SCHOLASTICISMPHILOSOPHY

CHAPTER 10

HISTORY OF SCHOLASTICISMA philosophic and theological movement that attempted to use natural human reason, in particular, the philosophy and

science of Aristotle, to understand the supernatural

content of Christian revelation

It was dominant in the medieval Christian schools and

universities of Europe from about the middle of the 11th

century to about the middle of the 15th century

The ultimate ideal of the movement was to integrate into an ordered system both the natural wisdom of Greece and Rome and the religious

wisdom of Christianity

The term Scholasticism is also used in a wider sense to

signify the spirit and methods characteristic of this period of thought or any similar spirit and attitude toward learning

found in other periods of history

The term Scholastic, which originally designated the heads

of the medieval monastic or cathedral schools from which the universities developed, finally came to be applied to

anyone teaching philosophy or theology in such schools or

universities

All Souls College, University of Oxford

England’s oldest institution of higher education, the University of Oxford was established in the 12th century by English scholars who had previously studied at the University of Paris

Oxford is a federation of 35 colleges, each with its own structure and activities.

MEDIEVAL ERAMIDDLE AGES, PERIOD IN THE HISTORY OF EUROPE THAT LASTED FROM

ABOUT AD 350 TO ABOUT 1450AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MIDDLE AGES, THE WESTERN HALF OF THE

ROMAN EMPIRE BEGAN TO FRAGMENT INTO SMALLER, WEAKER KINGDOMS

BY THE END OF THE MIDDLE AGES, MANY MODERN EUROPEAN STATES HAD TAKEN SHAPE

DURING THIS TIME, THE PRECURSORS OF MANY MODERN INSTITUTIONS, SUCH AS UNIVERSITIES AND BODIES OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT,

WERE CREATED

SCHOLASTICISM

1. Medieval Theology and Philosophy• A medieval theological and philosophical

system of learning based on the authority of St. Augustine and other leaders of the early Christian Church, and on the works of Aristotle

• It sought to bridge the gap between religion and reason

2. Traditional Learning• Narrowly traditional learning, or adherence

to traditional educational methods

Comes from the Latin word

“scholasticus” which means “that

which belongs to the school”

It refers to both a doctrine and a

method of teaching in the medieval European school

and to their successive revival to the present day

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISITCSThe basic aim of the Scholastics determined certain common attitudes, the most important of which was their conviction of the fundamental harmony between reason and revelation• The Scholastics maintained that because the

same God was the source of both types of knowledge and truth was one of his chief attributes, he could not contradict himself in these two ways of speakingAny apparent opposition between revelation and

reason could be traced either to an incorrect use of reason or to an inaccurate interpretation of the words of revelation

Because the Scholastics believed that revelation was the direct teaching of God, it possessed for them a higher degree of truth and certitude than did natural reason

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISITCS

In apparent conflicts between religious faith and philosophic reasoning, faith was thus always the supreme arbiter; the theologian's decision overruled that of the philosopher

After the early 13th century, Scholastic thought emphasized more the independence of philosophy within its own domain

Nonetheless, throughout the Scholastic period, philosophy was called the servant of theology, not only because the truth of philosophy was subordinated to that of theology, but also because the theologian used philosophy to understand and explain revelation

SCHOLASTICISM MAXIM

“I SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THAT I MAY BELIEVE, BUT I

BELIEVE THAT I MAY UNDERSTAND, AND UNLESS I FIRST BELIEVE, I SHALL NOT

UNDERSTAND(St. Augustine)

COMMON METHODS

1. Logic And Philosophic Vocabulary Of Aristotle• One of the principal methods of Scholasticism used in teaching,

demonstration, and discussion 2. Practice Of Teaching A text By Means Of A Commentary

• Another important method used, written by some accepted authority. In philosophy, this authority was usually Aristotle

• In theology, the principal texts used were:• The Bible• The Sententiarum Libri Quatuor

• Four Books of Sentences by the 12th-century Italian theologian and prelate Peter Lombard, a collection of the opinions of the early Fathers of the Church on problems of theology

3. Technique Of Discussion By Means Of Public Disputation

• Another important method closely allied with the commentaries on disputed questions

• Every professor in a medieval university was required to appear several times a year before the assembled faculty and students in a disputation, defending crucial points of his own teaching against all persons who challenged them

• The forms of Aristotelian logic were employed in both defense and attack

PRINCIPAL SCHOLASTIC PHILOSOPHERS

• Theologian, philosopher, and church leader, who proposed an argument for God's existence that is still being debated.

