MEDIEVAL THOUGHT

Mont St. Michel, off the coast of Northern France, is a symbol of the Middle Ages
EARLY MEDIEVAL THOUGHT

The philosophical questions of the early Middle Ages tended to focus on what is real and how it is known. Such questions by Christians, of course, included queries about the nature of God, about God's relation to the created order (including the problem of evil), and about the status of universals. Questions about knowledge probed the relation between faith and reason, especially the limits of reason in knowing the divine. Late medieval thinkers added questions about the nature of humankind and the role of society, and they went about philosophizing in quite different ways. But the issues of early medieval thought and the categories established to deal with those issues were critical for centuries.

For the most part the early medieval philosophers worked within the broad framework of Platonic thought, while later medieval thinkers tended to adopt Aristotelian categories. Augustine (as either the last classical thinker or the first medieval one), Pseudo-Dionysius, Boethius, John Scotus Eriugena, and Anselm all used Neoplatonic concepts. It was only later that such thinkers as John of Salisbury, Abelard, and, especially, Thomas Aquinas, adapted the works of Aristotle. On the other hand, most medieval mystics, whether from the early or later Middle Ages, used Neoplatonic categories.

THE "HIGH" MIDDLE AGES (THIRTEENTH-CENTURY THOUGHT)

Thirteenth-century Western European philosophy was shaped by three movements: the rise of the mendicant (or begging) orders, the development of the university, and, most importantly, the rediscovery of the complete works of Aristotle.

Having survived the collapse of the Roman Empire and having helped fight back the Islamic expansion in southern Europe, the Catholic church had gained new influence and power in society. As the church grew in temporal authority, spiritual concerns and doctrinal purity often became less important. Advocating a simple life of obedience, poverty, and chastity, the Franciscan and Dominican orders sought to reverse this secularizing trend. Founded by St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), the Franciscans fostered spiritual renewal and often served as dedicated teachers and missionaries. The Dominicans, founded by St. Dominic (1170-1221), sought doctrinal purity and became leading university professors throughout the West.

The thirteenth century also witnessed the rise of universities. Usually founded as schools attached to cathedrals, the universities were corporations of scholars with a measure of independence from the church. Acting as magnets for scholars, students, and collections of great works, the universities quickly became important, crowded intellectual centers. (The greatest of the early universities, in Paris, had as many as twenty thousand students.)

THE INFLUENCE OF ARISTOTLE

Among the issues discussed at the emerging universities, none was more controversial than the recently rediscovered books of Aristotle. While some of Aristotle's works had been available to Western Europeans, his most important writings had been preserved only in the Islamic world. Texts brought as loot from the Crusades' incursions into Muslim strongholds in Spain and Sicily found their way to the University of Paris. There, Aristotle's ideas provided fertile ground for many new questions.

But with Aristotle's works came the problems with which Islamic thinkers had earlier struggled. Aristotle taught the eternity of the world and apparently denied life after death--teachings at variance with the Bible as well as with the Qur'an. Fortunately for Christendom, along with Aristotle's works came the commentaries of the great Muslim teachers Avicenna and Averroes. Thirteenth-century Western thinkers were able to appeal not only to Aristotle, but also to his Muslim glosses in the attempt to harmonize Aristotle and Christianity.

In general, the Dominicans, led by St. Thomas Aquinas, were enthusiastic about Aristotelian thought, while the Franciscans, led by St. Bonaventure, preferred Augustinian Platonism. But the conflict was in fact much more complicated than such a generalization might indicate. There were numerous variations on Aristotle's thought. Some, such as Siger of Brabant, emphasized the Averroist interpretation of Aristotle. Others, such as Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon, used Aristotelian categories when they suited their purposes; but they were actually more Neoplatonic than Aristotelian. Even opponents of Aristotle, such as Bonaventure, used Aristotelian categories in their criticisms of Aristotle. But whether defended or attacked, the spirit of Aristotle ruled Western philosophy in the thirteenth century.

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By Forrest Baird © 2000 by Prentice Hall from Philosophic Classics, Volume II