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Latin American Colonial Philosophy: The Logic of Espinoza Medrano

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Walter Redmond*
Affiliation:
University of the Americas, Puebla, Mexico

Extract

The purpose of this article is to briefly describe the background and content of a philosophical work from 17th-century Peru: the logic of Juan de Espinoza Medrano, “ el Lunarejo ” (1632?- 1688), published in Rome in 1688. It is hoped that the examination of this writing, which is similar to other philosophical treatises of the period, will show that colonial philosophy in Latin America attained a respectable technical level and that many criticisms often made of it must be reconsidered.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1974

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References

1 D. loannis de Espinoza Medrani Peruani S. T. D. In Divi Antonii Magni Cozcanae Urbis toitus quidem Novi Orbis Metropolis insigni Seminario Regalis Collegae. … Philosophia Thomistica seu Cursus Philosophicus Duce D. Thoma Doctore Angelico Peractus … Tomus Prior Romae, Ex Typographia Reu. Cam. Apost. 1688…, There are two copies in the National Library of Peru (X189.4/E7). The logic is the first volume of a projected “Philosophy Course” (such courses usually consisted of logic, physics, and metaphysics). The other volumes of the course were apparently not published; see Medina, J. T., Biblioteca hispanoamericana (1493–1810) (Santiago de Chile: Fondo Histórico y Bibliográfico J. T. Medina, 1958–62), 3, 350.Google Scholar For Espinoza’s philosophy see Felipe Barreda y Laos, Vida intelectual del virreinato del Perú, 3rd ed. (Lima: Universidad de San Marcos, 1964). Zevallos, Noé, “Juan de Espinoza Medrano, filósofo,” Revista de la Universidad Católica, vol. 17 (Lima: 1960), 115–8.Google Scholar Redmond, Walter, “La defensa de Platón en la lógica de Juan de Espinoza Medrano” (University of San Marcos, 1969).Google Scholar Redmond. Juan de Espinoza Medrano: Sobre la naturaleza de los universales,” Humanidades, n. 3 (Catholic University of Peru, 1969), 131–185. Redmond, , “Juan de Espinoza Medrano: Prefacia al lector de la Logica,” Fénix, n. 20 (National Libary of Perú;, 1970), 7480.Google Scholar Redmond, , “La lógica de Juan de espinoza Medrano,” Actas del XXXIX Congreso Internacional de Americanistas (Lima, 1970).Google Scholar Redmond, , “La naturaleza de la lógica según Espinoza Medrano,” Humanidades, n. 5.Google Scholar

2 See the preface to my Bibliography of the Philosophy in the Iberian Colonies of America (The Hague: Nijhof, 1972).

3 Recentes, Recentiores, Neoterici, juniores, nuperi. I will always use the word “modern” to translate these terms.

4 My Spanish translation of this preface appears in “Juan de Espinoza Medrano: Prefacio al lector de la Lógica,” op. cit.

5 The omission of American universities in Lipsius’, Lovanium (Antwerp, 1605)Google Scholar was also answered by Deigo de León Pinelo’s Hypomnema Apologeticum pro Regali Academia Limensi in Lipsianam Periodum (Lima, 1648). See Gerbi, Antonello, “Diego de León Pinelo contra Justo Lipsio,” Fenix, n. 2. 188–231Google Scholar, and n. 3,601–613 (1945–6). Jerónimo de Valera published a work on logic in Lima in 1610. (See note 22).

6 The last two quotes are from the author’s preface to the logic.

7 The term is from Giacon, Carlos, La Seconda Scolastica, Vol. 1: 1 Grandi Commentatori de San Tomasso (Milan: Fratelli Bocca, 1943).Google Scholar

8 P. Hipert, editor of the new edition of Ueberweg’s history of philospohy intended to divide the section of the Neuzeit into two parts: one for the better known figures, and the second for scholastic writers. I. Anglelli has suggested the eventual formation of a Corpus Philosophorum of the scholastic thinkers of Iberia and America in “Sobre la ‘Restauración’ de los textos filosóficos ibéricos,” Documentación crítica iberoamericana, Seville, año 2, n. 4 (1965), 423–446.

