View
258
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
1/129
/';-=09 )(8*
=-0/']
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
2/129
VIVARIUM
AN
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
FOR
THE
PHILOSOPHY
AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE MIDDLE AGES AND
RENAISSANCE
vivariums
devoted
n
particular
o he
rofane
ide fmediaeval
hilosophy
and he ntellectualife f heMiddle
ges
ndRenaissance.
EDITORS L.M. de
Rijk,
Leiden)
H.A.G.
Braakhuis,
Nijmegen)
C.H.
Kneepkens,
(Groningen)
W.J.
ourtenay,Madison)
E.P.
Bos,
Leiden)
D.
Perler,
(Basel)
M.G.M. an er
oel,
Nijmegen).
Secretary
f
he ditorialoard: rof. .H.
Kneepkens.
All
ommunications,
xcept
hose f business
ature,
hould
e addressed
toC.H.
Kneepkens,ijksuniversiteitroningen,
aculteiter
etteren,
akgroep
Mediaevistiek,
.O. Box
16,
700AS
Groningen,
he
Netherlands.
ADVISORY Tullio regory,Rome)Albertimmermann,Cologne)-J.E. urdoch,
COMMITTEE
(Cambridge,
A).
PUBLISHERS
Brill,eiden,
heNetherlands.
PUBLISHED
Twice
early.
SUBSCRIPTION olume LIII
2005)320
pp.):
UR
148
USD 185)
or
nstitutions,
nd
EUR
72
USD
90)
for
rivate
ubscribers,
nclusive
f ostage
nd
acking
Price
includesnline
ubscription.
Subscription
rders
re
accepted
or
omplete
olumes
nly,
rders
aking
effectithhe irstssue f
ny ear.
rders
ay
lso eenteredn n uto-
matic
ontinuing
asis. ancellations
ill
nly
e
accepted
f
hey
re eceived
beforectoberst f he
ear receding
he
ear
n
whichhe ancellation
is to ake ffect.laimsor
missing
ssues ill emet,reef
harge,
fmade
withinhree onthsf
dispatch
or
uropean
ustomersnd ivemonthsor
customersutside
urope.
Subscription
rdershoulde sent o:
Brill
cademicublishers
Strattonusiness
ark,
egasus
rive,
iggleswade
BedfordshireGI
8QB,
United
ingdom
Tel.:
44(0)1767
04954;
ax:
44(0)1767
01604
E-Mail:
rill@extenza-turpin
om
All
prices
nd
postage handlingharges
reexclusivefVAT
n
EU-countries
(VAT
not
pplicable
utsidehe
U).
Now
njoy
ree nline ccess
to this
ournal
with
our rintubscription.
isit heBrill-Website
at http:/ ww.brill.nlndenterhe nlineournalsection.
BRILL
LEIDEN BOSTON
ISSN
0042-7543
Printersion
;
ISSN 1568-5349
Online
ersion)
Printed
n
The Netherlands
Printedn acid-free
aper
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
3/129
Robert
rosseteste
n
IJght,
ruth nd
Experimentm
SIMON OLIVER
In
outlining
he
major
shifts
n
the
practice
of natural
philosophy
which
contributed o
the rise of
modern
cience,
one
might oint
to two
devel-
opments
s
being
of
particular
mportance:
he
increased
use of
experi-
ment,namely
the
contrived
observation of
nature
rather than mereAristotelian
mpdria'
nd the
wider
deployment
nd
increasing ophisti-
cation
of
mathematics.s it
possible
to find
ny
traces of such
practices
in
the
mediaeval
schools?1 t
has
been
argued
that
in
the work of two
Oxford
Franciscans,
obert
Grosseteste
c.
1170-1253)
and
Roger
Bacon
(c.
1220-c.
1292),
one finds
oth the
practice
f
experimental
bservation
(the
experimentm
r scientia
xperimentalis)
n
the
confirmation
nd
falsification
of
hypotheses,
nd the
more
ready
use
of
mathematical
nalysis.3
his
1Therelationshipetween ediaevalaturalhilosophyndmodernaturalcience
is
much
ontested.
ee,
for
xample,
.
Duhem,
e
Systme
u
Monde:
istoireses
octrines
cosmologiques
e
Platon
Copernic10
vols),
aris
913-1959.uhem
ocuses
articularly
n
the
ontinuity
etween ristotelian
cience
nd
early
modern
hysics.
or a
prcis
f
Duhem's
iew,
ee
his
ssay istoryf
hysics
n:P.
Duhem,
ed.
nd
rans. .
Ariewnd
P.
Barker),
ssays
n he
istory
nd
hilosophyf
cience
Indianapolis
996,
63-221.
f
hose
who
ontest
he
continuity
hesis',
prominent
xample
s A. Maier
ed.
nd
rans.
.
D.
Sargent),
n he
hreshold
f
xactcience:
elected
ritingsf
Anneliese
aier n atemedieval
at-
ural
hilosophy
Pennsylvania
982.
or
recent
iscussionf
many
ertinent
ssues,
ee
M.
J.
Osler
ed.), ethinking
he
cientific
evolution
Cambridge
000.
2
Although
rossetesteas
losely
ssociatedith
he
ranciscans,
ecoming
heir
irst
Lector
n
Oxford
round
230
n
the
years
efore
aking
he ee
of
Lincoln,
e
never
joined heOrder. acon ook hehabitround257. ee R. Southern,obertrosseteste:
The
rowth
f
n
English
indn
Medieval
urope
Oxford
986,
h. and
A.
Little,
ntroduction:
On
Roger
acon's
ife
nd
Works,
n:'
A. Little
ed.),
Roger
acon:
ssays
ontributed
y
arious
writersn
he
ommemoration
f
heeventh
enturyf
his irthOxford
914,
-32.
3
The
suggestion
hat
acon,
n
particular,
as he
ounderf
xperimental
cience
s
foundn
the
ommentsf
the
nineteenth
entury
athematician
nd
scientist
illiam
Whewell
howrotehat
Roger
acon's orksre
not
nly
o
far
eyond
is
ge
n
the
knowledge
hich
hey
ontain,
ut o
different
n
the
emper
f he
imes,
n
his sser-
tion
f he
upremacy
f
xperiment,
nd
n
his
ontemplation
f
he uture
rogress
f
knowledge,
hat
t
s
difficulto onceive
ow uch
characterould
henxist.'
W
Whewell,
History
f
he
nductive
cience
2
vols,
ewYork
858,
rd
d.,
ol.
1,
245).
t became om-
monplace
n
the
ater ineteenth
nd
arly
wentieth
enturieso
develop
his
ssessment
ofBaconwhich as tselferivedromhe raise iven yhisnamesakerancisacon,
a
writer
ho
was therwise
isparaging
bout
mediaevalatural
hilosophy.
or
particu-
Koninklijke
rill
V,
Leiden,
004
Vivarium
2,2
Also vailable
nline
www.brill.nl
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
4/129
152
SIMON LIVER
distinguishesheir pproachfrom he variousAristotelianismsf the later
middle
ges
and
suggests
hatmodernnatural cience
may
have identifiable
origins
prior
to the
Oxford Calculators or nominalists f the fourteenth
century,
nd
long
before
Kepler,
Galileo or Newton.
From
where does this
emphasis
on mathematics nd
the
experimentm
emerge?
t has
its
conceptual origins
n
the
Neoplatonic mage
of
light
as a
'formative
ower
and form' of nature
and
a
means of
knowledge
by
illumination.4 his
Hellenistictradition s the source of vivid
light
imagery
deployed throughout arly
mediaeval
Christian,
Muslim and
Jewish heology, orexample n the worksof St. Augustine, t. Basil, al-
Farabi,
Avicenna nd
Avicebron.5With
scriptural
recedent, ight
s asso-
ciated with the life of
God,
emanationfromdivine
being
in
the act of
creation nd the
form
of
truth.Given that Grosseteste nd Bacon were
steeped
n
this
tradition,
articularlyhrough
he worksof St.
Augustine
and the
mystical
heology
f the
Franciscans,6
t is
unsurprising
o
find
larly
nthusiastic
ppraisals
f
Roger
acon s
an
experimental
cientist,ee,
or
xample,
the ntroductionoRobertridges'ranslationfBacon's pus ajus: heOpus ajus f
Roger
acon
3
vols,
ondon
900;
.
