| John of St. Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | João Poinsot 9 July 1589 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Died | 15 June 1644 Fraga, Spain |
| Occupation | Friar, philosopher, theologian |
| Education | University of Coimbra University of Louvain |
| Subject | Metaphysics, logic, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, semiotics |
| Literary movement | Scholasticism, Thomism |
| Notable works | Tractatus de Signis |
John of St. Thomas, O.P., born João Poinsot (also called John Poinsot in English; 9 July 1589 – 15 June 1644), was a Portuguese Dominican friar, Thomist theologian, and professor of philosophy. He is known for being an early theorist in the field of semiotics.
Biography
Born of noble parentage to a Spanish mother and a father likely of Belgian descent employed by Albert of Austria. He was then sent early to the University of Coimbra, a university under the Jesuits and worked under Thomas de Torres de Madrid. He displayed talents of the first order, completed his humanities and philosophy, and obtained the degree of Master of Arts. He then entered the University of Louvain. Here, too, he showed remarkable ability, and earned the title of Bachelor of Theology at an early age. His admiration for St. Thomas proved to be a determining motive of his, which led to him joining the Dominican Order at Madrid in 1612 when he was 23 years old, taking the name of John of St. Thomas, by which he is known to history. Immediately after his novitiate, he began teaching his younger religious confrers as professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Alcalá. He soon took rank among the most learned men of the time, and was placed successively (1630 and 1640) in charge of the two principal chairs of theology in the university of that city. His renown drew the largest number of scholars that had ever attended its theological faculties. He taught for 33 years
No man enjoyed a greater reputation in Spain, or was more frequently consulted on points of doctrine and ecclesiastical matters. His theological and philosophical writings, which have gone through many editions, are among the best expositions of Thomas Aquinas's doctrine, of which he is acknowledged to be one of the foremost interpreters. Though he took an active part in the scholastic discussions of his times, his courtesy was such that he is said never to have hurt an opponent's feelings. So faithful was he to the traditions of his order and the principles of the Angelic Doctor that in his last illness he could declare that, in all the thirty years he had devoted to teaching and writing, he had not taught or written anything contrary to St. Thomas. His humility and his devotion to education caused him to refuse many dignities offered him by the Church and his order. In 1643 Philip IV offered him the office of royal confessor, a position which only religious obedience could induce him to accept. His writings comprise: Cursus philosophicus Thomisticus (9 vols.); Cursus Theologici (9 vols.), which is a commentary on the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas; Tractatus de Approbatione, Auctoritate, et Puritate Doctrinae D. Thomae Aquinatis; A Compendium of Christian Doctrine (in Spanish); and A Treatise on a Happy Death (in Spanish), written at the command of Philip IV. He caught a fever and died in Fraga, Spain at the age of 55.
Works
- Ioannes a S. Thoma, O. P. (1883). Cursus philosophicus Thomisticus (in Latin). Paris: Ludovicus Vivès. OCLC 7132509. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 available gratis online.
- Ioannes a S. Thoma, O. P. (1931–1964). Cursus theologici (in Latin). Paris, Rome: Desclée. OCLC 18001569. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 available gratis online.
- John of St. Thomas (2004). Introduction to the Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas: The Isagogue of John of St. Thomas. Trans. McInerny, Ralph. South Bend, Ind.: St. Augustine's Press. OCLC 46928729.
- John of St. Thomas; Cuddy, Cajetan; Farrell, Walter; Hughes, Dominic (2016). The Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Tacoma, WA: Cluny Media. ISBN 978-1-944418-22-9.
- Poinsot, John (1985) . Tractatus de Signis. The Semiotic of John Poinsot. Trans. Deely, John. Berkeley: California University Press. OCLC 277224194. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
References
- ^ Ralph McInerny, 'Preface', in: John of St. Thomas (2004).
- Dictionnaire de la Théologie Catholique. Col. 803-808.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - "Poinsot, John". Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy (2014).
- Quétif and Jacques Échard, Scriptores ordinis prædicatorum recensiti, notisque historicis illustrati ad annum 1700 auctoribus, II (Paris, 1721), 538; Touron, Hommes illustres de l'ordre de St. Dominique, V (Paris, 1749), 248; Hurter, Nomenclator, I (2nd ed., Innsbruck, 1892), 375; Année Dominicaine, II June, 358-365.
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "John of St. Thomas" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Sources
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "John of St. Thomas". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Further reading
- Bourke, Vernon J. (1996). "John Of St. Thomas (1589–1644)". In Edwards, Paul (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 34. p. 284. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- Deely, John (1994). "What happened to philosophy between Aquinas and Descartes?". The Thomist. 58 (4): 543–568. doi:10.1353/tho.1994.0000. S2CID 171228067. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
- Deely, John (2008). Descartes and Poinsot: The Crossroad of Signs and Ideas. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press. ISBN 9781589661745.
- Deely, John (2009). Augustine and Poinsot: The Protosemiotic Development. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press. ISBN 9781589661738.
External links
- General Bibliography by Marco Forlivesi
- The rediscovery of John Poinsot – Annotated bibliography about the contributions of John of St. Thomas to semiotics
- Cursus Philosophicus Thomisticus – Latin text by John of St. Thomas
- Scholastic philosophers
- 17th-century philosophers
- Semioticians
- 1589 births
- 1644 deaths
- 17th-century Portuguese writers
- People from Lisbon
- Roman Catholic friars
- Dominican theologians
- Members of the Dominican Order
- Portuguese philosophers
- Portuguese theologians
- University of Coimbra alumni
- Academic staff of the University of Alcalá
- School of Salamanca