9 See Giacon, p. 25.

10 Cf. Moody, E. A., Truth and Consequences in Medieval Logic (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co., 1953),Google Scholar Introduction, and W. and Kneale, M., The Development of Logic (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962), pp. 244–46.Google ScholarPubMed

11 Capreolus: Libri Defensionum Theologiae Divi Thomae (7 volumes in the Tours edition, 1900–08).

12 Both commentaries have been printed in the Leonine edition of St. Thomas. Capetan also commented the De ente et Essentia of Aquinas, Porphry’s Eisagoge, Aristotle’s De Anima, and wrote De Subjecto Naturalis Philosophiae, De Conceptu Entis, De Dei Infinitate, De Nominum Analogia, etc. Ferrariensis also commented Aristotle’s De Anima, Physics, and Posterior Analytics.

18 Vitoria wrote commentaries on the first two parts of Aquinas’ Summa Theologica and composed treatises on international law (De Potestate Civili) and the rights of Indians (De Indis). Crockaert wrote commentaries on works by Aquinas, Peter of Spain, and Aristotle. Soto published commentaries on Aristotle and Lombard, and wrote Deliberado in Causa Pauperum, De Justitia et Jure. Cano composed the widely read De Locis Theologicis.

14 Toledo, a disciple of Soto, wrote commentaries on Aristotle and Aquinas’ Summa. Fonseca commented Aristotle’s Metaphysics and wrote Institutiones Dialecticae and Isagoge Philosophica. Suárez’s writings comprise 28 volumes in the Paris edition of 1856–78; his most famous works are Disputationes Metaphysicae (1597) and De Legibus (1612).

15 John of St. Thomas wrote famous courses on philosophy and theology.

16 De Locis, book 9, chapter 7.

17 In references to Espinoza’s logic, the page number (s) is indicated first, followed by a colon and the paragraph number (s).

18 Hurtado: Disputationes a Summulis ad Metaphysicam (1615), Disputationes de Universa Philosophia (Lyons, 1617). Arriaga: Cursus (Antwerp, 1632). Oviedo: Integer Cursus ad Unum Corpus Redactus (Lyons, 1640). Of Caramuel’s many works, Espinoza mentions the Metalogica (Frankfort, 1654), Herculis logici labores tres (Frankfort, 1651), and Grammatica Audax (Frankfort, 1651).

19 M. Sánchez Astudillo remarks that Ecuatorian manuscripts are similar to European ones of the same type in the first part of his Textos de catedráticos jesuitas en Quito colonial: Estudio y bibliografía (Quito: Casa de Cultura Ecuatoriana, 1959).

20 Veracruz, O.S.A.: Recognito Summularum and Dialectica Resolutio (Mexico City, 1554) and Physica Speculatio (Mexico City, 1557). Mercado, O.P.: two volumes on logic (1571); the second contains a “new translation” of the Aristotelian text. Rubio: Commentarii in Universam Aristotelis Dialecticam (Alcalá, 1603) and a compendium of this, Logica Mexicana (1605), and other commentaries on Aristotle.

21 Cardiff, Guillermo Furlong, Nacimiento y desarrollo de la filosofía en el Río de la Plata (entre 1536 y 1810) (Buenos Aires: Librero Padro, 1952), introduction.Google Scholar

22 Valera, O.F.M.: Commentarii ac Quaestiones in Universame Aristotelis ac … Scoti Logicam (Lima, 1610). Briceño, O.F.M.: … Controversiarum in Primum Sententiarum loannis Scoti (Madrid, 1638). The metaphysical treatises have been translated by Bacca, J. D. Garcia in Antología del pensamiento filosófico venezolano (Caracas: Min. de Educación, 1954)Google Scholar and Alonso Briceño: Disputaciones metafísicas (Caracas: Universidad Central, 1955). Roa Albarracín: Introductio ad Universam Aristotelis Logicam (Madrid, 1639). Leonardo Peñafiel, S.J.: Disputationum Theologicarum in Primam Partem Divi Thomae (Lyons, 1666–78) and ms commentary on the Metaphysics. Alonso Peñafiel, S.J.: Cursus Integri Philosophici, 3 vols. (Lyons, 1666). Olea, S.J.: Summa Tripartita Scholasticae Philosophiae, 2 vols. (Lima, 1693–4). Aguilar, S.J.: Cursus Philosophicus Dictatus Limae, 3 vols. (Seville, 1701) and Tratationes Posthumae in Primam Partem Divi Thomae, 5 vols. (Cordoba, 1731). Viñas, S.J.: Philosophia Scholastica, 3 vols. (Genoa, 1709).

