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This article reconsiders the historical–philosophical significance of the monk and abbot of Corbie Abbey (est. 657), Paschasius Radbertus (c. 790–860). Radbert is contextualised within the cultural and academic setting of the Carolingian period of the eighth and ninth centuries while taking into account the diverse scholarly accomplishments of his contemporaries such as Alcuin of York (c. 740–804), Rabanus Maurus (c. 780–856), Walafrid Strabo (c. 809–849) and John Scottus Eriugena (815–877). The characteristic absence of contributions regarding Radbert in otherwise comprehensive introductions and editorial works in medieval philosophy is subsequently surveyed. It is shown that only a few introductory works of note contain references to Radbert, while the current specialised research is also relatively limited. Reconsidering depictions of Radbert in several older commentaries, notably Martin Grabmann’s (1875–1949) Die Geschichte der Scholastischen Methode I (1957), it is suggested that Radbert’s philosophical importance could be traced to Vorscholastik or the earliest development of scholasticism, as presented in his extensive commentary Expositio in Matheo Libri XII – without diminishing the ecclesiastical weight of his dispute with Ratramnus (d.c. 868) regarding their interpretation of the Eucharist in their similarly titled but disparate treatises De corpore et sanguine Domini, for which Radbert is generally better known and accordingly reflected in studies of early medieval intellectual history. Contribution: This article contributes to scholarship in early medieval philosophy by reassessing the philosophical influence of Paschasius Radbertus, based on the most recent specialised analyses and older modern receptions of his texts De corpore et sanguine Domini and Expositio in Matheo Libri XII.

Herman Jean de Vleeschauwer’s (1899–1986) interpretation of Medieval philosophy at UNISA (1951–1964). This article presents the interpretation of Herman Jean de Vleeschauwer (1899–1986) of Medieval philosophy during his career as a lecturer and professor of philosophy at the University of South Africa (UNISA) from 1951 to 1964. The study is done regarding De Vleeschauwer’s publications and unpublished manuscripts relating to Medieval philosophy, as filed in Archive MSS Acc 32 at the UNISA Institutional Repository. Essentially, De Vleeschauwer was one of only two South African university lecturers in the 20th century who consistently included the Middle Ages in the philosophy curriculum (the other was Martin Versfeld at the University of Cape Town, from 1937 to 1972). When précising his work in Medieval philosophy at UNISA for the designated period, it becomes clear that De Vleeschauwer’s nuanced defence of Thomism was the matrix of his interpretation. This cornerstone, and his numerous other published and unpublished texts relating to the Middle Ages, show that De Vleeschauwer was an erudite commentator, competent lecturer and skilled specialist researcher in Medieval philosophy, as he was in early modern and modern philosophy (especially on Kant and Geulincx). As a scholar of Medieval philosophy, in particular, De Vleeschauwer had no equal in the 20th century South African context. Contribution: This article contributes to the ongoing assessment of the characteristic and curious inattention to Medieval philosophy at South African (especially the historical Afrikaans) universities during the course of the 20th century.

The ‘confessions of the flesh’ in the central Middle Ages: An expansion of Foucault’s reading in Histoire de la sexualité 1 (La volonté de savoir). This article expands Michel Foucault’s (1926–1984) reading of the ‘confessions of the flesh’ in handbooks of penance written during the central Middle Ages in the first volume La volonté de savoir of his (current) four-volume series Histoire de la sexualité. After the posthumous publication of the fourth volume Les aveux de la chair (2018), in which Foucault takes his analysis of the historical foundations of confessional practices in the late 12th century to the first half of the 14th century even further back, to the ‘confessions of the flesh’ in the patristics of the 3rd to the 5th centuries, it has become sensible to illuminate Foucault’s condensed reading of confessional scripts in La volonté de savoir itself. This exposition pertinently applies to Foucault’s correct conclusion that sex was prioritised above all other ‘sins’, ‘vices’, and ‘transgressions’ in central Medieval confessional scripts; therefore, as he famously noted, becoming a ‘seismograph of subjectivity in Christian cultures’. Against this backdrop, it is considered how thinkers from the central Middle Ages themselves reflected on the sacramentalisation of confession after the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 – since Foucault himself did not substantially elaborate on it. The reflections of three philosophers from the central Middle Ages on the relation between sex, confession and absolution are subsequently presented as an expansion of Foucault’s reading in La volonté de savoir. Firstly, Alan of Lille’s (d.1203) interpretation of the Summae confessorum in his Liber poenitentialis is revisited, concluding that Lille’s perspective was ‘hermeneutical’, in terms of his insistence that the confessor should adjust his interrogations according to seven Aristotelian topoi or detailed questions, designate the context in which the transgression occurred very thoroughly and ‘actively participate’ in the confessional act, rather than simply recording it. Lille’s ‘hermeneutical’ approach to confession is also reflected in Robert Grosseteste’s (ca.1168–1253) De modo confitendi et paenitentias iniungendi, in which a moderate phronetic approach allows for the full discretion of the confessor, rather than following the rigid prescriptions of the Summae confessorum only. Secondly, William of Auvergne’s (ca.1180–1249) contribution to the interpretation of the Summae confessorum in his Poenitentia is indicated in his utilitarian ethics, in which the interests of the ethical ‘other’ is related to the confessing ‘self’: even though matrimony is for Auvergne the only realm where the other’s interests are not necessarily compromised by sexual contact, several considerations regarding ‘improper sex’, precisely within matrimony, apply according to the relevant penitential guidelines. Thirdly, Paul of Hungary’s (ca.1180–1241) De confessione is considered in terms of his reflections on ‘paying sexual debt’, and on the relation between regulated sexual release and the legitimacy of sexual gratification, again within the context of matrimony. Contribution: This article contributes to Foucault-scholarship by elucidating and expanding Foucault’s condensed reading of 13th-century confessional scripts in La volonté de savoir, with reference to the relevant texts of Alan of Lille (d.1203), William of Auvergne (ca.1180–1249) and Paul of Hungary (ca.1180–1241).

