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‘Historia praestat omnibus disciplinis’: Juan Luis Vives on history and historical study
Author(s) -
Bejczy István
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
renaissance studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1477-4658
pISSN - 0269-1213
DOI - 10.1111/1477-4658.00006
Subject(s) - erasmus+ , humanism , originality , meaning (existential) , art history , aesthetics , sociology , art , history , social science , philosophy , epistemology , the renaissance , theology , qualitative research
Juan Luis Vives (1492–1540) is justly celebrated as a philosopher of education, language, and psychology. Unfortunately, posterity has largely overlooked Vives's historical thought. Notably in De disciplinis (1531), the most comprehensive of his writings, Vives unfolds a remarkable view of the meaning of the past which runs through his work like a continuous thread, giving a historical dimension to his ideas on culture and education. This article aims to demonstrate the importance of Vives as a historical theorist, examining his discussion of the nature of history in De disciplinis, his idea of progress, and his views on the study of history. In particular two diverging accounts of the origins of learning emerge, which have philosophical implications, as well as a number of important restrictions on the study of history. Comparison of his views with those of contemporary humanists, notably Erasmus, brings out clearly Vives's originality in this field. (pp. 69–83)