Philosophy as a Way of Life Erasmus and Philosophy. On the Concept Developed by Rotterdam

Did Erasmus of Rotterdam reject all philosophy, or rather did he have a very special understanding of it as, at its best, a way of life? This study attempts to answer this question. The work reconstructs his concept of philosophy. Erasmus of Rotterdam is not typically associated with the discipline of philosophy. Yet, he would himself employ the category of philosophia Christi in the sense of authentic Christianity which had not been contaminated by the abstractness and pedanticism of paganized mediaeval scholasticism. Does this reveal a contrarian attitude to philosophy in general or rather a special understanding of what a "true" philosophy as a way of life should be? This study attempts to answer this question by assembling and closely studying from Erasmus’ extensive oeuvre his scant and occasional remarks on the concept of philosophy.