John Versor

John Versor (Latin: Johannes Versoris, French: Jean Letourneur)^[1] (died c.1485) was a French Dominican, known as a Thomist philosopher and commentator on Aristotle.^[2][3]

Title page from 1499 of a commentary by John Versor on the Posterior analytics of Aristotle.

He was Rector of the University of Paris in 1458.^[4]

Works

Though traditionally Versor has often been considered a Thomist, more recent studies show his dependence on both Thomas Aquinas and Albert the Great, and evidence suggests that, by his contemporaries, Versor was regarded as an authority of his own.^[5] In so far as he can be regarded as a Thomist, his position represents an interesting, pre-Cajetan verson of Thomism.^[6] His commentaries covered most of the works of Aristotle, and his textbooks were very widely circulated in the period 1470 to 1520.^[7]

A large part of his questions on Aristotle and Aquinas was translated into Hebrew by Eli Habillo, during the 1470s.^[8] Questions on Aristotle were printed in a number of editions at Cologne, from 1485 onwards.^[9]

Notes

1. Also Joannes Versoris, Jean Versor, Polish: Jan Wersor.
2. Risto Saarinen (30 June 2011). Weakness of Will in Renaissance and Reformation Thought. Oxford University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-19-960681-8. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
3. C. B. Schmitt; Quentin Skinner; Eckhard Kessler; Jill Kraye (20 September 1990). The Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy. Cambridge University Press. pp. 839–. ISBN 978-0-521-39748-3. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
4. David C. Lindberg (22 April 1996). Theories of Vision from Al-kindi to Kepler. University of Chicago Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-226-48235-4. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
5. Pepijn Rutten, "Secundum processum et mentem Versoris: John Versor and His Relation to the Schools of Thought Reconsidered", in: Vivarium 43 (2005), 292-336.
6. Stanislav Sousedík. Philosophie der frühen Neuzeit in den böhmischen Ländern. Frommann-Holzboog. ISBN 9783772824784.
7. Charles Schmitt (1 July 1983). John Case and Aristotelianism in Renaissance England. McGill-Queens. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-7735-1005-0. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
8. Mauro Zonta (11 April 2006). Hebrew Scholasticism in the Fifteenth Century: A History and Source Book. Springer. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4020-3715-3. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
9. Gregor Reisch; Andrew Cunningham; Sachiko Kusukawa (15 July 2010). Natural Philosophy Epitomised: A Translation of Books 8-11 of Gregor Reisch's Philosophical Pearl (1503). Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. lxi–ii. ISBN 978-0-7546-0612-3. Retrieved 4 August 2012.