Charles,
oger
acon:a
vie,
es
uvrages
ses octrines
Paris
861,
02
f.;
C.
Singer,
he ark
ges
nd he awnin:
F.
S. Marvin
ed.),
cience
and
Civilization
London
923,
39-43;
oseph upfer,
he ather
f
mpiricism:oger
ot
Francis
in:
Vivarium,
2
1974),
2-62;
.
Hackett,
oger
aconn cientia
xperimentalis,
in: dem
ed.), oger
acon
nd
he
ciencescommemorative
ssays
Leiden
997,
77-315.
or
the iew
hat acon s not
precursor
f
modern
xperimental
cience,
ee,
or
xample,
D.
Lindberg,oger
acon's
hilosophy
f
Nature:
Criticalditionwith
nglish
ranslation,
Introduction,
nd
Notes,
f
De
Multiplicationepecierum
ndDe
speculis
omburentibus,
Oxford
983,
iii
f. ndM.
Heidegger
trans.
.
Lovitt),
he
uestion
oncerning
echnolog))
and ther
ssays
NewYork
977,
22:
If,now,
oger
acon emands
he
xperimentm
andhe does emandt he
doesnotmean he
xperiment
f cience
s
research;
ather
hewants he rgumentumxre nsteadfthe rgumentumxverbothe arefulbservingf
things
hemselves,
.e. Aristotelian
mpeiria
instead
f
thediscussionfdoctrines.'acon
was
deeply
ndebtedo thework f
Grosseteste
hohas
himselfeenunderstoods a
forerunnerfmodern
xperimental
cience.his iew eceivestsmost ustainedefence
in
A.
C.
Crombie,
obertrossetestend he
riginsf xperimental
cience100-1700Oxford
1953. rombie's
hesis
as
proved
ontroversialnd s discussed
n
detail
elow.
orfur-
ther
omments,ee,
or
xample,
.
Koyr,
he
riginsf
Moderncience:
New
nterpretation
in:
Diogenes,
6
1956),
-22.
4
See,
or
xample,seudo-Dionysius,
e Divinis
ominibus
IV.697c
f.; lotinus,nneads,
1.6.3;
II.8.5
nd
11; V.3.11;
.5.7;VI.7.41,
t
assim.
5
See,
for
xample,
t.
Augustine,
e
TrinitateII.
,
IV.27,
VII. to
5,
VIII. and
3,
XII.
5;
St.
Basil,
exameronII.7
ff., I,
et
assim.
or detailed
escription
f
Augustine'suses f ightmagery,eeF.-J.honnard,a notione umiren hilosophieugustiniennein:
Recherches
ugustiniennes,
962,
24-75
ndR. A.
Markus,
ugustine:
easonnd
llumination
in:A. H.
Armstronged.),
he
ambridge
istoryf
ater
reeknd
arly
edieval
hilosophy
Cambridge970,
62-73.
6
On the
mportance
f
ight
n
Franciscan
piritual ysticism
nd ts
relationship
o
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
5/129
GROSSETESTE
N
LIGHT,
RUTH
ND
EXPERIMENTM
153
light
as
a
central and
unifying
heme
in
their
writings
n natural
phi-
losophy,metaphysics
nd
theology.7
n
emphasis
n the nature nd mean-
ing
of
light forges
a
bond
between
observation,
natural
philosophy,
mathematics,
etaphysics
nd
theology
or number f reasons.
nitially,
four f thesemerit
articular
mention.
irst,
ight
was
implicated
n
many
of the most
fascinating
nd
mysterious
atural
phenomena:
the
rainbow,
the halo
surrounding
he
atmosphere
nd
light'spresence
n
the uncor-
rupted
and
perfectly
moving
celestial bodies.
Secondly,
t is
light
tself
which
s
the
formof truth nd which makes
all
things
oth visible
and
knowable.8 hus observation,he experimentmis intimatelyinkedto the
attainment f truth
hrough
he mediation f
ight,
oth
spiritual
nd
vis-
ible.
Thirdly, hrough long
tradition f
investigation
nto the behaviour
of
ight perspectiva
,
exemplified
n
the works f Euclid and
Ptolemy's
rea-
tiseson
optics,
t was knownthatvisible
ight
cts
according
o the strict
patterns
f
a
yet
more real and abstractmathematical
eometry.
n
true
Platonic
fashion,
mathematics ould then mediate between the
Supreme
Light
or
Highest
Truth,
nd the weaker
ight
reflected
n
created nature
which s nevertheless
n
emanation rom
hat
Highest
Truth.At the
begin-
ningof his treatise e LineisAngulis,tFiguris, rossetestewrites much
quoted
exhortationo the use of mathematics
n
natural
philosophy:
The
usefulness f
considering
ines,
angles
and
figures
s the
greatest,
ecause
it
is
impossible
o understand atural
philosophy
without hese. 9
inally,
and
perhaps
most
mportantly,
he Christian
criptures
escribe God as
light,
nd Christ
as
the
light
of the world.10 n these
grounds
writers
later atural
hilosophy,
ee
R. FrenchndA.
Cunningham,
efore
cience:henvention
f
the riars'aturalhilosophyAldershot996, hs9 and10.
7
For
general
verview
f
ight
nd ts elationo
metaphysics,
ee
D. C.
Lindberg,
The
Genesis
fKepler'sheoryf ight:ight
etaphysics
rom
lotinusnd
epler
in:Osiris
nd
series
1986),
-42.
8
Robert
rosseteste,
e Ventate137: Veritas
gitur
tiam reata stendit
d,
uod
st,
sednon
n
suo
umine,
ed
n uce eritatis
ummae,
icut olor
stendit
orpus,
ednon
nisi
n
uce
uperfusa.
Similiter
otentia
st ucis ummae
eritatis,
uae
sic llustrt
veritatem
reatam,
uod psa
tiamllustratastenditem eram. rosseteste's
wenty-
seven
hilosophical
orks,
ncluding
e VentatendDe Luceare vailable
n
Die
philosophi-
schen erkeesRobert
rosseteste,
ischofs
on incolned. L.
Baur,
Mnster.
W.,
1912
(available
t
http://www.grosseteste.com/).
n
referenceso De Luce ndDe VentateI fol-
low he aginationfBaur's atin ext.9Grosseteste,eLineis,ngulistFiguris,9-60,d. Baurn.8 above):Utilitason-
siderations
inearum,
ngulorum
t
figurarum
st
maxima,
uoniammpossibile
st ciri
naturalem
hilosophiam
ine llis.
10
or
xample,
enesis
;
saiah
0.19;
ohn
.1-18,
.12
nd
.5;
Acts
2.
f.;
Timothy
6.16;
1
John
.5;
Revelation
1.23;
Revelation
2.5.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
6/129
154
SIMON
LIVER
such as the
Pseudo-Dionysius
nderstoodGod to be
the uncreated
Light,and visible
ight
o be God in action.11 or
Grosseteste,
nd
later
Bacon,
to
study ight
was to
study
God and all
things
n
relation o
God.
Focussing articularly
n
the
thought
f
Robert
Grosseteste nd
begin-
ning
with a
brief
xposition
f
his
treatises e
Luce and De
Ventatethis
article
eeksto
place
the
experimentm
nd
use of
mathematics
n
the
wider
contextof his
understanding
f
truth nd
illumination. s
mathematics
merely
convenient
anguage
which
encapsulates
he
natural? will
sug-
gest
that
mathematics,
or
Grosseteste,
raws
together
atural
philosophy
and metaphysics ithin Platonicframework fparticipationn such a
way
that the
fluctuationsnd
vagaries
of natureare
not
confined
wholly
within
he stricturesf
mathematical
ormulae.
Why
was
the
experimentm
namely
he observation f the
motions f
nature,
uggested
o
Grosseteste?
Against
Alistair
Crombie,
the most
vigorous
defender f the
view that
Grosseteste's
hought
nticipates
modern
xperimental
cience,
will
argue
that
the
practice
of
experimental
bservation s not
introduced nto
nat-
ural
philosophy
o
mitigate
n
inductive
cepticism.
nstead,
it will
be
seen
that,
for
Grosseteste,
herecould never
be
a
'problem
of induction'
as therewas fortheearlymodern cientists.12ecause of hisNeoplatonic
understanding
f
truth
n
which all
things
re
ultimately
lluminated
n
the
eternal
ight
of the
Trinity,
here s
no
dark,
unilluminated
ogical
gap
between the
observation f
singulars
nd the
postulation
f
univer-
sal
first
rinciples
f
naturewhich
mustbe
traversed
y
a
baseless
nduc-
tive intuition.