‘Skoolordes’ instead of ‘bedelordes’: A reconsideration of the applicability of the term mendīcāns in the (Afrikaans) Medieval register. In this article the applicability of the Latin present participle mendīcāns in the (Afrikaans) Medieval register, with reference to the development of the four mendicant orders in the Medieval Latin West from the early 13th century onward, is reconsidered. The term mendīcāns is customarily translated as mendicant in English and as bedelend in Afrikaans (including the terminological transition to bedelordes and bedelmonnike) and familial languages such as Dutch (bedelorden and bedelmonniken) and German (Bettelorden and Bettelmönche). While the English application is by its Latinised nature subtle and not explicitly value-laden (referring not to begging but to the Latin participle mendīcāns), this is not the case in the latter languages. In the translation and terminological application of mendīcāns as bedelend in these languages, the profoundly condescending and Medievalist-patronising notion of ‘begging’ (which is wholly different from ‘receiving alms’) becomes prevalent. When, however, the idea-historical development of the term mendīcāns is reconsidered (particularly in the context of the Franciscan interpretation of the relation between usus [sustainable use within the milieu of idealised corporate poverty; ordo habeat usum, per Bonaventure]) and dominium [private ownership]), and taking into account that bedel refers not to social reciprocity (as it should in this context) but to a form of static and unilateral economic action, it seems sensible to review the term, at least in the latter languages, by a less value-determined alternative, such as skool (school). The four mendicant orders originating in the first decades of the 13th century (the Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans and Franciscans), shared a prominent feature, apart from not allowing themselves to own private property and the fact that they were indeed dependent on local communities for material (explicitly non-financial) support, namely the administration and conservation of a unique educational system of studia or local ‘boarding schools’, which functioned in a Venn-diagrammatical relationship with the young universities of the 12th century onward. The studia contributed in an unparalleled way to the academic formation of undergraduate students throughout the Medieval West. Rather than fixating on a static and arbitrary economic notion such as bedel, the vibrant academic achievements of the mendicant orders should instead be considered as their epitomising common feature – and should accordingly be reflected as such in the term describing them. Contribution: This re-evaluation of the applicability of the Latin term mendīcāns in the Medieval register contributes to the development and ongoing refinement of the Medieval register in specifically the Afrikaans language, whereby the English translations ‘mendicant friar’ and ‘mendicant orders’, translated and applied from mendīcāns as bedelmonnike and bedelordes in Afrikaans, be henceforth instead referred to as skoolmonnike and skoolordes.

No abstract available.

The environmental crisis, ecological injustice and climate change are some of the biggest challenges to humanity and sustainable development worldwide. The youth are at the centre of the ecological (in)justice, environmental consciousness and climate change discourse. For the youth to participate and influence development with regard to the climate crisis in a favourable way, they must understand their role and the issues and challenges that they face in this regard. Contribution: The aim of this explorative article is twofold. It highlights the involvement of the South African youth in ecological matters. It also offers insights on why the youth can be regarded as game-changing role-players with regard to the climate crisis and being environmentally conscious.

This article presents a contextualisation of Belgian philosopher and historian of psychiatry and sexuality, Patrick Vandermeersch’s (1946–), unpublished analysis of French philosopher Michel Foucault’s (1926–1984) interpretation of Methodius of Olympus’ (d.ca.311) views on virginity and chastity, in Histoire de la sexualité 4 (Les aveux de la chair), published in February 2018 at Gallimard in Paris under the editorship of Frédéric Gros. The article contributes to the reception and the ongoing analyses of Les aveux de la chair by exploring Foucault’s reading while highlighting both the importance of Vandermeersch’s analysis and the sexological-historiographical significance of his broader oeuvre that spans over four decades. Vandermeersch shows that Foucault, as many other commentators of Methodius, did not substantially engage Methodius’ explicit indebtedness and persistent references to Plato (already evident in the title Symposium but especially regarding the Phaedrus). Platonic homoeroticism is, according to Vandermeersch, as a consequence often too hastily, and therefore problematically, transposed on contexts of female virginity. Likewise, Foucault, when indicating already at the end of Histoire de la sexualité 2 (L’usage des plaisirs 1984), the particular relevance of homoeroticism in the development of Western sexuality, seemed to adhere to this transposition. Could ‘beautiful boys’ truly be transposed onto ‘female virgins’ without severe sexual-discursive complications? And could Methodius’ encomium of virginity in any way be understood independent of his understanding of the ‘resurrection of the body’, with the integrity of its (virginised) sexual desire intact? These are among Vandermeersch’s valid and challenging questions to both Foucault and his contemporary readership. Contribution: Foucault’s reading of the church- and desert fathers in Histoire de la sexualité 4 (Les aveux de la chair) impacts early Medieval philosophy, early Medieval history, church history, patristics, philosophy of religion, psychology of religion and sociology of religion. Since these proximate disciplines are drawn towards Foucault’s text, they may well note its ongoing examinations. Foucault’s direct impact on these disciplines is illustrated in Vandermeersch’s significant analysis of Foucault’s reading of Methodius in Les aveux de la chair. Vandermeersch’s broader oeuvre in philosophy, theology, psychiatry, psychology, psychology of religion and the history of sexuality is concurrently contextualised as of ongoing contemporary importance for these disciplines.

Augustine and female homoeroticism in the early Middle Ages: A Foucaultian idea-historical interpretation. Taking his reading of Romans 1:26–27 and Genesis 19 as its hermeneutical key, an idea-historical interpretation of the views of the Western church father Augustine of Hippo (354–430) on female homoeroticism is presented in this article. The accentuation of French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926–1984) on the overall significance of Augustine in the Western history of sexuality, in his posthumous Histoire de la sexualité 4 (Les aveux de la chair, under editorship of Frédéric Gros, 2018), is used to contextualise Augustine’s views on sexual desire as the ‘form of the will’, here positioned specifically within a female homoerotic context. Drawing on the substantial studies of John Boswell (in 1980) and Bernadette Brooten (in 1996), which, although relatively dated, are still without equal in Medieval research, the article subsequently explores Augustine’s views on intimate relations between women, both in monasteries and in secular society. It is shown that intimate relations between women must have transpired in fifth-century monasteries and that female homoeroticism was for the next two centuries dealt with with restraint rather than with forms of exclusion and punishment, despite the negative portrayals of same-sex relations by some of Augustine’s patristic contemporaries (particularly John Chrysostom [ca.347–407]), yet precisely on the basis of Augustine’s understated approach. Although Augustine renounced homoerotic relations as a form of ‘unnatural’ (for him, expressly, all ‘non-procreative’) sex, he dealt with the incidence of female same-sex relations with understatement. Given his general authority in the early Middle Ages, one effect of Augustine’s non-homophobic approach was that female homoeroticism was de facto bypassed as a ‘moral problem’ in the fifth and sixth centuries, until handbooks of penance, that prohibited all forms of same-sex relations, started circulating at the end of the sixth century. Contribution: This article contributes to the ongoing study of Medieval female sexuality, and particularly of female homoeroticism in late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, by exploring Augustine’s views on same-sex relations between women around the early fifth century, while concurrently contributing to ongoing analyses of Michel Foucault’s interpretation of the church and desert fathers in the (edited) fourth volume of Histoire de la sexualité (Les aveux de la chair), published in 2018.

