Approach to the thought of Bonaventure from the notion of philosophy as a way of life
This paper contains an approach to the thought of Bonaventure from the notion of philosophy as a way of life. To develop this issue, we first make a synthetic exposition of the notion of philosophy as a way of life, based on the ideas of Pierre Hadot, mainly present in the texts “What is ancient philosophy?” and “Spiritual Exercises and Ancient Philosophy”. After constructing the theoretical framework, this concept is studied based on the primary text “Itinerario in mentis Deus” by Bonaventure, although the study is also based on other texts of the author. This approach is based on the hypothesis that the Hadotian notion is not unique to the ancient period, but can be traced in other periods and authors, in this case, the Seraphic Doctor. In this sense, this paper provides elements to continue tracing that concept in the history of philosophy. In this regard, the article shows that Bonaventure, while criticizing philosophers and the philosophy of his time, somehow embodies the ideal of ancient philosophers in a double sense: on the one hand, he assumes reflective knowledge as a way of understanding, justifying and improving life and, on the other, as it deploys modes of life in association or in constant examination by reason. Speech and way of life are linked in Bonaventure
Keywords:
Philosophy as a way of life, Bonaventure, Philosophical discourse, Medieval philosophy
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