The phrase de consideratione is a Latin construction translating to “about consideration” or “concerning consideration.” It appears primarily as a generic title element in medieval and early modern scholarly works, wherein authors identified treatises dealing with the nature, process, or philosophical analysis of “consideration” (i.e., deliberation, contemplation, or reflective judgment).
Etymology
- de – a preposition meaning “about,” “concerning,” or “regarding.”
- consideratione – the ablative singular of consideratio, a third‑declension noun derived from the verb considerare (“to contemplate, to think over”). The term consideratio was used in classical Latin to denote thoughtful examination and, in later Latin, was incorporated into philosophical discourse to describe mental operations akin to what modern terminology calls “consideration” or “deliberation.”
Historical Usage
While the exact phrase de consideratione does not correspond to a single, universally recognized treatise or doctrine, Latin‑titled works such as De consideratione have been recorded in manuscript catalogues and bibliographic listings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. These works typically fall within the broader scholastic tradition of logic (the logica), epistemology, or moral philosophy, wherein authors explored how agents form judgments, weigh reasons, or engage in reflective thought.
Examples of possible contexts include:
- Scholastic Logic – discussions of consideratio as a mental operation preceding judgment (iudicium), often contrasted with intuition or speculatio.
- Moral Philosophy – treatises examining the role of careful deliberation in ethical decision‑making, sometimes linked to the concept of prudence (prudentia).
- Theology – works addressing how believers must consider scriptural and doctrinal matters before forming assent.
Notable References
No single author or work titled De consideratione has achieved widespread citation in contemporary academic literature. References to the phrase are sporadic and generally limited to catalog entries of medieval manuscripts or brief mentions in secondary studies of scholastic methodology.
Contemporary Relevance
In modern scholarship, the specific Latin phrase de consideratione is seldom employed as a technical term. Instead, scholars refer directly to the concepts of consideration, deliberation, or reflective judgment in English or use the Latin consideratio within a broader linguistic or historical analysis.
Conclusion
The term de consideratione does not represent an established, standalone concept or widely recognized work within the current encyclopedic corpus. Its primary significance lies in its literal meaning and occasional historical usage as a title element for treatises concerning the philosophical notion of consideration.