The ‘five tears’ as mystical expression in the Dialogues of the Dominican nun Catherine of Siena (1347–1380). This article explores the underestimated teaching of the ‘five tears’ as mystical expression in the text Il dialogo (The dialogues, written in 1378) by the Dominican (Mantellate) nun and philosopher-theologian, Catherine of Siena (Caterina Benincasa, 1347–1380). The objective of the article is to indicate the significance of the teaching of the ‘five tears’, against the backdrop of the wider symbolic function of tears and ‘holy grief’ in Late Medieval mysticism. After presenting a biographical introduction, the contemplative, communicative and secretive import of the meaning of tears in the Middle Ages are reappraised and applied to The dialogues. By synthesising the scarce references in the relevant secondary literature, the teaching of the five tears are henceforth discussed: the tears of damnation, which are the tears of ‘evil and sinful people’; the tears of fear, which are the tears of fallen humankind in the presence of God’s judgement; the tears of gratitude, cried by a ‘saved humanity’ who now ‘see and taste God’s goodness’ (implicitly referring to the eucharist); the perfect tears, cried by people in their selfless disposition toward and love for the human Other; and the sweet tears of tenderness, cried by those who love God and humankind, in a radicalisation of Jesus of Nazareth’s summary of the Law, ‘more than thyself’. Catherine’s teaching of the ‘five tears’ certainly presents unique features and its own considerations, but should, nevertheless, be interpreted as an extension of the contemplative and secretive functions of ‘holy grief’ as already presented in Scripture and reconsidered by the Eastern and Western church fathers in the second to the fifth centuries. Catherine’s contribution to Medieval mysticism is established therein that she expanded those initial contents by presenting the teaching of the five tears as a ritualised prerequisite for development in the Medieval pilgrim’s spiritual itinerary to God. Contribution: This article contributes to scholarship in Medieval philosophy by contextualising Catherine of Siena’s teaching of the ‘five tears’ within the wider symbolic realm of tears and ‘holy grief’ in late Medieval mysticism, stressing the contemplative, communicative and secretive import of tears throughout the Middle Ages.

This article charters the history and work of the Society for the Promotion of Eriugenian Studies (SPES), which celebrated its 50-year jubileum in 2020. After a brief introduction to the thought of John Scottus Eriugena (815–877), with emphasis on his primary text (in five volumes), Periphyseon, written between 864 and 866 and condemned as heretical in 1050, 1059, 1210 and finally in 1225, the development of SPES over the past five decades is surveyed in detail and connected to an outstanding work published in the Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition series in Leiden (2020), under the editorship of Adrian Guiu (A Companion to John Scottus Eriugena). The article is descriptive and analytical in its presentation of the relevant history of ideas and synthetical in its attempt to coherently integrate the most recent secondary texts on the relevant philosophical themes in Eriugena research. Contribution: The article contributes to the Society for the Promotion of Eriugenian Studies’ 50-year jubileum by summarising its conference outputs over the past five decades in an extensive overview as well as connecting its work to A Companion to John Scottus Eriugena (Brill, Leiden, 2020), thereby furthering the society’s efforts and specialist research outputs to a broader, non-specialised readership.

This article responds to a critical research challenge in Medieval philosophy scholarship regarding the internal periodisation of the register. By arguing the case for ‘post-scholasticism’ as an internal period indicator (1349–1464, the era between the deaths of William of Ockham and Nicholas of Cusa), defined as ‘the transformation of high scholasticism on the basis of a selective departure thereof’, the article specifies a predisposition in the majority of introductions to and commentaries in Medieval philosophy to proceed straight from 1349 to 1464, understating 115 years of pertinent Medieval philosophical discourse. It is argued that in the modern account of Medieval philosophy, this understatement is manifested in either a predating of Renaissance philosophy to close the gap between 1349 and 1464 as far as possible or in proceeding straight from 1349 to Renaissance philosophy. The article presents five unique philosophical themes from this delicate period, indicating that ‘post-scholasticism’ was indeed a productive period in late Medieval philosophy, which should not be bypassed as an inconsequential entrance to Renaissance philosophy. The period 1349–1464 should accordingly be appreciated for its idiosyncratic contributions to the history of ideas in the late-14th and early-15th centuries, with reference to the political intensification of the via moderna, the pivotal separation of philosophy and theology and the resulting independence of the natural sciences, in res critique of institutions, transforming pragmatics and the rise of philosophical materialism. Contribution: This article contributes to methodological development in Medieval philosophy by responding to a critical research challenge regarding the internal periodisation of the later Middle Ages. Arguing the case for ‘post-scholasticism’ as an internal period indicator (1349 to 1464 in Medieval philosophy, the article presents unique philosophical themes from the period, indicating that it was a productive stage in late Medieval philosophy which should not be bypassed as an inconsequential entrance to Renaissance philosophy.

