In the article Death Comes to the Archbishop, Norman Cantor focuses on the life of Thomas Bradwardine. Cantor details how the archbishop’s endeavours in science and psychology made him one of the greatest scholars of Oxford-Franciscan school of thought. As a young boy, Bradwardine was a bright student.
He later joined Oxford University where he studied mathematics, philosophy, and theology. By the age of 30, he had become a faculty member of the university. In the year 1323, Bradwardine joined Merton College where he studied Masters of Arts. At Merton College, Bradwardine met a group of scientists who were devoted to studying astronomy, physics, and mathematics.
With the help of these scholars, Bradwardine published several scientific treatises, which made him one the best-celebrated philosophical and theological persons in Oxford-Franciscan school of thought. In the next paragraphs, this article describes the philosophy of the Oxford school towards the relationship between faith and the natural world.
As illustrated by Cantor, the philosophers of the Oxford school of thought believed that God was a supreme and infinite being. This implied that from their perspectives human beings could not question God’s deeds. Equally, it was believed that human beings could not understand God’s actions clearly. However, Bradwardine and his fellow scholars believed that human beings had the capacity to investigate and understand the natural world.
Based on Bradwardine’s treatises, it is apparent that philosophers of the Oxford school of thought believed that there were relationship between faith and the natural world. For instance, Bradwardine asserted that God created the earth and several other planets in the universe. This view contradicted with the religious doctrines that were widely upheld by the public. As highlighted by the article’s author, Bradwardine’s innovative doctrine was little known outside Oxford.
Although Oxford school of thought philosophers had developed innovative theories on nature, these theories were never developed during their lifetimes. For instance, the Bradwardine theory of the universe implications was never developed because the theory could have contradicted with the then religious and moral beliefs.
Similarly, deeper understanding in the field of biomedical sciences was blocked by the people’s faith. By then, medical theories developed were ineffective since they had no basis on science but rather on faith and psychology.
If the Black Death had not struck down Bradwardine, the modern science would have been different. Although some of his theorists on nature were never developed until the 16th century, it should be noted that some of his innovations such as his experiments on optics led to the inventions of eyeglasses.
In this regard, if Bradwardine lived longer he could have come up with more innovative theories and inventions. Similarly, his death marked the end of Oxford School of thought. Therefore, if he could have lived longer he could have influenced his fellow elites to advance his theories and inventions.
Equally, by the time of his death Bradwardine was 50 years old. This implies that at the time of his demise he was still in the productive age bracket. Therefore, if Bradwardine had lived longer there are higher chances that he could have convinced those in power to believe in some of his scientific theories. As evident from bibliographies of great inventors such as Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton, Bradwardine’s great ideas could have created an intellectual revolution if he could live longer to expand and implement his ideas.