Systemic Problems of Definition and Classification
Systemic Problems of Definition and Classification
This chapter is a survey of attempts to define ‘Pelagianism’ and attempts to produce criteria by which a ‘Pelagian’ text can be identified, showing that all of them have failed. It examines the circular reasoning that has propped up the notion of ‘Pelagianism’ and discusses two anonymous ascetic texts that are test cases for the notion of ‘Pelagianism’ and which reveal its incoherence, showing that Pelagius’ writings are not differentiable from other ascetic literature. .
Keywords: ‘Pelagianism’, ‘semi-Pelagianism’, To a mistress of a household, ascetic movement, Caelestius
British Academy Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.