The objective of this article is to present an overview, based on the most recent specialist research, of Neoplatonist developments in the Cologne tradition of the later Middle Ages, with specific reference to a unique Proclian commentary presented by the German Albertist Dominican, Berthold of Moosburg (ca. 1300–1361). Situating Berthold in the post-Eckhart Dominican crisis of the 1340s and 1350s, his rehabilitating initiative of presenting this extensive (nine-volume) commentary on the Neoplatonist Proclus Lycaeus’ (412–485) Elements of Theology in his Expositio super Elementationem theologicam Procli, the only of its kind from the Middle Ages, is contextualised with reference to Berthold’s discursive indebtedness to his Dominican predecessors, Albert the Great (ca. 1200–1280), Ulrich of Strasbourg (ca. 1220–1277) and Dietrich of Freiberg (ca.1250 – ca.1310), as well as two Dutch-Cologne successors, the Albertist Heymeric of Camp (1395–1460) and the Carthusian Thomist Denys de Leeuwis (1402–1471). Berthold’s unique contribution to the philosophical discourse of the Middle Ages is indicated therein that the Expositio provided a synthesis of the late Medieval version of Neoplatonism and contemporaneous German–Dominican theories. By contextualising the work of his Cologne predecessors and successors in the broad idea-historical landscape of antiquity and Neoplatonism, the article argues that Berthold succeeded in linking the Neoplatonic legacy with Cologne Albertism and provided an impetus for the overall consolidating ability of the Cologne tradition. By juxtaposing Berthold and his Expositio with the more conventional legacies of Ulrich, Dietrich, Heymeric and Denys, this exceptional Latin-Western intellectual tradition from Cologne is expanded and enriched with regard to its notable Neoplatonic contributions to philosophy in the later Middle Ages. Contribution: This article contributes to scholarship in Medieval philosophy by presenting an overview of Neoplatonist developments in the Cologne tradition of the later Middle Ages, with specific reference to the Proclian commentary presented by the German Albertist Dominican, Berthold of Moosburg (ca. 1300–1361). By contextualising the work of Berthold’s Cologne predecessors and successors in the broad idea-historical landscape of antiquity and Neoplatonism, the article indicates that Berthold succeeded in linking the Neoplatonic legacy with Cologne Albertism and provided an impetus for the overall consolidating ability of the Cologne tradition during the later Middle Ages.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread globally. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak to be a global pandemic. Millions of people have been diagnosed globally; and at the time of publishing this article, more than a million people died because of the virus. South Africa reported its first official COVID-19 case on 05 March 2020, and since then the figures dramatically increased. On 15 March 2020 and the week thereafter on 23 March 2020, South Africans were waiting in anticipation as they learned from various (social) media platforms that the President would make a crucial announcement regarding the impact of COVID-19 and the drastic effect it will have on their country. Immediately drastic and tremendous measures were announced to safeguard South Africans and to contain the spread of the virus that was impacting communities of all faiths. Does this situation of crisis and global pandemic pose a challenge or a new opportunity for the church to be church with integrity? This article explores this question by engaging with the missional and practical theological perspectives such as the church being missional, relevant and contextual. This situation both challenges and provides opportunities to revisit and redefine being church outside the traditional walls of the church as missional describes being a missionary everywhere you are. This article engages with the missional perspective that the church is called to be church everywhere as well as being church in a time of the fourth industrial revolution. Contribution: This research challenges the traditional discourse and believers’ current understanding and praxis of being church. This research invites the church to embrace new (old forgotten) ways of being church because of a medical global pandemic (health sciences). It brings together insights from missional ecclesiology and practical theology and engages with social and human sciences.

Julian of Norwich (1342–ca.1416) as a post-scholastic theologian. This article positions the ‘first female English writer from the Middle Ages’, Julian of Norwich (1342–ca.1416), within the context of ‘post-scholasticism’, the very last period in late Medieval Philosophy, of which one feature was the final separation of theology and philosophy in the late Medieval index. Julian should in terms of this placing be engaged as a theologian proper, distinguished from the six other prominent female thinkers from the Medieval Latin West (Héloïse, Hildegard, Mechtild, Hadewijch, Marguerite and Catherine), who were all philosopher-theologians. However, Julian’s epistemology and metaphysics were intertwined with her theology, as presented in her Book of Showings, to such an extent that it is impossible to isolate it from her theological output. She is within the socio-historical context of the third wave of the Black Plague in Norwich in 1369 henceforth profiled as a ‘post-scholastic theologian’ and presented on the basis of prominent theological features in Showings, including its immanent-mystical character (being a presentation of convent theology rather than scholastic theology), its vernacular (Middle English) originality and profound pastoral appeal, its maternal-Christological imagery (Moder Jhesu), its Trinitarian orientation (for the trinitie is god, god is the trinitie) and its deeply eschatological, open-ended engagement with a world devastated by the Plague (alle shalle be wele). Contribution: As a millennium-long discourse, Medieval philosophy functions in a Venn diagrammatical relationship with Medieval history, Church history, patristics and philosophy of religion. Whenever ‘mainstream’ or ‘canonised’ Medieval philosophy is impacted from specialist research, it may well have implications that these closely related disciplines could take note of. Such is the case in this reappraisal of Julian of Norwich’ theological and pastoral legacy from its original context of the Black Plague in the 14th century – and indeed within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

This article addresses the underestimation of Medieval philosophy in the contemporary curriculum by engaging its very origins in the ‘postmodern’ dislocation of philosophy. The leading question is what would be the prospects in the 21st century of reorienting Western philosophy from its idea-historical sources, which would include its ancient traditions and the Medieval exposition, as well as the Renaissance elucidation thereof. Critically engaging the works of numerous ‘postmodern’ philosophers (Lyotard, Derrida, Foucault, Baudrillard, Virilio and Zizek) as well as critics of the ‘postmodern’ departure from traditional philosophy (Gadamer, Habermas, Jameson, Norris), this article argues for the re-establishment of the late Medieval notion of sensus communis, both as common sense and community sense. Against this backdrop, the article reappraises Medieval thought within the context of sensus communis to combat the contemporary dislocation of philosophy, by raising the possibility of the presentation of first-order judgments via sensus communis in a new pursuit for wijsbegeerte.

This article provides an original reappraisal of the notion of Minnemystik in the work of the 13th-century Flemish beguine Hadewijch of Antwerp (fl. 1240), with specific reference to its Trinitarian and Christological orientations. After an introduction to the nature and origins of Hadewijch’s work, relating to the discovery of four extant manuscripts (MS.A [2879–2880], MS.B [2877–2878], BS.C and the incomplete MS.D [385 II]) in Belgium in 1838, followed by an elucidation of the experience-driven epistemology of the Victorians Richard of St Victor (d. 1173) and Hugo of St Victor (1079–1141) as her key early scholastic influences, Hadewijch’s Minnemystik is distinguished from Wesenmystik, as encountered in the mystical work of her French contemporary and beguine counterpart, Marguerite Porete (1250–1310). From this discursive basis, Hadewijch’s Minnemystik is reassessed and represented as pertinently Trinitarian and Christological in orientation, and therefore as a theological (and not merely an enticing ‘mystical-sexual’) presentation from the 13th century.