Rather,
for
Grosseteste,
he
experimentm
s
of
theological
importance:
t
may help
us
to
assuage
the
effects f the Fall
on human
knowledge. rucially,
t will
be seen that divine
lluminations
not some-
thing
dded to the kind of
inductive
easoning
ssociated with
the
sys-
tematic,experimental bservationof nature; rather,both belong to a
single,
divine
guarantee
of
truth.Whereas our
contemporary
iscussions
of science and
religion
eek to
reconcile
pparently
onflicting
uthorities
11
ee
Pseudo-Dionysius,
he ivine
ames
693b f.
12
he
problem
f
nduction',
lassically
tated
y
DavidHume
see
his
nquiryoncerning
Human
nderstandings
V.
),
oncernshe
egitimacy
f he nferencef
universaisrom
ar-
ticulars.or
xample,
s t
rationalo nferrom
single
bservationhat
causes
,
that
this
s
universally
he
ase,
articularly
iven
hat,
s Hume
tated,
ne
only
bserveshe
conjunction
f
ventsndnot ctual ausal
rocesses?oreover,
s t
rationalo assumethat ature ill ehaventhe amewaynthe utures thas nthe ast?cienceppears
to assume
n
affirmativensweroboth
uestions.
he
practice
f
he
onstantlyepeat-
able
xperiment,
n
which
articular
nstancesf
ausal onnectionsre
bservedver nd
over,
eems o be an
attempt
o
assuage
n
apparentporia.
he
problem
f nduction
will e discussed
urther
elow,
p.
XXX.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
7/129
GROSSETESTE
N
LIGHT,
RUTH ND
EXPERIMENTM 155
and epistemologies religion s founded n narrative,radition nd com-
munally
uthoritative
exts,
whereas
cience s
founded n
supposed
obser-
vational
factsand
syllogistic
eduction
in
the work of
Grosseteste ne
findsnatural
philosophy
nd
theology ying
under a
single,
ranscendent
truth.
inally,
will
suggest
hat Grosseteste's
hought
emains
nterest-
ing
not because he is a
proto-modern
xperimental
cientist,
ut
for
a
much more
suggestive
eason:
he offers view of
the sciencesas
distinct
but
unified
n
their
articipation
n
the one
divine nd
transcendent
ight.
I
begin,
however,
with
the broader and
crucial context
of
Grosseteste's
thought, amelyhis cosmogony f light.
A
CosmogonyfLight
How does
Grosseteste
nderstand he
nature of
light,
nd
what
is
light's
place
in
his
cosmogony?
The first
orporeal
form ,
writes
Grosseteste t
the
very
beginning
f his
treatise e
Luce^
which some call
corporeity
s
in
my opinion
light. 13
f its
own
accord,
light spreads
itself
nstantly
from
singlepoint
n
every
direction
unless
obstructed)
nd
so forms
sphere.Light s dynamic nd possesses n instantaneouself-motionnd
self-propagation.14
ontinuing
with a
consideration f the nature
of cor-
poreity
nd
matter,
Grosseteste
resents
wo
propositions:
orporeity
s
that
which
necessarily
ccompanies
the
extensionof
matter nto
three
dimensions,
et
in
themselves
atter nd
corporeity
re
simple
substances
lacking
dimension.
However,
a
consideration f matter n
its own could
only
be
conceptual:
t cannot
be
separate
from
form,
nd
the formof
matterwe
observe
n
the
universe s diffusion
nto three
dimensions.
hat
which,
of its
own
accord,
diffusestself
n
thisfashion s
light.
Therefore,
concludesGrosseteste,
ight
s thefirst
odily
form,whichsome call cor-
poreity;
t
necessarily
ccompanies
and enables
the diffusion f
matter
into
three
dimensions.15
ecause
it
is the
first
odily
form,
ight
s
there-
fore he most
noble and
comparable
to
formswhich
exist
eparately
uch
13
Grosseteste,
e Luce
51: Formam
rimam
orporalem,
uam uidam
orporeitatem
vocant,
ucem
sse rbitror.
arking
he
mportance
f
Grosseteste'se
Luce
McEvoy
comments
hat hisworks
oneofthe ew
cientific
osmologies,
nd
perhaps
he
nly
scientificosmogony,rittenetweenheTimaeusnd modernimes.'J.McEvoy,he
Philosophyf
RobertrossetesteOxford
982, 51).
14
his s
not,
ccording
o
Grosseteste,
local
motion,
or
f
t
werewe would
er-
ceive
lluminationo
occur
n
stages.
ee
Grosseteste,
exameronII.10.1.
15
ee
Grosseteste,
e
Luce
52:
Lux
rgo,
uae
est
rima
orman
materia
rima
re-
ata,
eipsamer
eipsam
ndique
nfinities
ultiplicans
t n
omnem
artem
equaliter
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
8/129
156
SIMON LIVER
as intelligences.Within he cosmologicalhierarchy,ight s the first or-
poreal
form tands at
the
hinge
between
the
physical
nd
separate
sub-
stances,
haring
more
intensely
n
the
nobility
nd
greater
being
of
the
higher
realms.
Through
the
mediation f
light
s
its first
orm,
matter s
thereby
xalted to share
in
a
greater
being.
Having
outlined he
primacy
nd
excellence f
ight,
Grosseteste
eploys
the mathematics f
relative nfinities
o
explain
the finite
xtension f
the
universe
from
a
simple point.
How could a
finite
orporeal
universe
emerge
from
simplepoint
acking
dimension,
amely
he
point
of
ight?
Referringo the authorityfAristotle, rossetestetates hat the quan-
tity'
f the
cosmos could not
be the result
f
a
merely
inite
multiplica-
tion
of
a
simple thing
uch as
light
because the ratio
etween
omething
simple
and
something
inite s
itself nfinite.16
herefore,
ecause a
finite
thing
xceeds a
simplething nfinitely,
he
primordial ight
mustbe mul-
tiplied
n
infinity
f times
n
order to
extendmatter
nd
produce
a
finite
corporeal
universe.
However,
does this
mean that he
cosmos
will
be one
spatially
omoge-
nous and
undifferentiatedass?
No,
because the
infinities
y
which
ight
is multipliedmay vary.For example,Grosseteste tatesthatthe sum of
all
numbers s
infinite nd
yet
s
greater
han
the sum of all
even num-
bers even
though
his
atter s also
infinite.
mportantly,
here an be
pro-
portions
between infinities: he sum
of
numbers
doubled from one to
infinity
s an
infinite,
s is the
sum of
half
of all
these
doubled
numbers,
yet
the sum of these halves
must of
necessity
e half
the sum of
their
doubles. 17
From these
propositions
oncerning
he mathematical
roportions
f
various
nfinities,
rosseteste laims
that
ight
xtendsmatter nto
argeror smallerdimensions
ccording
o the
proportionate
nfinities
y
which
it is
multiplied,
porrigens,
ateriam,
uamrelinquere
on
potuit,
ecum istrahens
n
tantam
olem,
quanta
st
mundi
achina,
n
principioemporis
xtendebat.
16
t
s not lear o which f
Aristotle'sexts rosseteste
s
referring.cEvoy
uggests
De Celo
I.5.271bl5
f.
McEvoy
982
n. 13),152).
17
Grosseteste,
eLuce53:
Quorum
ubduplorum
ggregationem
ecessest sse
ubdu-
plam d aggregationemuplorumuorum. rosseteste'sinal ropositionelatingoinfinitiess that he nfiniteum f lldoubled umberss not elated
y
rational
ro-
portion
o he nfiniteum f
orresponding
alves rom hich
asbeen ubtracted
finite
number
for
xample,
).
The
proportion
hich
emains
ill
nly
e
expressible
s
an
irrationalumber.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
9/129
GROSSETESTE
N
LIGHT,
RUTH ND
EXPERIMENTM
157
for
f
ighthrough
he
nfinite
ultiplication
f
tself
xtends atter
nto dimen-
sion f wo ubits,y hedoublingf his amenfiniteultiplicationtextendst
into
dimensionf
four ubits 18
Thus
the
extension f matter n
increasing parsity
hrough
he
universe
is
explainedby
the
mathematics f
different
nfinities
y
which the
point
of
primordial
ightmay
propagate
tself.
