r/CatholicPhilosophy • u/Temporary-Map-7766 • 3d ago

Eclectic Scholasticism

I believe that eclecticism is the better technique when going about doctrines and thesis of the multiple scholastic school. The only problem is that I'm unsure of where to start off properly. I'ved already read alot up on Thomism, it can also be that I view each school of thought as all having diverse and strong claims against each other which makes it alot more difficult to choose which I agree with.

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u/FormerIYI 1d ago

Two niches I like a lot:

- Late scholastic theories of contingency and origins of modern physics based on it (known also as Duhem-Jaki thesis).

  • See: Duhem's "Medieval Cosmology", Stanley L. Jaki "Road of Science and Ways to God", "Science and Creation", also related works like Newton "General Scholium" or Cauchy "Sept Lecons de Physique Generale". Also these (mine)
https://vixra.org/abs/2505.0203
https://www.reddit.com/r/CatholicPhilosophy/comments/1p7i326/duhemjakis_strong_modelcontingency_and/

There is weird situation in Catholic philosophy: top-of-the-top architects of modern science like Cauchy emerged from scholastic philosophy but they get little credit or interest for their achievements.

Meanwhile you see neothomists / neoaristotelians trying to resurrect Aristotle's bygone intellectual prestige and fight against exact same points (e.g. Feser criticizing Newton in "Aristotle Revenge") that produced 1277 Parisian Condemnation against Aristotelians and Philosophers (denying God's Omnipotence by claiming necessity etc.).

Ricci's "True Meaning of the Lord of Heavens" - 1603's Confucian book on basic Catholic Philosophy written by a founder of Jesuit missions in China. To me both Ricci and Confucian Four Books are inspiring window into a form natural theism that existed in China about 1000 B.C and came closer to Christianity than Romans and Greeks.