The triumph of a post-scholastic mysticism over scholastic loyalism:Gerson versus Ruusbroec (posth.), 1399. This article provides an introduction to the thought of the Flemish-Brabant 14th-century mystical thinker, Jan van Ruusbroec, with special attention to the explosion in the niche research from 1981 (with the publication of the first volume of the Ruusbroec Opera Omnia) to 2017 (regarding the specialised outputs of the Ruusbroec Institute at the University of Antwerp). Ruusbroec is presented as a ‘post-scholastic’ thinker, who in an idiosyncratic way, transcended the high-scholastic aspirations of absolute clarity and certainty about God and human existence. His thought is contextualised within a polemical, posthumous context, namely the attempt of the chancellor of the University of Paris at the time, John Gerson, to get Ruusbroec’s text‘, ‘Die geestelike brulocht’ declared as heresy and Ruusbroec himself as a heretic in the year 1399 AD, 18 years after Ruusbroec’s death. The attempts of Ruusbroec’s young colleagues at the modest monastery of Groenendaal, confronting and rearguing Gerson on this issue, are thoroughly explored. The fact that neither ‘Die geestelike brulocht’ nor Ruusbroec himself could eventually be effectively challenged by the high-powered Gerson, is presented as an example of the inherent potential of ‘post-scholasticism’ to contribute to the progression that eventually manifested itself as the ‘new world’, the Renaissance. No one won or lost this posthumous battle: but Gerson certainly did not win it. This is a remarkable note in, even a ‘triumph’ for, the archives of the small Augustinian monastery in Groenendaal, consisting of subtle ‘Augustinian’ monks, who had little more than a dedicated passion for Ruusbroec’s mysticism (and an undergraduate in theology at the University of Paris) on their side. A hermeneutic interpretation of the events of 1399 is henceforth presented, to indicate that within the socio-political turmoil of European societies in the 14th century, there were still places (and thinkers, such as Ruusbroec), where people were able to find ‘rest in God’ – as there should be today.

Foucault’s sodomite’: Damian’s Liber gomorrhianus (1049) reopened. Taking Michel Foucault’s famous statement about the difference between the ‘Medieval sodomite’ and the heteronormative ‘19th century homosexual’ as its cue, this article surveys the discursive source of that statement in the work of Peter Damian (1007–1072) with regard to his obscure, yet consequential text, Liber gomorrhianus (presented in 1049 to Pope Leo IX, preceding the Council of Reims). Drawing on the recent research by Ranft and because Damian is such an understated figure in the corpus of Medieval philosophy, an overview of Damian’s life and work is presented, especially in terms of Damian’s 11th century reforming labour ethics. Only then the article proceeds to reopen Damian’s text, indicating that the ‘Medieval sodomite’ is far removed from an elementary precursor to the modern scientia sexualis homosexual, but is indeed presented by Damian as a complex and gender-inclusive licentious person, within the context of the disintegration of sexual morality (especially within the domains of celibacy and confession) in the middle to late 11th century church and monasteries. Cross-referencing the own translation of the Latin text with the translation of Payer, the article disseminates and critiques the key concepts in Damian’s argument for the summarily deposition of lapsi [fallen priests] and the expulsion of promiscuous monks (and nuns) from the orders, especially with regard to Damian’s concepts of contra-natural and irrational fornication. Pope Leo’s deeply pastoral and insightful answer to Damian (Ad splendidum nitentis) is presented in the last part of the article, including his sanctioning of Damian’s complex concept of sodomy, which on that ground, became the conceptual source for the council of Reims (1049), and subsequent Medieval councils dealing with the ‘problem of sodomy’ in the church and monasteries. The canons of those councils were indeed the source of Foucault’s analysis of Medieval sexuality – yet the more fundamental source was Damian’s obscure text.

This article explores how a farming community in Wellington (Bovlei) moved from dependence towards an empowered community through non-profit organisations’ (NPOs) transformative community development initiatives, undertaken together with the church’s social capital. This example serves as the backdrop to explore critical viewpoints by various scholars who are critical about how the church engages in an unequal and unjust society. The critical questions that remain are the following; who is the church?, what is the church’s role as a change agent? and how should churches leverage social capital for development? Although various definitions have been given in conceptualising the church and its role in society, through this article, the author engages with the social capital theory in understanding how the transformation came about in this community by describing the churches’ involvement through a case study.

The philosophical output of Héloïse d’Argenteuil. This article attempts to deconstruct the overhyped erotic relationship between the philosopher-monk Peter Abelard (1079–1142) and philosopher-nun Héloïse d’Argenteuil (ca. 1100–1164), by surveying Héloïse’s extant texts (Epistolae duorum amantium, Episto lae Heloissae and Problemata Heloissae) as such, isolating three themes in her philosophical output: her concept of Cicerian love, her criticism of marriage and her notion of moral and material responsibility, which includes her understanding of an ethics of attitude and intention. When Héloïse is read against the grain of the standardised Abelard-reception (which holds Héloïse as at best a productive correspondent of Abelard, yet a mere muse for his extensive academic output), she is brought into perspective as an independent thinker, who deserves more intellectual respect than to be caricaturised as either Abelard’s secret young lover, or his unwilling wife. When her texts are read as independent outputs, albeit often in the form of correspondence, she steps forward as the ‘first female philosopher of the Middle Ages’. Her relationship with Abelard, important as it was for both of them, is secondary to her standing as a philosopher proper.

This article reflects on the findings of a research study that investigated a community development project by CARITAS, a welfare organisation of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). The said organisation, together with local DRC congregations, and in a quest to address societal issues such as poverty and child neglect in the Northern Cape, developed early childhood development (ECD) centres in rural towns. The aim was to provide young children with quality care and to provide congregations with a platform to become active participants in community development projects. The study was conducted 5 years after the start of the project to explore the nature and value thereof. The outcomes of the study provide valuable insights regarding how such centres served as a tool to work towards ECD and a sense of community in these towns, while also addressing socio-economic issues. This article is aimed at presenting the findings as an example to be explored in other contexts.

This article investigates the palimpsest reception of Pseudo-Dionysius (ca. 500) in the metaphysics of Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464). The article covers Cusa’s political theory and metaphysics, which are intertwined. Reading Cusa against the backdrop of an analysis of Pseudo-Dionysius’ metaphysics in a preceding article, the author, in a synthetic conclusion, isolates seven Dionysic ‘trails’ (S1 to S7) in Cusa’s metaphysics: the interpretation of transcendence as bound to immanence; the affirmation of God’s transcendence in the world (or a metaphysics of ‘creation as teophany’); the radical transcendence and simultaneous radical immanence of God (that is, God as ‘Beingness’); fundamental restrictions of language and the analogical ‘Naming’ of God; creation as a system of dialectical symbols about God; the analogical participation of the subject in creation; and unification (reditus, the ‘flowing of things back to God’). The Dionysic trails in Cusa’s metaphysics are described as a noteworthy, if not important, palimpsest in the corpus of late Medieval philosophy and is indicative of what the author puts forward as ‘discursive memory’, which is presented as a modern-critical concept.