It is
possible
to see
in
this
section of De
Luce a
Platonic
understand-
ing
of
mathematics.
Grosse este
begins
with a
primordial
ight
which is
wholly
ingle
and one.
Considered
mathematically,
nity
or
the one is
not the first umber,but the principleof all number.Multipleentities
participate
n
unity,
or
they
re
multiplications
f a
unity
which s
their
conceptual
and
ontological
basis.
In
an
analogous
fashion,
ight,
s
the
first
odily
form,
s not
merely
he first
ody:
it is the
basis,
conceptual
and
ontological,
f all
material
extension.This
material
extension
nto
multiple
proportions
articipates
n
the
single
unity
of
the first
odily
form
which
s
light.
This is to
say
that the
advent
of the
materialrealm
which s
Grosseteste's
ubject
matter
n
De
Luce s a
participation
n
the
mathematics f
the one and
the
many,
where
mathematics
orms
medi-
atorybridgebetweenmetaphysics, hich is concerned withthe higher
being
of
unchanging implicity
into
which
would fall
lux),
and
physics
which s
concernedwith
the
multiplicity
f
differentiated,
omplex,
mov-
ing
beings
n
the
cosmos
into
which
would fall
umeri).
he one and
the
many,
ux
nd lumen
are not
n
dualistic
pposition:
he
atter
articipates
in
the
former.19
Having
outlined
n
more detail a
cosmogony
f
light,
describing
he
hierarchical
tructuref
the
heavens,
he
formationf
the
elements
hrough
the
various
rarefactions f
matter nd
deriving
he
different
otionsof
18
bid.:Si enim
ux
multiplicatione
ui nfinita
xtendit
ateriam
n
dimensionem
icu-
bitam,
adem
nfinita
ultiplicatione
uplicata
xtendit
arn n
dimensionem
etracu-
bitam
As an
aside,
Grosseteste
emarkshat
his
rinciple
aswell
knowno
both
Atomistsnd
Platonists.he
former
nderstoodll
things
o
be
composed
f tomic
nits,
while
he atter
elievedll
things
o be
composed
f
urfaces,
ines nd
points.
19
ee
Plato,
epublic
524a
ff.
rosseteste'sine
f
hought ay
ave
nteresting
rigins
in
Pythagorean
cience. fthe
ythagoreans,
acob
lein
omments
hat,
We
may
on-
jecture
hat
heyPythagoreans]
aw
he
genesis
f he
worlds a
progressive
artitioning
ofthe irstwhole' neaboutwhoseriginsheyhemselves,tseems, ere ot bletosay
nything
onclusive Thisfirstone', s well s the
ubsequent
ones'which ere
the
esultf
partition,
.e.,
he
numbers'
hemselves,
hey
herefore
egarded
s
having
bodily
xtension. .' in:
Greek
athematical
hought
nd
he
Originf
Algebra
Cambridge,
Massachusetts
968,
7.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
10/129
158
SIMON LIVER
the cosmos,Grosseteste oncludes his treatiseby adducingthe unityof
the cosmos
through
ertain
mathematical
roportions.
hese
are,
once
again,
characteristically
latonicand reminiscentf the
cosmology
f the
Timaeus. he
highest
ody
containsfourconstituent
arts:
form,matter,
composition
nd the
composite.
n
other
words,
the
form,
eing totally
simple
nd devoid
of
composition,
s
akin
to mathematical
nity.By
con-
trast o this
fundamental
nity,
matter onstitutes he
dyad
on
account
of
a two-fold
otency: receptivity
o
impressions
eceivedfromwithout
and
divisibility.
owever,
there
s also
composition,
his
being
akin
to the
numberthree,for n compositionwe find nformedmatter,materialized
form and the order between
these two.
Finally,
the
quaternary
s
the
composite
roper,
over
and above these three onstituents.20he cosmos
thereforeonstitutes
unity
ecause it
possesses
ll these
principles
which
together
re sufficient
nd
necessary
or
completeness:
something
corresponding
oformnd
unity,
nd
omethingorresponding
omat-
ter nd
duality,omethingorresponding
o
composition
nd
trinity,
nd
omething
corresponding
o the
omposite
nd
quaternity.21
There is a fundamentalnity
n
the
multiplicity
f
being
within he cos-
mos,
seen most
particularly
n
the
multiplicity
f motions
which
emerge
from he
simple
ircular
motionof the first eaven.
Moreover,
his
whole
is
one
of five harmonious
proportions
ound
n
the
first our numbers
(the
numbers hemselves
lus
the whole which
they
onstitute),
hese
pro-
ducing
harmony
n
musical
melodies,
n
bodily
movements,
nd
in
rhyth-
mic measures. 22
Thus
Grosseteste
s
able
to formulate
cosmogony
ased on
light
with
mathematics
roviding
not
ust
a
conceptualhinge
between
metaphysics
and cosmology, ut also the ontologicalmediationbetween the simple,
motionless
ingularity
f the
first
odily
form nd the
movingmultiplic-
ity
of
an
extended,
material
reation.Mathematics
s more than a con-
venient
anguage
for
describing
he
cosmos,
because number s
integral
to the
being
of the
materially
xtended,
moving
nd
harmonically
nified
creation.
20
Grosseteste,eLuce58.21 bid.: Ex his
patet, uod
denariusitnumerusniversitatiserfectus,uiaomne
totum
t
perfectum
liquid
abet
n
se sicut
ormamt
unitatem,
t
aliquid
icutmate-
riam t
binarium,
t
aliquid
icut
ompositionem
t
ternarium,
t
aliquid
icut
omposi-
tum
t
quaternarium.
22
bid.:
.
in
musicis
odulationibus,
esticulationibus
t
rythmicisemponbus.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
11/129
GROSSETESTEN
LIGHT,
RUTH ND
EXPERIMENTM
159
It is clear from therwritings,owever, hatforGrossetesteightdoes
not
merely
relate to the first
orporeal
formor to visible
ight
n
cre-
ation,
but
supremely
o God himself.
n
his Hexamerona
meditation n
the six
days
of
creation,
Grosseteste elates
ightanalogically
o the life
of the
Trinity
n a
fashionreminiscent f the
Neoplatonic
emanationist
doctrine f creation.He writes
hat,
From he act hat od s
a
Trinity
f
persons,
tfollowshat od s
ight:
ot
od-
ily
ight
ut
non-bodily
ight.
r rather
beyond
ither.
veryight
as
by
nature
and essencehis
haracteristic,
hat t
begets
plendour
rom
tself.
he
ight
hat
begetsnd he plendourhatsbegottenecessarilyre ockedn mutualmbrace,andbreatheut heir utual armth.23
Thus his
cosmology
nd
cosmogony
re linkedwith the doctrine f
God
through nalogical participation
n
the
supreme ight
of the
Trinity.
However,
s
Grosseteste
s
deployment
f
light
n
describing
he life of
God and the formation nd motionsof the cosmos
merely
convenient
metaphor?
r is
light
he basis of
a
wider
metaphysics
hichalso
encom-
passes
a
theological nderstanding
f truth nd science?To answer
these
questions,
turn
nitially
o the treatiseDe Ventate
before
considering
Grossetestes commentaryn Aristotle'sosteriornalyticsnd hisadvocacy
of
the
experimentm.
Light
nd Truth
Grosseteste
egins
De Ventate
ithno less than seven
arguments
n
favour
of the
proposition
hat there s
a
truthother than
the
supreme
truth.
Having
adduced five
rguments
o the
contrary,
e marshals he author-
ity
of St.
Augustine
n
postulating
hat
everything
hich s
known to be
true s observed o be true n the
light
of the
supreme
ruth.24
owever,
does the
light
of this
supreme
ruth bliterate
ll
other
truth,
ust
as
the
light
f the sun is able
to
wipe
out the
power
of
other lluminaries?
ust
23
R.
Grosseteste,
exameron
VIII.3.1,
d. R.
C. Dale and S.
Gieben,
ondon
982,
220,
1-6:
Quod
utem eus it
n
personis
rinus,
nde
equitur
uod
Deus
st
ux,
on
corporea
ed
ncorporea;
mmo
agis
eque orporeaeque
ncorporea,
ed
upra trumque.
