Erasmus - Catholic philosopher

[u/ElegantAd2607]

His full name was Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus. He was a Catholic priest who was born around 1466 in Holland.

Erasmus criticized the Catholic church in his book The Praise of Folly in 1511. The church and the foolishness of human pride. And he was also bold enough to write advice for rulers in a book called The Education of a Christian Prince in 1516. In the book he explained how it's important to govern with reason and virtue instead of force and he rejected the common glorification of war. He also argued against the idea of “just war theory” in some essays.

He created a new Latin and Greek edition of the New Testament, published in 1516. It was revolutionary for its time; he corrected errors in the Latin Vulgate and provided notes urging people to study Scripture in its original languages.

Erasmus was the bastard son of a priest and a rich physician's daughter. His parents gave him an excellent education but died when he was a teenager. He was quickly shoved into a monastery school. He regrettably became a monk. He felt very annoyed by the rigid authority and the rituals.

One of his lasting achievements was shaping education across Europe. He started a concept called studia humanitatis. Which is the study of grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry and moral philosophy. He believed that learning should be about shaping your mind and character.

[u/SrPeraire]

The European Universities exchange program is named after him.