El tratado De acidia de Alejandro de Hales y su recepción de Aristóteles

Abstract

Alexander of Hales, a Franciscan master in the University of Paris in the XIII century, has not been recurrently studied in the last decades. However, his works, among which the extensive Summa Theologica stands out, reveal not only speculative depth but also a wise reception of classical, patristic and medieval sources. In said work, he dedicates the Inquisito tertia to the treatment of the kinds of current sins, and in the first question of the second part of the fourth treatise he includes a titulus dedicated to acedia. After defining this vice, he continues to discuss its condition of sin. The purpose of this article is to present and comment on the concept of acedia proposed by Alexander, highlighting the reception of some Aristotelian concepts found in Alexander’s work through an etymological approximation, a conceptual approximation and its placement within a given genre. The conclusion allows us to determine that, for both Alexander and the Deseret Fathers, acedia is a spiritual disorder that prevents the monk or man of God to reach contemplation. For Evagrius Ponticus, the impediment is personified in a logismos or evil thought behind which the devil hides. For Alexander, on the other hand, it is a sin that consist of a profound sadness that slows and numbs the spiritual strength.