Omnis utemuxhochabet aturalitertessencialiteruoddegignituumplendorem.Lux utem
ignens
t
splendorenitus
ecessarioese
mplectuntur
utuo,
t
spirant
e
se mutuumervorem.
nless therwise
ndicated,
ll
translationsrefrom .
Grosseteste,
Hexameron
(On
the ix
Days
f
Creation),
rans. .
F.J.
Martin,
xford996.
24
Grosseteste,
e
Ventate137: Verumst
gitur,
icut estatur
ugustinus,uod
nulla
conspicitur
eritasisi
n
uce ummaeeritatis.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
12/129
160
SIMON LIVER
as in the case of De Luce Grossetestes posingtheproblemofunity nd
multiplicity:
ow is the
unity
of the
supreme
truth elated to the
possi-
bility
f
genuinely
ther,
multiple
ruth?
n
order to answer this
ques-
tion,
Grosseteste irst
nquires
nto
the nature of truth.
Immediately,
rosseteste utlines
ruth s
inhering
n
the
eternal
peech
of God.
Rather than
being
a mere
adequation
of
speech
and
thing,
ruth
is found
fundamentally
nd
eternally
n
the
'interior'
peech
of
God,
namely
the emanation
of the Son from the
Father.25Not
only
is
the
speech
of the Father
adequated
in
the
highest
manner
to the
thing
of
which t speaks, t is thatvery adequationof itself o the thing t states.
This
speech
forms
he
exemplars'
of all
things
n
such
a
way
that the
conformity
f
things
o thiseternal
peaking
s
the
rightness
f them
and
the
obligation
o be what
they
re. 26For
Grosseteste,
ollowing
he tra-
dition of the
convertibility
f the
transcendentais,ruth,
oodness
and
being
are convertible
n
that
something
s true
n
so
far
as it is what it
should be
according
o its dea
in
the
divine mind which
emanatesfrom
the divine
being
n
the eternal
peech
of the Father.27
rosseteste
laims,
A treesa true reewhenthas he lenitudefbeingree nd acks he eficiencyofbeingree,ndwhat sthis lenitudefbeing xceptonformityo the eason
of
ree
n
the ternal ord?28
If
truth onsists
n
the
conformity
f each
thing
o its
reason or idea
in
the
eternal
Word,
this
mplies
hat
n
order to obtain
truth ne mustbe
able to observe both the created
object
and its
eternal
exemplar.
For
Grosseteste, herefore,
reated truth s
attainable
n
so far as the
light
of
eternal
reason
is
present
to the
person
observing.29
herefore,
reated
truth s attained
n
so far as the
light
lux)
of
the divine reason is
pre-
sent to the observer. ustas a bodycannot be seen to be coloured with-
25
Ibid.,
34.
Aquinas
as ater o
adopt
very
imilar
pproach
o truth. rosseteste
here
rioritises
interior'
peech
ver erbal
peech
ecause e
understandsrutho be
predicated
n a
hierarchy
f
manation
n
which
moremmanentmanation
mplies
more
eplete
nd
complete
ommunicationf
beine:.
26
Ibid.,
35:
Ipsa
uoque
onformitaserumd hanc
eternamictionemst arum
rectitudot debitumssendi
uod
unt.
27
bid.: Sed
nquantum
stresut
debet,
ntantumera
st.
gitur
eritaserumst
earum sse
rout
ebent
sse,
t earum ectitudot conformitas
erbo,
uo
aeternaliter
dicuntur.28 bid.: . tunc nim stvera rbor,umhabet lenitudinemsse rborisaretque
defectionesse
rboris,
t haec
plenitudo
ssendi
uid
st
nisi onformitasationirboris
in
Verbo eterno?
29
Ibid.,
37.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
13/129
GROSSETESTEN
LIGHT,
RUTH ND
EXPERIMENTM
161
out thepresence
of
an
extrinsic
ight,
o too
something
annot
be known
within
ts created truth lone.
At this
point
n
his
treatise,
Grossetestemakes
a
subtle
lteration o a
basic simile
oncerning
nowledge
nd illumination
n
order
to show how
created truth
s not renderedredundant
by
divine
illumination,
ut is
instead
made
possible by
a
participation
n
eternaltruth.30
he familiar
simile ikens
he divine
ight
o the
light
of the sun
which makes created
objects
visible.
However,
he sun obliterates nd renders
nvisible ll other
sourcesof illumination.
rosseteste laims that
a more
appropriate
om-
parison mightbe drawn. The highest, ternaltruth s not to the other
created truths s the sun
is to other uminaries
n
the
sky.
Rather,
the
highest
ruth
s to created truth s the sun
is to colour. The sun illumi-
nates colour
which,
by
'participating'
n
this
light,
reveals the
body.
Importantly,
t
is not a
deficiency
f the
light
of the
sun which makes
colour
necessary
o the illumination f
a
body,
but a
hierarchy
f illu-
mination nsures hat created
bodies are drawn to reveal themselves:
he
sun draws the colour
to be colour and reveal itself
s
such,
while the
colour
n
turn,
because it
is
integral
o
the
being
of the
body
and not
a
mere secondary uality',reveals thatbody as, say, a strawberry. hile
it is true that no truth
s
perceived except
in
the
light
of the
supreme
truth,
evertheless reated
being participates
n
this truth nd therefore
is said to reveal
tself
n
a
secondary
but real sense.
This is reminiscent
of
a
particularly
eoplatonic
account of causation: the created
light
s
the
secondary
ut immediate cause' of created
truth,
while the
supreme
light
s the
primary
nd most
potent
cause' of
truth,
eing
and
good-
ness.31
Meanwhile,
a final addition to this simile of the
supreme
truth
and the sun
brings
urther
larity
o Grosseteste's otion
of truth.
ust
s
the weak eye is not able to see colourexcept n thelight f thesun,but
cannot
ook
directly pon
the
sun,
so the created mind
can
only
see
cre-
ated truth
n
the
light
of the
supreme
truth,
ut cannot look
direcdy
upon
the
light
of the
supreme
ruth. he
supreme
ruth
s
always
medi-
ated to created
being.
This familiar nd Platonic imile f the visionof the sun and the vision
of the
supreme
truth llows Grosseteste o make a brief
peculation
n
the
relationship
etween he
knowledge
nd truth ttainable
y
the
impure'
30
Ibid,
137-8.
31
ee
Aquinas,
uper
ibrume Causis
xpositionroposition
.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
14/129
162
SIMON LIVER
and theknowledge nd truth ttainablebythe purein heart'.32 his dis-
tinction,
xpressed
here
in
termsof
the immundi
nd mundicordes
might
also
be the distinction
etween
pagan
philosophy
nd
the truthwhich
can be seen
in
the
ight
f Christian
evelation.
However,
t is
clear from
Grosseteste's
riting
hat
pagan learning by
which we
may
assume that
he is
thinking articularly
f
the
newly
circulated
writings
f Aristotle
upon
which
Grosseteste
will
ater
compose commentaries)
as
a
measure
of
truth,
lbeit
thoroughly
mediated
through
eflection
n
created
being,
that
s,
at one
remove from he
truly
eal.
And
yet,
of
course,
this
one
remove'is by no means off he mark: there s no one who knowsany
truth,
who
does
not
also know
n
some
manner,
knowingly
r
ignorandy,
the
supreme
ruth tself.33
he
pagan
learning
f the
philosophers
as its
own
value and
is,
in a
more
ndirect
ashion,
knowledge
f the
supreme
truth.
However,
there
s a
genuine
difference
etween the
illumination
attained
by
Christian
evelation nd that
attained
by
pagan
learning.
t
is a
difference hich is
in
turn based
upon
an
ontological
difference
between he
ight
f the
supreme
ruth
lux),
which
s
eternal,
nitary
nd
simple,
nd that
ight
reflected
n
creatures
lumen)
hich s
created,
mul-
tipleand therebyess certain.The lightof the supreme ruth s different
from he created
ight,
nd
yet
the latter s not
autonomous;
t is
depen-
dent
upon
the former.34
n
a similar
fashion,
or
Grosseteste,
t
appears
thatthe sciencesother han
Christian
heology
re
different
but not
under-
stood as autonomous
any
more than
created
being
s
autonomous rom he
supreme
truth,
r
lumen
rom ux.
