Bradwardine, Thomas (c.1300–49)

Thomas Bradwardine was a leading figure in fourteenth-century philosophy and theology from 1328, when he completed De proportionibus velocitatum in motibus (On the Ratios of Velocities in Motions), until his death in 1349, shortly after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. His theory of ratios of velocities in motions was an important reinterpretation of Aristotle and was influential throughout Europe. The author of numerous mathematical and logical works, Bradwardine helped to initiate a style of natural philosophical analysis using a standard set of logical and mathematical tools. On the Continent, Nicole Oresme, Albert of Saxony and many others wrote works on the ratios of velocities in motions following Bradwardine’s lead. In his De futura contingentibus (On Future Contingents) and De causa Dei Pelagium (On the Cause of God Against the Pelagians), Bradwardine staked positions emphasizing the symmetry of God’s omniscience with respect to past, present and future.