Richard Rufus Project (RRP)

FAIN: RQ-50326-08

Stanford University (Stanford, CA 94305-2004)
Rega Wood (Project Director: November 2007 to July 2013)

Preparation for online and print publication of a critical edition of the Latin texts of the works of Richard Rufus of Cornwall, a philosopher-theologian who taught at the Universities of Paris and Oxford from 1235 to 1256. (36 months)

Richard Rufus introduced the teaching of Aristotle's metaphysics and natural philosophy at Paris, the center of the 13th c. western intellectual world. Contrary to textbook reports on early medieval Aristotle studies, Rufus' lectures were not just paraphrases. In addition to outlining Aristotle's arguments, Rufus challenged Aristotle and in so doing, influenced many great Scholastics who followed him. Rufus' influence can be seen, for example, in Roger Bacon's and Bonaventure's arguments against Aristotle and for the beginning of the universe, in Albert the Great's discussion of the crucial medieval problem of universals, and in John Duns Scotus' theory of individuation and his famous concept of formal distinction. RRP began publishing Rufus' exciting Aristotle lectures in 2003, after they had been lost for 600 years. In 2006 we began publishing critical editions online with his lectures on De anima; in 2008-2011 we will complete most of the massive second metaphysics commentary.