A
crucial ssue
now arises which
relates o human
knowing.
o what
extent s
Grosseteste
dvocating
what was later
to be termed
ontologism',
namely,
he view
that the mind
directly
ntuits
nowledge
f
God
in
all
its acts of
knowledge,
efore
reaching
heaven? n otherwords, s human
knowledge
he resultof
a
direct
llumination f the human
intellective
soul
by
the
light
of the
divine?
f
this were the
case,
knowledge
would
be akin
to
God's
timeless
nowledge
ecause we would have a
vision of
the
eternal and
unchanging
divine
ideas themselves.
Or,
is
motion
an
integral art
of the attainment f truth or
Grosseteste,
n
which
we
come
32
Grosseteste,e Ventate138.This ssue eceivesreaterttentionnGrosseteste'sCommentaiiusn osteriorum
nalyticorum
ibros.or discussionf hismattern he
ommentary
see
McEvoy
982
n. 13),
23
and
332-4.
33
bid.
34
Thiswe earn rom rossetestehen e ikenshe
ependence
f reated
eing
n
God's ternal ord o
the
ependence
fwater n ts
ontainerorts
upport
nd
form.
De Ventate
141-2.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
15/129
GROSSETESTEN
LIGHT,
RUTH ND
EXPERIMENTM
163
to
knowledge
n
mediated formthrough ime?
In
what follows, will
argue
that Grosseteste oes not rule
out intuited
nowledge
f God even
within he
temporal
ife,
yet
he
acknowledges
hat,
because of our weak-
ened
post-lapsarian
tate,
we
require
motion
and time
n
order to come
to
truth,
nd this necessitates
he observation f
corporeal being
which
eventually uggests
he
importance
of the
repeated
observations f an
experimentm
Illuminationthe
enses nd theMotion
f
Knowing
In
his discussion f
Grosseteste
s
understanding
f
truth,
ames
McEvoy
is
anxious to exoneratehis
subject
of the
charge
of
ontologism
ecause
this
theory
f illumination enders he
difference etweenthe
knowledge
attained
by
the blessed and the
knowledge
ttained
by
the viatoresa
mat-
ter
merely
f
degree'.35
With
reference o the
Commentary
n theCelestial
HierarchyMcEvoy
outlinesGrosseteste's
elief hat the direct ntuition f
God
in
this
ife
has
been attained
by only
a
very
few
privilegedmystics
(for
xample,
Moses and St.
Paul36)
who
may
then be referred o as
the
mundicordesr perfecteurgati.his is a momentarynd anticipatoryhar-
ing
n
the beatific ision.
By
contrast,
nowledge
hatwe
ordinarily
ttain,
whether f
God
or
creatures,
s of a different
rder.Thus the attainment
of truth s
understood s
a
hierarchy
xtending
rom he weakness f
pre-
scientific
pinion
to
the direct vision of
God. How
might
we
identify
more
precisely
he difference etween
knowledge
ttained
through
he
mediation f created
ight
nd
the
knowledge
f the
blessed
n
the
direct
vision of God?
To answer this
question,
t
is
necessary
irst
o consider
Grosseteste's
nderstanding
f
universais efore
progressing
o the
mpor-
tance of sensation nd their inkwith the hierarchy f the elements.
In
his
commentary
n Aristotle's osterior
nalytics
Grosseteste
makes
a
distinctionetweenfour
kinds f universal.37
he first indare the
deas
35
McEvoy
982
n.
13),
26.
For
McEvoy's
ull
iscussionf
Grossetestend he
harge
of
ontologism,
ee
324
ff.While
oncurring
ithmuch f
McEvoy's
iscussion,
twill
e
evident
rom hat ollowshat
avoid is
description
fGrosseteste's
heory
s dualistic'
(328).
t
seems hat hewhole
hrust
f
Grosseteste'se
Ventates towardshe
elineation
of
n
accountf
ruth hich
ecognisesultiplicity
nd
differenceithout
uxtaposing
his
withhe implicityf he ivineux nany roto-modern,ualisticashion.36See,for xample,rosseteste,exameron1.6.1.
37
Grosseteste,
ommentariusn
Posteriorum
nalyticorum
ibros
1.7,
96
ff.,
d. P.
Rossi,
Firenze
981,
39-41.
ereafter,
hisworks
cited s
Grosseteste,
ommentarius. See
also
P.
Duhem,
e
Systme
uMonde:
istoiresedoctrines
osmologiques
ePlaton
Copernic
vol.
V,
Paris
958,
45-51;
cEvoy
982
n. 13),
27-9;
.
Marrone,
illiam
f
uvergne
nd obert
Grosseteste:
ew
deas
f
Truthn
he
arly
hirteenth
entury
Princeton
983,
67-71.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
16/129
1
4
SIMON LIVER
in
the mind of God
which are
contemplated
n
the
supreme ight byintellects
eparated
from
phantasms.
These are the
principles
f knowl-
edge
and
being.
The second
kind of universal
esides
n
the
angelic
ntel-
ligentia
r luxcreata
hose
knowledge
f all
subsequent
reatures s
derived
from
a
prior
and direct
contemplation
f
the divine
ideas. These uni-
versais
xistwithin he
thought
f the
ntelligentia^
lluminationf
the human
mind,
which is not able
to
contemplate
mmediately
he
supreme ight,
comes from
the
light
of this
intelligentia.
he third
variety
f
universal
resides
n
the
celestialbodies.
A
mind
which
s
not
capable
of the
con-
templation f the supreme ightor the angelic lux creatamayfind n the
light
of
the celestialbodies
the
principles
f the
sublunary
ealm
which
is
subject
to motion.
The fourth
ariety
f universal
s to
be found
n
form
which,
n
its
turn,
s
able to
illuminate
he material
n
which
it
resides and with
which it
constitutes
composite.
t is
here that
one
might
ind he
mmediate ormal
ause of
things
nd their
universal
rin-
ciples. Finally,
n
addition
to the four
varieties f
universal,
Grosseteste
comments
n the
very
owest
form f
knowledge'
more
properly
ermed
'opinion')
attainable
y
the intellectus
ebilis. he
'knowledge'
ttained
here
does not concentrate pon universais t all, but is arrived t through he
observationof accidents.38
he
link
between
knowledge
and
being
is
undone
in
such
a
way
that
the
principles
f this
knowledge'
re
merely
the
accidents f
things
nd
not their
ssence
principiassendi).
uch 'knowl-
edge'
is
thereby
wholly
uncertain
nd
might
be more
properly
ermed
'opinion'.
Throughout
his
hierarchy
f
universais,
he latter
re
dependent
on
the
former,
nd each mediates
ight
o
the lower evels
of created
being.
This is a
hierarchy
f
knowledge
ttainable
by
human
beings
which is
also a hierarchy fbeing. In extendingGrossetestes immediatedescrip-
tive terms
we
might
lso
understand his
n
terms
f
a
hierarchy
f the
'motion' or
'change'
that s
involved
n
the
attainment f truth.
At the
highest
evel of
contemplation
which s
the beatific ision
and the
high-
est evel of
knowledge
we find he
universais
n
the
actuality
f the
eter-
nal
emanation f the
Word of God.
The
contemplation
f
theseuniversais
or divine
deas',
whichthe blessed
hare with he
angelic ntelligentia
takes
the
form f immediate ntuition. his
might
ven
be understood s akin
to Aristotelian
nergei.
his
knowledge
s
fully
ctual
and
'all
at
once',
being repleteand contained within ts own limitsfor it seeks
nothing
38
Grosseteste,
ommentarius
1.7,
141
ff.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
17/129
GROSSETESTEN
LIGHT,
RUTH ND
EXPERIMENTM 165
beyond tself.39he principles f thisknowledge re 'the uncreatedrea-
sons of
things'40
nd the
pure
and intuitive
ntellect an
grasp
these with
complete ertainty
ithout
he mediation f time. The next evel of
con-
templation
s
through
rather
han
with)
the
angelic intelligentia.
his lux
creatas a reflection f
the
supreme ight
of the divine
mind,
yet
t con-
tains
within tself he first ntimations f motion
proper,
for this knowl-
edge
is
not
necessary
nd has
proceeded
nto
being.
