As Theses Logicales de Bento da Fonseca: o ensino sobre os universais no Colégio do Maranhão

Abstract

This work falls within the scope of the History of Education, more specifically the History of Philosophy Teaching in the Brazilian colonial period. This research aims to present and analyze a writing from the 18th century, namely the manuscript of the Colégio do Maranhão, Theses Logicales written by the Jesuit professor Bento da Fonseca. The Theses Logicales manuscript, more specifically the first thesis of the folio entitled Pro Universalibus in communi, is taken as the research object. The problem we aim to answer is: what philosophical influences are present in Benedict da Fonseca's conceptions of universals, especially when comparing them with the conceptions of the Cursus Conimbricensis and Rodrigo Homem? As this is a qualitative research project of a documentary nature, the methodological procedures follow the historical-critical and historical-cultural method in order to understand the manuscript and its historical context. In the first chapter, we provide a historical context for the Cursus Conimbricensis, which was a synthesis of Jesuit philosophical thought, and a description of the structure and themes of its content. In the second chapter, we look at the Theses Logicales, dealing with their pedagogical context - namely the Colégio do Maranhão and the teaching of Rodrigo Homem, who was Bento da Fonseca's teacher - their author and paleographic characteristics. In the third chapter, we analyze the content of the manuscript to trace the tradition underlying the text, and compare the propositions of the Theses Logicales with the Cursus Conimbricensis and Rodrigo Homem. Insofar as this research deals with a manuscript belonging to Jesuit education that contributed to the formation of Brazilian society, it is part of the relationship between education and society.