The Paris Condemnations
219 propositions condemned — the limits of Aristotelian philosophy
Venue: University of Paris; Bishop Étienne Tempier issued the condemnations under papal authority on 7 March 1277.
Can Aristotle be baptised, or does his philosophy necessarily conflict with Christian revelation?
In 1270 Bishop Étienne Tempier of Paris condemned thirteen Averroist propositions taught in the Arts Faculty, including the eternity of the world, the unity of the intellect, and the denial of free will. In 1277, at Pope John XXI's request, Tempier expanded the condemnation to 219 propositions — a sweeping catalogue targeting radical Aristotelianism, Latin Averroism, and the thesis that philosophy can reach truths theology cannot override. Siger of Brabant, the leading Arts Master associated with Latin Averroism, was the principal intellectual target; several propositions also touched on theses defended by Thomas Aquinas (though Aquinas had died in 1274). The condemnations asserted the primacy of theological truth over philosophical demonstration and, paradoxically, may have liberated natural philosophy from Aristotelian constraints by insisting on God's absolute power to create alternative worlds — an argument historians of science see as a precondition for the scientific revolution.
Historical Context
The thirteenth-century reception of Aristotle's complete works (via Arabic and Latin translations) had transformed European intellectual life. The Arts Faculty at Paris became a centre of radical Aristotelianism, reading Aristotle through Averroes' commentaries and drawing conclusions about the eternity of the world, the determinism of celestial causation, and the unity of the agent intellect that alarmed theologians. Aquinas had attempted a moderate synthesis; Siger pushed further.
Parties
Philosophy, following Aristotle and Averroes, demonstrates truths about the world's eternity, the determinism of natural causes, and the unity of the intellect. These are what reason requires, whatever faith may hold.
Key arguments
- The world is eternal: Aristotle's arguments for the eternity of motion and matter are demonstrative.
- There is one agent intellect for all humans (Averroes' monopsychism), which survives death — individual immortality is a matter of faith, not philosophy.
- Natural causation is deterministic: celestial spheres determine sublunary events necessarily.
- Philosophy and theology may reach different conclusions on the same question (double-truth thesis, though Siger may not have endorsed this explicitly).
Allied schools
Philosophical propositions that contradict Christian revelation are not merely wrong but heretical. God's absolute power transcends any Aristotelian necessity; faith has primacy over demonstrative reason in contested domains.
Key arguments
- God can create multiple worlds, void, and non-Aristotelian possibilities — his power is not bounded by Aristotle's physics.
- Individual immortality of the soul is a non-negotiable truth of faith; monopsychism is heresy.
- The thesis that the world is eternal contradicts the doctrine of creation ex nihilo.
- There cannot be "two truths" (philosophical and theological) about the same question — truth is one, and theology adjudicates.
Allied schools
Dimensions Engaged
Time
Time · Ontological Status: the eternity of the world vs creation in time — the central contested proposition.
Observer
Observer · Metaphysical Agency: the unity vs individuality of the intellect, and the institutional question of who has authority over truth claims.
Matter
Matter · Causation: is natural causation necessarily deterministic (Aristotelian necessitarianism) or contingent on God's will?
Verdict in retrospect
The condemnations successfully suppressed radical Averroism at Paris but did not prevent the continued influence of Aristotle. Aquinas was canonised in 1323 and the propositions touching his work were rescinded. Historians of science (Duhem, Grant) argue that by insisting on God's power to create non-Aristotelian worlds, the condemnations paradoxically opened conceptual space for the possibility of void, multiple worlds, and non-geocentric cosmology — preconditions for the later scientific revolution.
Related Debates
Sharing parties or aligned schools.
Related Experiments
Experiments that share dimensions and/or aligned schools with this debate.
Other Personas Aligned With This Debate
Ranked by declared-influence weight in the schools either party is allied with. The named parties themselves are excluded — they're already listed above.
Works Most Aligned With This Debate
Ranked by declared-influence weight in the schools either party is allied with.
Related Films
Films engaging the same dimensions as this debate.
Related Contemporary Dilemmas
Dilemmas that engage the same dimensions as this debate.
Further reading
- Piché, *La condamnation parisienne de 1277* (1999)
- Hissette, *Enquête sur les 219 articles condamnés* (1977)
- Grant, *The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages* (1996)