| الوصف: |
This chapter provides a brief account of the theological and juridical meaning of credulitas through the Middle Ages and up to the early modern times. It starts with an examination of the nature and implications of the Augustinian-Thomist theological notion of credulitas. Contrary to the Roman pagan authors, for whom this word meant “credulity,” Augustine and Aquinas understood credulitas as our natural capability to believe, and therefore as a faculty that, if used properly, allows us to form fundamental and necessary bonds of trust with each other as well as with God. This chapter also puts this theological tradition in conversation with medieval jurisprudence and canon law, showing how premodern jurists thought about the meaning and legal implications of credibility and belief as opposed to knowledge. |