This article, by analysing, annotating en interpreting the most recent research in all relevant departments, provides a fresh and updated overview of the Neoplatonic metaphysics of Pseudo-Dionysius (ca. 500). After providing an introduction to Dionysius’ metaphysics in terms of the contributions of Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism, the article explores his broader philosophical system. A number of traits that are uniquely Dionysic-metaphysical, are eventually isolated: the interpretation of transcendence as bound to immanence; the affirmation of God’s transcendence in the world (that is, a metaphysics of ‘creation as teophany’; following E.D. Perl); the radical transcendence and simultaneous radical immanence of God (that is, God as ‘Beingness’); fundamental restrictions of language and the analogical ‘Naming’ of God; creation as a system of dialectical symbols about God; the analogical participation of the subject in creation; and unification (reditus, the ‘flowing of things back to God’). These traits are utilised to reappraise the metaphysics of Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) in a subsequent article.

Although the demarginalisation of youths is an international concern, South African youths are viewed by various scholars and policy documents as a particularly vulnerable and marginalised group. It becomes essential to understand what characterises their marginalisation in order to find innovative ways to work towards their demarginalisation. In this article we reflect on current faith-based concerns and compare this with the specific characteristics of the marginalisation of young people. In an effort to contribute to the development of a strategy towards demarginalisation, we will explore the key features of the Circle of Courage in terms of the principles of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity. We will further propose the inclusion of Ubuntu principles in the practical application of the Circle of Courage for churches and faith-based organisations in demarginalising youth in the South African context.

The aim of the article is to report on research findings that could contribute to the development of decolonised academic material. Africanisation of curricula implies that education and training as well as praxis be informed by the reality of the South African context, the viewpoints of the people of South Africa and their descriptions of what is needed to build a just society. This is relevant to a variety of service professions. This article was presented from a trans-disciplinary framework, and the term ‘professional carers’, including the social service and theology professions, was used. The discussion explored how academia can approach the development of curricula that will inform praxis and which is relevant to the African context. The terms ‘Africanisation’, ‘decolonisation’ and ‘contextualisation’ were linked, whereafter a developmental approach to the development of the content and presentation of academic material was proposed. The article is concluded with recommended strategic options for the development of Africanised curricula.

From Ockham to Cusa: The encyclopaedic case for ‘post-scholasticism’ in Medieval philosophy. This article argues for the encyclopaedic recognition of ‘post-scholasticism’, indicating the very last and complex period (circa 1349–1464) in late Medieval philosophy, where the via moderna and logica modernorum have clearly departed from the fundamental premises of high scholasticism, the via antiqua and the logica novus, as manifested in the work of William of Ockham (and, eventually, in the political theory of Marsilius of Padua). The article argues that post-scholasticism should be distinguished from late scholasticism (exiting Ockham) and early Renaissance philosophy (entering Nicholas of Cusa). The article indicates that there is a tendency in many introductions to and secondary texts in Medieval philosophy to proceed straight from Ockham to Cusa (the ‘very last Medieval and very first Renaissance philosopher’), understating more than a century of pertinent Medieval scholarship. In the modern encyclopaedia of philosophy, this understatement manifests in either a predating of Renaissance philosophy to close the gap between Ockham and Cusa as far as possible, or in understating this period as philosophically sterile, or in, without argument, simply proceeding straight from Ockham to Cusa. The article covers some of the essential philosophical contributions presented during this fragile philosophical-historical period, indicating that post-scholasticism is indeed a difficult and complex, yet productive period in the history of late Medieval philosophy, which should not be bypassed as a trivial gateway to either Renaissance philosophy or early modernity as such, but valued for its own idiosincracies, intricacies and overall contribution to the history of ideas in philosophy and theology.

The role of coping in the relationship between spiritual wellbeing and depression amongst ministers. The aim of this study was to determine the role of coping in the relationship between spiritual well-being and depression among ministers. The research group consisted of 53 Dutch Reformed ministers, all serving in the Northern Cape. Coping was measured by means of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Questionnaire (Carver, Scheier & Weintraub 1989), spiritual well-being by means of the Spiritual Well-being Questionnaire (Gomez & Fisher 2003:1977), and depression by means of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck, Steer & Brown 1996:1−2). The results of this study indicated that problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping showed no direct relationship with depression. Problem-focused coping also plays no significant role in the relationship between spiritual well-being and depression. Emotion-focused coping, however, plays a role in the relationship between environment-related spiritual well-being and depression. Significant negative relationships between spiritual well-being and depression were found. A significant positive relationship was found between dysfunctional coping and depression. Dysfunctional coping was identified as a mediator in the relationship between personal spiritual well-being and depression. The results of this study are supported by the literature.

From the investigative premise of a Foucauldian archaeology of knowledge, this article attempts to unearth the layers of ideas which constituted the Hervormd approach to doing theology over the past century. Digging into seemingly disassociated bodies of theological precedents, the article anatomizes four layers of ideas in a series of diverse orientations towards theology, namely the (1) ethical, (2) confessional and (3) dialectical orientations, and stemming from a Kantian orientation in particular, (4) the validity of ‘the philosopher’s voice’ in the often tense relationship between theology and philosophy. Respecting the inexplicit nature of this multifarious kind of theology, the author calls for an ongoing estimation of the diversity of voices within the Hervormd approach, rejecting any attempt to integrate these different layers of thought into a monolithic enterprise of knowledge about God and the world.

Terror, frenzy and orders: The monk as persistent symbol of ardour in philosophy It is argued that postmodern epistemology, in its 21st century guise, is exhausted, with little to offer post-Baudrillard. In thematic conjunction with the critiques of Fredric Jameson, Christopher Norris and Jürgen Habermas, the author depicts 21st century postmodernism as a “frenzied party”, where philosophy’s historical and characteristic ardour for truth and analysis has been dissolved in favour of a mockery of some of the most profound ideas of Western civilization, such as truth, beauty and justice. The logical consequences of this frenzied epistemology are described as socially devastating, especially within the context of systematic terror, which is described as the predominant social marker of the first years of the 21st century. The author, in reaction both to terror and “epistemological frenzy”, attempts to rehabilitate philosophical ardour and a zeal for truth by linking up with the historical persona of “the monk”, arguing that our times demand a more studied, retracted and meditative approach to philosophy. Our dreadful times demand a new ardour and sobriety from philosophers.

