Amo ut Sciam: The Function of Love in the Process of Knowledge in the light of St. Bonaventure's Philosophy

Abstract

This study probes the function of love in the process of knowledge in light of St. Bonaventure’s philosophy. To achieve this aim, the researcher focused the study on the following questions: (a) What is the concept of love according to St. Bonaventure? (b) What is the process of knowledge? This research uses the qualitative-historical method. It is qualitative because it deals with the non-numerical data in the form of philosophical texts. Also, it is historical in the sense of Schleiermacher and Dilthey’s ideographical history which does not focus on ideas in themselves but also on the life experience that led to formulation of the idea. The results show, on the one hand, that love refers to seeking genuineness to God, a human-to-God relationship. In the Itinerarium mentis in Deum, love is when a person has reached contemplation with God. To love is to be united with the first and supreme principle through contemplation. Knowledge, on the other hand, knowledge is a judgment, therefore, an action which causes the sensible species, received in a sensible way through the senses, to enter the intellective faculty by a process of purification and abstraction. Hence, love is the unitive factor of knowledge that it cognates, and knowledge is the cognitive factor of love that it unites.

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Literary Humanities

KEYWORDS

Love Knowledge

Digital Media

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