23 Gamarra: Elementa Recentioris Philosophiae, 2 vols. (Mexico City, 1774) and Errores del entendimiento humano (Puebla, 1781). The former work was published in Spanish translation by Navarro, B., Díaz de Gomarra: Elementos de filosofía moderna (Mexico City: National University, 1963).Google Scholar Pereira, O.F.M.: a ms Physica Generalis was translated and published by Chiabra, Juan, La enseñanza de la filosofía en la época colonial (Buenos Aires: Universidad Nacional de la Plata, 1911).Google Scholar Caballero: the ms Lectiones de Philosophia Electiva (1797), was published by Artiles, J. in Spanish translation, José Augustin Caballero, Philosophia electiva (Havana: University of Havana, 1944).Google Scholar Celis: Elementa Philosophiae, 3 vols. (Madrid, 1787) and Filosofia de las costumbres (Madrid, 1793).

24 E. g., Caramuel knew of Descartes and Gassendi, T. Compton-Carleton, S.J. (d. 1666), author of Philosophia universa (1649) criticized Descartes, and S. Izquierdo, S.J. (d 1681), discussed Bacon, F. in his Pharus scientiarum (1659).Google Scholar

25 Miller, Perry, The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century (New York: MacMillian, 1939)Google Scholar and The New England Mind: From Colony to Province (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1953). Newlin, Claude M., Philosophy and Religion in Colonial America (New York: Greenwood Press, 1968).Google Scholar

26 de Turner, Clorinda Matto, Don Juan de Espinosa Medrano … Estudio biográfico (Lima: Imprenta del Universo, 1887),Google Scholar also contained in Bocetos al lápiz de americanos célebres (Lima: Imp. Bacigalupi, 1890), I, 17–40. Tamayo Rodríguez, J. Augustín, Estudios sobre Juan de Espinosa Medrano (el Lunarejo) (Lima: Studium, 1971).Google Scholar Valera, Manuel Mejía, Fuentes para la historia de la filosofía en el Perú (Lima: University of San Marcos, 1963), pp. 5556.Google Scholar Mendiburu, M., Diccionario histórico-biográfico del Perú, 2nd. ed. (Lima, 1931–4).Google Scholar Rivet, P. and de Créqui-Monfort, G., Bibliografie des langues aymará et kicua, 4 vols. (Paris: Institut d’Ethnologie, 1951–6).Google Scholar

27 Medina, , La Imprenta en Lima 1584–1824 (Amsterdam: N. Israel, 1965), 1, 63–4.Google Scholar Matto de Turner, pp. 15–16. However, in his logic, Medrano does not claim to have a deep knowledge of Greek.

28 The title was given him by Alonso Bravo de Paredes, quoted in Barreda, y Laos, , Vida intelectual de la colonia (Lima, 1909), p. 229.Google Scholar La novena maravilla (Madrid: Joseph de Reuda, 1695).

29 Fuentes historicas peruanas (Lima, 1963), p. 34. The Quechua text of the play was published by Middendorf, E. W., Dramatische und Lyrische Dichtungen der Keshua-Sprache (Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1891).Google Scholar

30 The Apologético (Lima: Juan de Quevedo y Zárate, 1662), 2nd ed. (Lima: Juan de Quevedo y Zárate, 1694) was republished by Calderón, Ventura García in El Apogeo de la literatura colonial, Biblioteca de Cultura Peruana, first series, n. 5 (Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1938), pp. 57186.Google Scholar

31 For example, a ms Disputationes de Actibus Humanis was offered for sale in London by Puttick and Simpson, March 27-8, 1873. Personal communication from D. S. Porter, Department of Western Manuscripts, Bodleian Library, Oxford England, March 30, 1971.