Present History: Michel Foucault in conversation with theology Philosopher Michel Foucault’s work has become a major strand of what is often referred to as “postmodern theology”. The wider relevance of his work for theology nevertheless still remains unexamined. This contribution serves as a review article of the book Michel Foucault and theology: The politics of religious experience (2004), edited by James Bernauer and Jeremy Carrette. It deals with “present history” as a leitmotiv in Foucault’s work, before presenting a summary of this collection of essays by a group of leading Foucault scholars on a variety of themes within the history, thought and practice of theology. The book is described as a fascinating contribution to Foucault scholarship, which demonstrates, for the first time, the influence and growing importance of Foucault’s work for contemporary theology.

An alternative formulary for the investiture of church ministers This study aims to present an alternative formulary for the investiture of ministers in the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika. The new formulary reflects the author’s views that were initially outlined in part and verified by a number of church ministers and congregational members of the church. The article argues for the necessity of a rephrasing of existing formularies, given the current postmodern perceptions of the functions of the church over against the style of the current formulary. Current perceptions of the functions of ministers also necessitate an alternative formulary for the investment of church ministers.

A critique of culture and the Hervormde approach to doing theology: A description and challenge This article investigates the relation between a critique of culture and the theological approach which is detectable in the theological labour of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk. This theological approach is being described with reference to the three main intellectual traditions that maintain this approach in an equivocal fashion, namely the ethical, confessional and dialectical traditions. After summarising the most prominent characteristics and claims of these traditions, the author proceeds to bring this approach in relation to aspects of contemporary critique of culture.

This article investigates a recent attempt to apply philosophy within the discipline of psychotherapy and to investigate the somewhat undefined realm of philosophical counselling. After introducing the claims of this interdisciplinary exercise and after addressing the problems involved in crossing the boundaries between philosophy and psychotherapy, the article elaborates on Alex Howard’s (2000) [Philosophy for counselling and psychotherapy: Pythagoras to post-modernism. London: Macmillan] attempt to make explicit use of philosophy in psychotherapy, using his interpretation and application of Heraclitus’ philosophy as case study.

Ars erotica and the detrivialization of the sexual discourse: An annotation to Michel Foucault’s analysis of sexuality This essay is an attempt to detrivialize and depublicize the sexual discourse by reintroducing an aspect of Michel Foucault’s historiography of sexuality, namely his analysis of the intrinsic private nature of ars erotica, the classic notion of secretive eroticism. The article argues that sexuality has become an essentially public, objectifying and therefore oppressive discourse in modernity. By presenting the privatistic notion of ‘radical discretion’, it attempts to reclaim the deepest of ars erotica sentiments, namely the virtue of silence, in erotic contexts.

From late-structuralism to post-structuralism: A contextualization of Jean-François Lyotard’s Discours, Figure In this article the post-structuralist legacy of French philosopher Jean-François Lyotard (1924-1998) is being surveyed with specific regard to his first major publication, Discours, Figure (1971). The initial impact of this text on the post-structuralist debate is being explored, as well as the way in which it brought Lyotard in direct confrontation with Jacques Derrida, the then mainstream representative of (late) structuralism, with specific regard to Lyotard’s battle against the “imperialism of the text” and his own critical departure from phenomenology.

C H Rautenbach, P S Dreyer and C K Oberholzer: Their legacy and the way ahead. This article explores the legacy of three early philosophers at the University of Pretoria (1939-1987), who contributed substantially to the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk's perspectives on the relation between (modern) theology and (modern) philosophy. The authors consider their legacy to be an essentially Kantian stabilisation of the complex and problematic relationship between reason and faith, church and society, and theology and philosophy. The article then proceeds to interpret the changes in these relationships that were brought about by the postmodern discourse.

Negative-dialectical theology: Critical claims. From the premise of a critique of instrumental rationality, this article explores some consequences of such a critique for church and theology. The author finds an intimate relation between the philosophical critiques of Nietzsche, Adorno and Foucault and his own theological position which may be described as a negative dialectical theology. The article proceeds to show how negative dialectics could provide an alternative to some aspects of dialectical theology, especially with regard to its relation to the ethical and confessional traditions.

The philosophical problem of Otherness in the church. Employing the critical perspectives of philosophers Theodor Adorno and Michel Foucault, this article explores some consequences of the philosophical problem of Otherness within the social realm of the church. The author focuses on the marginalizing effect that instrumental rationality (described as the preferential discourse of modernity) has on the church as an institution of power, with reference to ecumenicity, interfaith discourse and the socio-subjective disposition of women, children and homosexuals in the life and work of the church.

The child on the elementary-school level and ecclesiasti-cal worship. The article invesigates the role of the child on the elementary-school level in ecclesiastical worship. Two diferent points of view are evaluated: the traditional view of complete accommodation and simultaneous but separate meetings for children and adults respectively. The conclusion that it is not the attendance of a church service as such that is important, but the expeience of worshipping, also by children. As with adults' the Holy Spirit plays a prominent role. As far as children are concerned, parents and catechists should be equipped by the church to lead children meaningfully with a view to deepen participation in the service.

The primary school child in public worship. With this study I want to demonstrate that children, on the grounds of Biblical, dogmatical and church law are no less the property of God than adults. Because children are a complete pan of God's church, they should be taken into account during public worship. The exceptional nature of the primary school child asks of the church to consider that pans of public worship be arranged for their specific needs and prepared according to their nature.

Finiteness, own resurrection and the polities of differance Employing Derrida's notion of diffirance, the author approaches the conviction of life after death (-own resurrection -) as a conviction which has been typically marginalized and even disallowed by modernity. The politics of differance, which could be regarded as a postmodern strategy for rehabilitating those aspects of reality which were marginalized by modernity, is shown to have critical consequences for the linear (modern) understanding of finiteness and death. Rather than understand finiteness and own resurrection as being in linear relation, the author appeals to the postmodern persuasion of the siclical nature of reality: death is own resurrection. Death is a life giving gift: The Self dies so that Others may live - and the Self is resurrected when it lives on in the lives of Others. Thus parting company with the empirical understanding of history, death and resurrection, the author leaves us with the tadt question: is this not the way the resurrection of Christ is to be understood? He lives on in us, as we will live on in Others. Wie dood is, is dood, en wie dood is, sallewe - Georges Bataille -

Church guidance in the twenty-first century. The view of church members relating to the roll of the church, roll overloading and different roll expectations have caused new thinking in the church leadership with a view on the twenty first century. This new thinking is further extended (enlarged) by the nature of post-modernism and various systems of thought. The mission of the church, the priesthood of the laity and the above mentioned factors have resulted in a specific spirituality, knowledge and various skills in regard to the church leaders with a view on the twenty first century.

