Albertism

Albertism is a philosophical movement born in Paris in the early fifteenth century and spread, mostly in German universities, as part of the via antiqua. It is characterized by theoretical and methodological adherence to Albertus Magnus’ philosophy, by reference to some neo-Platonic doctrines and by its axiomatic metaphysical model. In the fifteenth century, Albertism has opposed Thomism with regard to metaphysics (the distinction between being and essence and the conception of matter) and epistemology (knowledge without phantasms and the doctrine of universals). Theological issues do not fall among the main concerns. The most prominent Albertists are Johannes de Nova Domo and Lamberto da Monte in Paris, and Heymeric de Campo in Cologne. In the fifteenth century, Albertism spreads in Germany thanks to Johannes Wenck, Johannes Hulshot of Mechelen, and Wessel Gansfort. In the second half of the fifteenth century, thanks to Jacob of Gostynin, an Albertist school develops in the University of Krakow, where a via Alberti exists until the sixteenth century.