32 Preface to the logic. He refers to the Metaphysics, 1073 B.

33 John Stephen Spinula, 1591–1671.

34 Histories: 154:1; 174:2; 183:1; 198:3-199:12; 200:20; 206:2-207-8; 319:1-2; 355.8; 358:25; 374:1-375:4; etc. Criticism: 138:15; 148:29; 189:II; 216:40; 225:1-227:12; 300:64-5; etc.

35 Massio, Diego, Commentariorum in Universam Philosophiae Aristotelis … (1599).Google Scholar

36 Medina, , La imprenta en Lima, 2, 6364.Google Scholar

37 By Ignacio de Quesada, procurator general of the Dominican Order and Provincial of the province of the Holy Cross of the Indies.

38 Barreda, y Laos, , La vida intellectual, p. 28.Google Scholar

39 The quotes are from Virgil’s Aeneid (6:273s and 285ss); Espinoza Medrano substitutes the word “arts” for Orcus in the second passage, presumably to avoid the unfortunate parallelism between logic and hell.

40 The verse is quoted in Spanish:

Polifemo tiene un ojo,
Vos, señora, teneys dos;
No sois Polifemo vos.

41 Luís Rodríguez de Noya, O.F.M. d 1624; Dialecticae Aristotelis Compendium (1524).

42 Espinoza refers to Caramuel’s Theologia Fundamentalis, fund. 57, and his first letter to Angel Bossio. The verses are as follows.

Stagirita crucem hie ubi declarare modales
Caeperat ingeniis fixit Aristoteles:
Illas ad reliquas summa brevitate reduco,
Antiquamque brevi tempore tollo crucem.
Desine, Caramuel, priscum vexare modorum
Schema, quod ingeniis asserts esse crucem,
Quam si sustuleris, perdet te Bossuis; ergo Stare
Crecem tolera, qua est tibi parta salus.

43

Me Ochami sectam Hurtadus revocarat ab Orco
Ter functam; at quarto nunc sequor Euridicen;
En jaceo, ingeniis non tanta potentia in umbris,
Vox et conceptus absque re larva sumus.

41 I give a detailed account of this topic in Humanidades (1969) (see note 3).

45 Commentaries on the Metaphysics, bk. 4, In. 4 (44:13) and on the Ethics, bk. 1, In. 1 (45:16).

46 52:1-69:73, especially the fifth theorem, 61:37-64:45. My Spanish translation of the whole section appears in Humanidades (see note 3).

47 Flanders, O.P., d 1500: commentary on the Metaphysics. Araujo, O.P., d 1664: commentaries on the Metaphysics, two vols (1617, 1631) and on the Summa Theologica, 7 vols. (1635–47).

48 Meyronnes, d after 1328, “the Prince of Scotists”: commented on Lombard and the logic and physics of Aristotle, and wrote Tractatus de Formalitatibus and De Univocatione Entis. Espinoza (57:11) quotes Meyronnes directly saying Aristotle was not a good metaphysician because he could not abstract (Com. on Sentences, bk. 1, d. 47, qs. 3). He could have gotten this quote from Flanders (Com. on Metaphysics, bk. 1, qs 12, ar 2), whose criticism of Meyronnes he cites immediately afterwards. He only mentions Meyronnes in two other places (285:28 and 391:77).

49 Richard Lynch (or Linceo), S.J., d 1676: Commentary on Metaphysics (1654). The last words quoted are Flander’s (Meta. Bk. 5, qs. 3, ar. 2).

50 De Potentia, q. 3, a. 5, ad. 2.

51 Ponce, Juan, O.F.M.; Cursus Philosphicus ad Mentent Scoti (1643).Google Scholar

52 Noted by Francis Suárez, for example in Disp. Meta., disp. 31.

53 Parmenides 151e-152a, Phaedo 76de (62:38), and Parmenides 130e-131a (64:44).

54 Medices, O.P., d 1622: Summae Theologiae Sancti Thomae Aquinatis Fortmulis Explicatio (1614).

55 The following two passages are taken from the preface to the logic and the foreword to a sermon published by Espinoza’s professor, Alonso Bravo de Paredes.