in the Latin Middle Ages. Severin Kitanov argues that central to the concept of beatific enjoyment (fruitio beatifica) is the distinction between the terms enjoyment and use (frui et uti) found in Saint Augustine’s treatise On Christian Learning. Peter Lombard, a twelfth-century Italian theologian, chose the enjoyment of God to serve as an opening topic of his Sentences and thereby set in motion an enduring scholastic discourse. Kitanov examines the nature of volition and the relationship between volition and cognition. He also explores theological debates on the definition of enjoyment: whether there are different kinds and degrees of enjoyment, whether natural reason unassisted by divine revelation can demonstrate that beatific enjoyment is possible, whether beatific enjoyment is the same as pleasure, whether it has an intrinsic cognitive character, and whether the enjoyment of God in heaven is a free or un-free act.

Even though the concept of beatific enjoyment is essentially religious and theological, medieval scholastic authors discussed this concept by means of Aristotle’s logical and scientific apparatus and through the lens of metaphysics, physics, psychology, and virtue ethics. Bringing together Christian theological and Aristotelian scientific and philosophical approaches to enjoyment, Kitanov exposes the intricacy of the discourse and makes it intelligible for both students and scholars.

Chapter 1. Aurelius Augustine and Peter Lombard on Beatific Enjoyment—The Starting Point of
the Debate
Chapter 2. The Thirteenth Century—Setting up the Key Issues in the Debate
Chapter 3. The Early Fourteenth-Century—The High Point of the Debate Regarding the Object and Psychology of Beatific Enjoyment
Chapter 4. Early Fourteenth-Century Views of the Enjoyment
of the Holy Trinity
Chapter 5. Early Fourteenth-Century Views of the Contingency
of Beatific Enjoyment

Kitanov’s book is a detailed, well-composed treatment; indeed, one could liken it to an encyclopedia. He presents many positions and discusses them thoroughly according to the sources. . . .He also gives summaries after almost each section, which makes it easy for the reader to grasp the essence of the sections. . . .Kitanov’s book is a good compilation of the different interpretations of Augustine’s (and Lombard’s) view of man’s final happiness in its Christian form. Any scholar interested in the history of beatific enjoyment in the Latin West during the Middle Ages would be well advised to consult Kitanov’s book.