Moreover,
we learn
from e Luce hat he
ntelligentia
which s the first eflection
f the
supreme
light,
s the
incorporeal
movingpower
which moves
the celestial
pheres
with diurnalmotion.41 o at the next evel of the universalwe find he
celestial
pheres
which contain within
hemselves he
light
or
principles
of
everything
hat
occurs below within he cosmic
hierarchy.
hese bod-
ies
possess
a
diurnalrotationwhich s a
motionmost akin to
the created
actuality
f the
angelic intelligentia
nd the
truthof the
supreme ight.
Why?
Because this diurnal rotation an be
regarded
as the most com-
plete
and self-containedocal motion
for,
nlikerectilinear
motion,
t
does
not seek an end
outside ts own
self-delineatedimits.
Finally,
he uni-
versaisof the celestial
phere mpart
motion to the
lowest evel of uni-
versal,namelythe forms f createdbeings.This finalmotionmay be
rectilinear o
a
greater
or lesser
extent
depending
on a
created
being's
particular
usceptibility
o condensation nd
rarefaction.42
In
addition o this
hierarchy
f universais
nd
motion,
here s
also
an
important ierarchy
f
the elements nd the
senses. The cosmic hierar-
chy
of elements
egins
at its
height
with
the
serenity
f the
heavens and
the
ight
f the cfire' f the celestial
bodies,
and descends
through
he air
to water and earth.43
oupled
to the elements s
the
hierarchy
f sense.
39
At
Metaphysics
X. -6
ff.,
ristotleraws
distinctionetween
nergeia
actuality
r
operation,
hich
s not rientatedo an
extrinsic
elos)
nd kinesis
motion,
hich as a
telosutside
tself).
or
etailediscussionsf his
istinction
ee,
or
xample,
.
L.
Ackrill,
Aristotle's
istinctionetween
nergeia
nd
Kinesis,
n: R.
Bamborough
ed.),
New
ssays
n
Plato
nd
ristotle,
ondon
965,
21-41;
.
Menn,
he
riginf
ristotle's
oncept
f
nergeia:
Energeia
nd
unamis,
n:
Ancient
hilosophy,
4
1994),
3-114;
.
Graham,
he
evelopment
of
Aristotle's
onceptf
Actuality:
ommentsn
Reconstruction
y tephen
ennin: Ancient
Philosophy,
5
1995),
51-64;
nd G. A.
Blair,
Unfortunately,
t
Is
a
BitMore
omplex:
Reflections
n
Energeia,
n:
Ancient
hilosophy,
5
1995),
65-80.
40
Grosseteste,ommentarius,.7,102-3.41
Grosseteste,
e Luce57:
Quapropter
irtus
ncorporalisntelligentiae
el
animae,
quae
movet
phaeram
rimam
t
upremam
otu
iurno,
ovet
mnes
phaeras
aelestes
inferioresodem iurno
otu.
42
ee
bid.,
7-8.
43
Grosseteste,
excmeronVI.1.1-3.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
18/129
166 SIMON LIVER
Grosseteste uotes Augustine o the effect hatin sensationwe do not
find
simply
he action
of an
object
on the
passive
senses of
a
subject.
The encounter etween sentient reature nd the creaturewhich s
per-
ceived is one
in
which
the
action
of one
upon
the other s
reciprocal.
The sensitive
oul,
we are
told,
actsn
the
yes hrough
he
ure hining
ire whentsheat s
suppressed
ndmade
into ts
pure ight.
ut
n
hearing
he ire
enetratesy
tsheat
nto hemore
iq-
uidair.
n
smell he
pure
ir
comes
hrough
nd reacheshemoist xhalation
In
tastet comes
hrough
ndreacheshemoisturehats more
odily:
nd t
goes
into his
nd
hrough
his
hentreachesheheavinessf
he
arth,
nd
makeshe
last ense,hat f ouch. 44
Whereas this
passage puts
forward
he notion
that the sensitive oul acts
through
he senses on the bodies
sensed,
elsewhere
Grosseteste udines
what was later to be
known as
the doctrine
of
'the
multiplication
f
species': verything
n
the
sublunary
orld cts on its
surroundingshrough
an emanationof
a
likeness
f itself.45
rosseteste tates
hat
A
natural
gentmultiplies
ts
power
romtselfo
the
ecipient,
hethert acts
n
sense
r matter But he ffects
re
diversified
y
the
diversity
fthe
ecipient.
Forwhents owers receivedy he enses,tproducesneffecthatssomehow
spiritual
nd
noble;
y
ontrast,
hent s received
y
matter,
t
produces
mate-
rial ffect.46
44
Ibid.,
I.
1.3,
uoting
ugustine,
e Genesid itteram
III.5-6:
Agit
nim nima en-
tiens
n
oculis
er gnum
ucidum
represso
alore ius
usque
d
lucem ius
puram.
n
audito ero
sque
d
liquidiorem
erem,
alore
gnis ntrt.
n
olfactuutem ransit
aerem
urum
t
pervenitsque
d humidamxalacionem..
In
gustu
utem t
hanc
transitt
pervenit
sque
d humorem
orpulentiorem;uo
eciam
enetratotque
ran-
siecto,
um d terram
ravitatemervenit,angendi
ltimumensum
git.'
More
ar-ticularly,rossetesteeld o he xtramissionheoryf isionropoundedy lato, ristode,
Ptolemy
ndEuclid. n this
iew,
he ctofvisionncludes
ays
ouring
orth
rom
he
eye.
ee
Grosseteste,
ommentarius
II.4,
464
ff.;
e ride
72-3,
ited
n
Crombie953
n. ),
118.As
Crombie
tates,
he hirteenth
entury
aw onsiderable
ebatebout
whetherhe
multiplication
f
ight
s
a realmovement
n
space
r
merely
heresult
f
perception.
Roger
acon
c.
1220-c.
292)
ppears
o
opt
for
he
former
xplanation,
dding
hat
light asses
n an
imperceptible
ime,
nd thereforeith
motion e cannot
erceive
[The
pus ajus
fRoger
aconed. and rans. obert elle
urke,
hiladelphia
928,
art
V,
distinction
,
chapter
,
488
ff.).
45
On this
octrine,
hich eceived ore
omprehensive
nunciation
n
the
work f
Roger
acon,
ee
Lindberg
983
n. 3).
Lindberg
emarks
hat his octrineas ts ri-
ginsnthework fArabichilosophy,nparticularl-KindrIii).46
Grosseteste,
e
lineis,
ngulis,
t
igures
60;
citedn
Lindberg
983
n. 3),
ii:
Agens
naturale
ultiplicat
irtutem
uam se
usque
n
patiens,
ive
gat
n
ensum,
ive
n
mate-
riam Sed
propter
iversitatem
atientis
iversificanturffectus.
n
sensu nimsta
ir-
tus
ecepta
acit
perationem
piritulemuodammodo
t
nobiliorem;
n
contrario,
ive
n
materia,
acit
perationem
aterialem
..
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
19/129
GROSSETESTEN
LIGHT,
RUTH ND
EXPERIMENTM
167
Within his
xchange
between
entient
reature nd
that
which s
sensed,one finds
fidelity
o the
principle
hat like knows ike5:
ightperceives
'fire' or the rarefied umen
hearing perceives
the
relatively
arefied
ir,
smell
perceives
he thicker
ir,
taste
perceives
iquid
or
water,
nd
touch
perceives
arth.
However,
s
we
might xpect,
ll
sensation s linked na-
logically
o
light,
or
light
s the nstrumentf
the soul
in
sensing hrough
the senses of the
body.'47
Again, Augustine
s
quoted
to the
effect
hat
light
s that
by
which the soul acts
in all
the senses. Thus sensation s
integrated
nto a
general ight
metaphysics,
or
ust
as
each
of
the ele-
ments s a more or less dense form f light, o too the sensitive ouls of
animals
n
their
ctivity
f
sensing
use
a
formof
light
which is akin to
the elementwhich is
being
sensed.
Both the sentient reature nd that
which
s
perceivedby
the senses are constitutednd related
n
the activ-
ity
of
light.
Moreover,
hisemanationof
species
from
ll
things,
n
being
a formof
light,
cts
in
accordance with the
principles
f
geometrical
mathematics. hus Grosse este an claim that all causes of natural ffects
can
be discovered
by
lines,
angles
and
figures.48
However,
t
is
important
o note
that,
ust
as the lower universais re
analogously elatedto thehigherby participation,o too are the senses.
