Contingentia and Disputatio: Decision-Making in Scholastic Theory of the Western European Middle Ages (B12 [A02]+)

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From the 12th century onwards, scholastic theory as well as the practice of academic disputation focused on conceptualizing decision-making in social situations. Discussed in a broader context of contingency and free will, decision-making signified an act of independence from all types of predetermined fate. General statements and treatises on decision-making were elaborated out of academic debates, which were taking place particularly in the 14th century at Oxford University as well as (later) at the University of Paris. The ensuing contributions of these debates will be examined in this project as well as how they reflected on social and political realities.