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ISSN: 1734-9923    eISSN: 2300-7621    OAI    DOI: 10.18276/aie.2026.75-06
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Issue archive / 75 (2026)
John Dumbleton’s Anthropology: The Human Body, the Soul, and its Powers

Authors: Sylvain Roudaut ORCID
CNRS SPHERE – Paris Cité University
Keywords: John Dumbleton; Oxford Calculators; soul; body; psychological powers
Whole issue publication date:2026
Page range:25 (111-135)
Cited-by (Crossref) ?:

Abstract

This article examines several key themes in the anthropology of John Dumbleton, one of the central figures among the so-called Oxford Calculators, who authored an extensive Summa logicae et philosophiae naturalis, much of which remains unexplored. It focuses on Dumbleton’s main theses concerning the nature of the soul and its relation to the body, as well as the relations among the powers of the soul. The methodological premise of the article is that these theses should be analyzed in light of two overarching principles that characterize Dumbleton’s thought: on the one hand, the application of the methods of the Oxford Calculators to anthropological, psychological, and physiological questions; on the other, reductionist claims that lead him to formulate original theories. After examining his conception of the soul and the body (Section 2), the article turns to his account of the relations among the psychological powers (Section 3). It then analyzes the way in which Dumbleton applies the methods of the Oxford Calculators to anthropological questions (Section 4), before considering the various aspects of his reductionist approach to psychology (Section 5).
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