The purpose and function of the articles of faith in the catechism of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk Since the publication of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika's most recent catechism text books (1982-1989), there has been concern that the articles of faith of the church, and particularly the Heidelberg Catechism, have not been taught sufficiently. In this study it is shown that the Heidelberg Catechism was only for a short period of time the exclusive text book used in teaching the dogma of the church to catechism pupils. Since 1985 it has become a general tendency in almost all reformed churches not to use one of the articles of faith or an abbreviated form thereof as basis in catechism anymore, but rather to use the Bible itself. This study attempts to point out that the Council for Catechism of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk has chosen correctly on sound theological, pedagogical, and didactic historical grounds to teach the Biblical content within the accompanying framework of the faith and not according to one or other article of faith of the church. Many factors, as indicated in this study, require that the witness of the church again be conveyed, based on the existing articles of faith, and that this then should serve as the accompanying framework for the catechism.

The church as missionary church. Statistics show that the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika is not growing. The basic cause of this situation seems to be that the Church is not spending enough of its efforts and energy on being a missionary church, but on maintaining itself. The negative tendencies of the institutional and the preaching models seem to previal. This study is an attempt to show that church-method and being-church are indissolubly tied to each other. Being-church means, in the light of this study, being God's missionary in the worldfor the glory of God - being a missionary church.

Michel Foucault and the historization of Otherness In this article the intimate relation between power, history and historiography is explored within the context of the postmodem philosophy/ historiography of Michel Foucault. Foucault confronts us with a timeless question: do we recognize our own dicourses of power? Do we recognize the Other, the victims of instrumental reason? At the end of the Middle Ages leprosy disappeared from the face of the earth. (Michel Foucault: Opening sentence in Madness and Civilization)

Other illumination: With Adorno at the heartbeat of the post-modern intellect. In this article Adorno's critique of identity thinking and modem systems of thought are exploited within the context of the current debate of modernity. It is argued that the usurpation of the so-called Other (which the author Calls "Anderverdringing") is at the core of modem thought, and that the illumination of the Other (which the author calls "Ander-bereddering") is at the core of postmodern thought. Habermas' theory of communicative action is used to bring Adorno's critique of identity thinking to the Jore as a form ofpostmodern critique, exactly in the sense that Adorno's philosophy is essentially Otherilluminating.

Evaluation of different congregation-development models with a view of introducing a model for the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika. Since 1982 congregation development has been offered as a subject in most of the recognized practical theology departments. Certain factors have given rise to the fact that this subject and its practical application have not yet established themselves in the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika. Scientific, systematic, goal-orientated planning and leading of a congregation in the light of the current situation in many congregations of the church have become absolutely essential. This article is an attempt to look into the evaluation of the Dreyer, Nel, Hendriks and Callahan congregation-development models with a view to develop a model for the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika.

From Ockham to Cusa: The encyclopaedic case for ‘post-scholasticism’ in Medieval philosophy. This article argues for the encyclopaedic recognition of ‘post-scholasticism’, indicating the very last and complex period (circa 1349–1464) in late Medieval philosophy, where the via moderna and logica modernorum have clearly departed from the fundamental premises of high scholasticism, the via antiqua and the logica novus, as manifested in the work of William of Ockham (and, eventually, in the political theory of Marsilius of Padua). The article argues that post-scholasticism should be distinguished from late scholasticism (exiting Ockham) and early Renaissance philosophy (entering Nicholas of Cusa). The article indicates that there is a tendency in many introductions to and secondary texts in Medieval philosophy to proceed straight from Ockham to Cusa (the ‘very last Medieval and very first Renaissance philosopher’), understating more than a century of pertinent Medieval scholarship. In the modern encyclopaedia of philosophy, this understatement manifests in either a predating of Renaissance philosophy to close the gap between Ockham and Cusa as far as possible, or in understating this period as philosophically sterile, or in, without argument, simply proceeding straight from Ockham to Cusa. The article covers some of the essential philosophical contributions presented during this fragile philosophical-historical period, indicating that post-scholasticism is indeed a difficult and complex, yet productive period in the history of late Medieval philosophy, which should not be bypassed as a trivial gateway to either Renaissance philosophy or early modernity as such, but valued for its own idiosincracies, intricacies and overall contribution to the history of ideas in philosophy and theology.

The role of coping in the relationship between spiritual wellbeing and depression amongst ministers. The aim of this study was to determine the role of coping in the relationship between spiritual well-being and depression among ministers. The research group consisted of 53 Dutch Reformed ministers, all serving in the Northern Cape. Coping was measured by means of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Questionnaire (Carver, Scheier & Weintraub 1989), spiritual well-being by means of the Spiritual Well-being Questionnaire (Gomez & Fisher 2003:1977), and depression by means of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck, Steer & Brown 1996:1−2). The results of this study indicated that problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping showed no direct relationship with depression. Problem- focused coping also plays no significant role in the relationship between spiritual well-being and depression. Emotion-focused coping, however, plays a role in the relationship between environment-related spiritual well-being and depression. Significant negative relationships between spiritual well-being and depression were found. A significant positive relationship was found between dysfunctional coping and depression. Dysfunctional coping was identified as a mediator in the relationship between personal spiritual well-being and depression. The results of this study are supported by the literature.

The constellation language-logic in medieval philosophy (2): Duns Scotus to De Rivo. This second in a series of two articles continues the attempt to provide an in-depth overview of some of the most prominent – and some of the most underpublished - medieval thinkers’ stances on the constellation of language and logic, thus as a combined and condensed problem in western philosophy between the 5th and 15th centuries. The two articles form part of a rehabilitating series of modern-critical articles on understated and marginalised themes, texts and figures in medieval philosophy. The positions of the well-known philosophers that are covered in the two articles, St Augustine, Peter Abelard, St Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham, are juxtaposed with some less familiar philosophical positions, amongst others those of Boethius, Peter of Spain, John Wyclif and Peter de Rivo.