For
Grosseteste,
he lowest sense is that
of touch because this
is
con-
cerned with nert arth
which,
amongst
he
elements,
s the most dense
and least actual form f
light.
The sense
of touch
is
analogously
elated
to
taste,
hen
smell,
hearing
nd
finally ight.
Yet
sight
tself,
he
highest
of
the
bodily
enses,
s
analogously
elated o the visionof the nnermind
possessed
by
those who
contemplate
he
angelic
lux creata nd the divine
light
tself.At
the
highest
evel of
knowledge
nd
'sight'
n
the beatific
vision,
we 'see' the
ight
f the
supreme
ruthwith he
purified
nd unen-
cumberedeye of the mind. This vision of God is the culmination y
grace
of the restoration f
humanity
n
the
image
and likeness f God.49
Because this
knowledge
s
fully eplete,
ctual and
unmediated,
t
involves
no motion or
temporality.
his beatific ision s an
activity
f the soul
which no
longer requires
he
mediations f
bodily
sensation.
A link
is established
between,
on
the one
hand,
the universais nd
motion, and,
on the other
hand,
the elements
and the senses. Before
coming
to
a
conclusion
bout how we
might
draw a
distinction etween
47
Grosseteste,
exameronII.
10.1.
48
ee n. 9 above.
49
ee
McEvoy
982
n. 13),
4 n. 73.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
20/129
1
8
SIMON LIVER
knowledge ttainedthrough he mediationof createdlightand knowl-
edge
in
the
beatific
ision,
t is
first
ecessary
o
clarify
riefly
ne
more
connection
between
motion and
the
particular
knowledge
chieved
by
corporeal
ensation.
nitially,
ne can
note
that sensation
s the
result f
the motion
of the
species
or
likeness f a
creature o
reside
n
the sen-
sitive oul
of
an
animal.
Sensation
s, therefore,
lready
kind
of
abstrac-
tion,
because the
outward
sense is
a
power
of
receiving
nd
grasping
sensible
pecies
without
matter. 50he
various
pecies
which
rrive
n
the
sense
organs
are then
collated
n
the
common sense'
(
ensus
ommunis)
o
form lessfragmentednd more ntegratedense mpression. romhere,
the
united
likenesses' f the
perceived
object
are
passed
into
the mem-
ory.
Properly
peaking,
t
is
the
magination
hich
retains he
forms
which
have been
sensed,
whilethe
memory
roper
ncludes he
estimative
ower
of
udging
the forms
eceived.
The motions
rom he
senses to
the mem-
ory
are
shared
by
all
rational
animals.
The final
motion
nvolves
the
excitement f
reason
by many
memories hat
are
held
in
the soul.
These
motions
nvolved
n
sensing
re
described
n
the
final
hapter
f
Grosseteste's
commentary
n
the Aristotle's
osterior
nalytics
In
those hohave
his ense s well
s
retention,
heres a
gathering
f
onemem-
ory
rom
any
ensationsnd
hiss common
o brute
nimalsnd
rational
eings;
but
n
rational
eings
t
s
already
he
ase hat rom
any
memories,
nce eason
is
excited,
n
experience
s
formed;
his
s not he ase
with
on-rational
nimals.
Therefore,
rom
ense
omes
memory,
rom
he
repetition
f
many
memoriesn
experimentm
ndfrom
he
xperimentm
he niversal
hichs
apart
romhe
articu-
lars,
et
ot
eparate
romhe
articulars
ut
he ame
s
them,
amely
s the
rin-
ciple
f
both rt nd
cience.51
This whole
systematic
rocedure
of
sensation,
which s
already
form
f
abstraction adepossible ytheemanation fspeciesdue to thedynamism
of
light
which
constitutes he
more or less
rarefied
ensible
elements f
fire,
ir,
water
nd
earth,
was
to
yield
universal
rinciples
f
nature,
what
Grosseteste alled universalia
omplexa
xperimentalia.
'complex
experimental
universais'.
50
Grosseteste,
exameron
VII. 4.1: Est
utem xterior
is
usceptiva
t
apprehensiva
sensibilium
pecierum
inemateria.
51
Grosseteste,ommentariusII. ,33-40: Inquibusutemst ensusum acretentiva,est olligerexmultisensibusnammemoriam,t hoccommunestbrutisum atio-
nalibus;
ed
n
rationalibusam
ontingit
x
multis emoriisxcitata
ationeieri
xperi-
entiam;
n
brutisero
on sthoc.
Ex
sensu
gitur
it
memoria,
x memoria
ultiplicata
experimentm,
x
experimento
niversale,
uod
st
preterarticularia,
on arnen
epa-
ratum
particularibus,
ed st dem
llis, rtis,
cilicet,
t
seiende
rincipium.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
21/129
GROSSETESTEN
LIGHT,
RUTH
ND
EXPERIMENTM 169
The hierarchies
f
universais,
lements nd
sensations
n
which the
higher
mediate
ight
o the lower also
feature ver
more
perfect
motions
as
one ascends
towards he
supreme ight
which s
the source
of
all
good-
ness,
being,
ruth nd
knowledge.
he
distinction etween
he
knowledge
attained
n
the
mediationof the
created
light
and that
attained
n
the
beatific
ision
might
herefore e made
in
termsof
motion. The
latter
features n
immediate and
intuitive
rasp
of truth
which
requires
no
movement r
change.
As
was
claimed
above,
we
might
even
consider
this
akin
to
Aristotelian
nergeia
for this
knowledge
s
replete
and not
mediatedby time. Yet as a resultof the Fall, we do not share in the
beatific
ision.The sin which
results rom
he
Fall
is
understood
s
a dis-
ordereddesire
n
which the human
soul seeks
first fter
orporealthings
rather
han the
higher
ight
f God himself.
rosseteste
rgues
that
f
the
intelligence
ere not
weighed
down
by
the
body
it would
receive com-
plete
irradiation,
nd
therefore
nowledge
nd
fully
ctual
being,
from
the
supreme
ight.
Because this
purity
s
obscured
by
corrupt
esires,
all
the
owers
f his ationaloul
orn
n
man re aid
hold f
by
hemass f
he
body
nd
annotct nd o in a
way
re
sleep.
ccordingly,
henn he
rocessf
timehe ensesctthrough anynteractionsf ensewith ensiblehings,he ea-
soning
s awakenednd
mixed ith hese
ery
ensible
hings
nd s takenn
the
senseso sensible
hings
s
in
a
ship.52
Therefore,
n a
fashion
trikingly
eminiscent f the
Platonic
doctrine f
recollection,
rosseteste
tates that our
souls
require
awakening
by
the
repeated
motions'
n
time of our
corporeal
senses. Within
this
context,
the order of
being
and
intelligibility
s
the reverse
f
our
rder of
know-
ing,
for fallen
humanity
must
begin
with
knowledge
f the less
intelligi-
ble
created and
corporeal
being by
means of
the motions
of
sensation
before chieving he visionof thesupremelyntelligibleight fthe divine
ideas.53Thus the
lower one
descends
towards
corporeal
sensation,
he
greater
he
temporality
r motion
nvolved
n
knowing.
s
there, hen,
dualism
between
the
knowledge
ttained
n
the
beatific
ision and that
attained
by
fallen
humanity? ust
s
there s no
dualism
between
Platonic
being
and
becoming
and Aristotelian
nergeia
nd kinesis
so too
there s
52
Ibid., .14, 35-41,my mphasis),uotednCrombie953n. 3),73: . omnesvirespsiusnimeationalisnhomineato ccupateunt ermolem
orporis,
e
possint
agere,
t ta
quodammodo
opite.
um
taque rocessu
emporisgant
ensus
er
multi-
plicem
bviationem
ensus
um
ensibilibus,
xpergiscitur
atio
psis
ensibusdmixtat
in
sensibus
uasi
n
navi
elata d
sensibilia.
53
Ibid., .17,
40-65.
8/9/2019 Vivarium - Vol Xlii, No 2, 2004
22/129
170
SIMON LIVER
no dualism between
Grosseteste's eatific ision and the
knowledge
hat
is attainable n this
ife,
because amidst all these distinctionshe former
participate
n
the latter.
n
the case of
Grosseteste,
ll levels of knowl-
edge
are
analogically
elated
n
light.
et distinctionsan be made between
the differentciences
whichdeliver ifferentinds f
knowledge,
nd these
distinctions
ay
be delineate
Recommended