WHAT IS A HERESY? BOOK 2 CHAPTER 28 ON WHAT BASIS CAN A DOCTRINE BE CONDEMNED AS HERESY? ~ WILLIAM OF OCKHAM

Pope Francis: Keep people at the centre of the economy

CHAPTER 28

ON WHAT BASIS CAN A DOCTRINE BE CONDEMNED AS HERESY?

Student I perceive sufficiently from what you have said how that opinion can be strengthened and also how it can be disproved, and so I turn to another question. For I still do not know whether, in order for catholics to have to consider some assertion as explicitly condemned, it is necessary in the condemnation to add this or some equivalent modification, specification or determination of it as "heretical" or "opposed to catholic truth", by publishing a sentence like the following, or something equivalent, "We condemn such an assertion as heretical or as dangerous to catholic truth." Tell me therefore one or more opinions about this.

Master This is replied to in two ways. For some people say that such a determination, modification or specification should be put in the sentence in order that the rejected assertion be considered as an explicitly condemned heresy, because they say that an assertion that has not been condemned as heretical should not be considered as heretical. Others say that for some assertion to be considered as heretical it is enough that the false assertion itself be rejected or its opposing truth explicitly be approved without such a determination in words and that such an approval or rejection be based on catholic truth. So when Alexander III forbad and rejected anyone's saying that Christ is nothing as a man, he based his rejection on this catholic truth, that Christ is true God and true man. And therefore he wanted the said assertion to be considered heretical, although in his prohibition he did not vocally express a determination such as, "We condemn it as heretical".

This is also proved by argument. For an explicitly approved truth which is based on catholic truth should be considered as catholic; its opposing falsehood therefore should be judged as heretical; but whether a truth be approved or its opposing falsehood condemned, the truth is always approved because the rejection of one of [a pair] of contradictories involves the approval of the other, and vice versa; therefore an assertion of a kind that is opposed to a truth based on catholic faith, should be considered heretical and accounted condemned.

William of Ockham, Dialogus,

part 1, book 2, chapters 17-34

Text and translation by John Scott.

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