John Blund () was an English scholastic philosopher, known for his work on the nature of the soul, the Tractatus de anima, one of the first works of western philosophy to make use of the recently translated ''

De Anima ''On the Soul'' (Greek: , ''Peri Psychēs''; Latin: ) is a major treatise written by Aristotle . His discussion centres on the kinds of souls possessed by different kinds of living things, distinguished by their different operations. Thus plant ...

'' by

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

and especially the Persian philosopher Avicenna's work on the soul, also called ''De Anima''.Blund ''Tractatus de Anima'' He taught at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Knowles ''Evolution of Medieval Thought'' p. 280 along with Edmund of Abingdon. David Knowles said that he was "noteworthy for his knowledge of

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

and his rejection of the

hylomorphism Hylomorphism is a philosophical doctrine developed by the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, which conceives every physical entity or being ('' ousia'') as a compound of matter (potency) and immaterial form (act), with the generic form as imm ...

of Avicebron and the plurality of forms.",Knowles ''Evolution of Medieval Thought'' p. 287 although the problem of the plurality of forms as understood by later scholastics was not formulated explicitly in Blund's time.Dales ''Problem of the Rational Soul'' p. 45 Maurice Powicke calls him the "first English Aristotelian."Powicke ''Thirteenth Century'' p. 56 Blund was a royal clerk by 1227 and studied at Oxford and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and was at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

when it was dispersed in 1229.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 5: Chichester: Unidentified Prebends
' He was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

before 1232. He was

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

during a brief reign, having been elected on 26 August 1232.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 233 He was supported by

Peter des Roches Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) (List of Latinised names, Latinised as ''Petrus de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III of England, Henry III. He was not an ...

, but did not receive papal approval and the election was quashed because of alleged pluralism on 1 June 1233.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Canterbury: Archbishops
' Probably it was the support of des Roches that doomed his election to Canterbury, and the pluralism charge was cover for the real reason.Lawrence "Blund, John" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' He was appointed chancellor of the see of York before 3 November 1234, and died in 1248.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 6: York: Chancellors
'

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