Journey of the Mind to God
Quick Summary
The Journey of the Mind to God (Itinerarium mentis in Deum) is a 1259 work by the Franciscan friar St. Bonaventure. It outlines a spiritual path to understanding God, drawing from the philosophies of Plato, Plotinus, and Augustine, while critiquing Aristotle for his perceived denial of divine ideas.
Bonaventure believed that philosophy, while valuable, is incomplete without the guidance of faith and divine revelation. He saw the universe as a "book" revealing the triune God, and the human soul as created in God's image. The work guides the reader from the external world, through the inner world of the mind, and ultimately towards an eternal, divine vision. This journey is aided by moral and intellectual divine illumination, with the mind possessing an innate idea of God.12
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
philosophical anthropologyMedieval preludeBonaventureās Journey of the Mind to God (1259), yet it was not the dominant strain of thought during that period.
Read MoreBonaventureās Journey of the Mind to God (1259), yet it was not the dominant strain of thought during that period.
Read More
Western philosophyBonaventureā¦Itinerarium mentis in Deum (1259; The Soulās Journey into God) follows Augustineās path to God, from the external world to the interior world of the mind and then beyond the mind from the temporal to the eternal. Throughout this journey, human beings are aided by a moral and intellectual divineā¦
Read Moreā¦Itinerarium mentis in Deum (1259; The Soulās Journey into God) follows Augustineās path to God, from the external world to the interior world of the mind and then beyond the mind from the temporal to the eternal. Throughout this journey, human beings are aided by a moral and intellectual divineā¦
Read More
medieval philosophySt. Bonaventureā¦Itinerarium mentis in Deum (1259; The Soulās Journey into God) follows Augustineās path to God, from the external world to the interior world of the mind and then beyond the mind from the temporal to the eternal. Throughout this journey, human beings are aided by a moral and intellectual divineā¦
Read Moreā¦Itinerarium mentis in Deum (1259; The Soulās Journey into God) follows Augustineās path to God, from the external world to the interior world of the mind and then beyond the mind from the temporal to the eternal. Throughout this journey, human beings are aided by a moral and intellectual divineā¦
Read More
