12.12.2003

Researching Ramus

About four years ago a friend mentioned how Ramist logic was in vogue at the Westminster Assembly. I never heard this before, and was quite curious. But only recently have my thoughts turned back to Ramism. I'm hoping to discover more.

Pierre de la Ramée (Petrus Ramus 1515-1572, not to be confused with Rudolf Grossmann who took the name as an alias) was a Huguenot scholar killed at the St. Bartholomew Massacre. Ramus worked to reform the Liberal Arts in a particular anti-Aristotelian manner.

He was perhaps the most influential thinker upon Calvinist scholars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ramist thinking is reported to have heavily influenced the likes of Milton, Shakespeare, Bacon, and Althusius, in addition to many Puritans from Sir William Temple to Jonathan Edwards.

I hope to acquire three major works on Ramus by F.P. Graves, W.J. Ong, and J.V. Skalnik.

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