Anselm

• French philosopher and theologian, whose fame as a teacher made him one of the most celebrated figures of the 12th century

Peter Abelard

• Sometimes called the Angelic Doctor and the Prince of Scholastics (1225-1274), Italian philosopher and theologian, whose works have made him the most important figure in Scholastic philosophy and one of the leading Roman Catholic theologians

Thomas Aquinas

• English Scholastic philosopher and scientist, one of the most influential teachers of the 13th century

Roger Bacon

SAINT AUGUSTINE(354-430), greatest of the Latin

Fathers and one of the most eminent Western Doctors of the Church and

canonized by Pope Boniface VIII, and his feast day is August 28, the day

on which he is thought to have died

Founded a monastic school at Tagaste for himself and his friends,

and he became famous preacher and note for combating Manichean

heresyborn on November 13, 354, in Tagaste, Numidia (now Souk-Ahras, Algeria), His father, Patricius (died

about 371), was a pagan (later converted to Christianity), but his

mother, Monica, was a devout Christian who labored untiringly for

her son's conversionBetween the ages of 15 and 30, he lived with a Carthaginian woman

whose name is unknown; in 372 she bore him a son, whom he named

Adeodatus, which is Latin for “the gift of God

FAMOUS WORKS

1. Confessions 2. The City of

God3. The

Retractions4. On Free Will5. On Christian

Doctrine 6. On Baptism:

Against the Donatists

7. On the Trinity

8. On Nature and Grace

9. Homilies

HIS PHILOSOPHYDeveloped his doctrines of

original sin and divine grace, divine sovereignty, and

predestinationHe held that human spiritual disobedience had resulted in

a state of sin that human nature was powerless to

changeMen and women are saved by the gift of divine grace

Man should not interpret the Bible because what we know about science contradicts our

God-given reasonEverything on earth was

created by God simultaneously not within 6

daysNo one can be saved unless they have received infant

baptism

INTELLECTUAL QUOTATIONS

1. Man should love the sinner but hate sin

2. Nothing can conquer man except truth and the victory of truth love

3. If a person sings once, he must pray twice

4. Christ is the teacher of men

5. There is no salvation of men outside the Church

6. Total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation

7. People make themselves a ladder out of their vices if they trample the vices themselves underfoot

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS

GRACEIn Christianity, the infinite

love, mercy, favor, and goodwill shown to

humankind by God or in the condition of being free of sin, e.g.

through repentance

to God

PREDESTINATION

In some religious

beliefs, the doctrine that

God decided at the beginning of time who would go to heaven after

death and who would not

ABSTINENCE

Restraint from

indulging a desire for

something, e.g. alcohol or sexual relations

WILLIAM OF OCKHAM

Known as Doctor Invincibilis (Latin) “unconquerable doctor” and Venerabilis Inceptor (Latin) “worthy initiator”, English philosopher and Scholastic theologian, who is considered the greatest exponent of the nominalist school, the leading rival of the Thomist and Scotist schools

Born in Surrey, England and entered the Franciscan order and studied and

taught at the University of Oxford from 1309 to 1319

Denounced by Pope John XXII for dangerous teachings, he was held in house detention for four years (1324-1328) at the papal palace in Avignon,

France, while the orthodoxy of his writings was examined

He fled to Munich in 1328 to seek the protection of Louis IV, Holy Roman emperor, who had rejected papal authority over political matters

Excommunicated by the pope, because he wrote against the papacy and

defended the emperor until the latter's death in 1347

He died in Munich, apparently of the plague, while seeking reconciliation

with Pope Clement VI

OCKHAM’S PHILOSOPHYHe won fame as a rigorous logician who used logic to show that many beliefs of

Christian philosophers could not be proved by

philosophical or natural reason but only by divine

revelation• That God is one• That God is omnipotent

• That God is the creator of all things

• That the human soul is immortalHis name is applied to the

principle of economy in formal logic, known as

Ockham's razor

He also formulated the “Principle of Sufficient

Reason”

OCKHAM’S RAZOR

The philosophical and scientific rule that simple explanations should be preferred to more complicated ones, and that the explanation of a new phenomenon should be based on what is already known

He maintained that such abstract entities are merely references of words to other words rather than to actual things

Quiz January 20, 2011

1. The term Scholastic finally came to be applied to anyone teaching philosophy and what other field of knowledge?

2. During this period, the precursors of many modern institutions, such as universities and bodies of representative government, were created

3. A Latin word which means “that which belongs to the school”4. The infinite love, mercy, favor, and goodwill shown to humankind by

God 5. Who said this statement “Understand so that you may believe, believe

so that you may understand”?6. He wrote the “Four Books of Sentences” 7. He is sometimes called the Angelic Doctor and the Prince of

Scholastics 8. The doctrine that God decided at the beginning of time who would go

to heaven after death and who would not9. He is known as the “unconquerable doctor” and “worthy initiator”10. The philosophical and scientific rule that simple explanations should

be preferred to more complicated ones

1. Theology 2. Medieval

Era3. Scholasticus 4. Grace 5. St.

Augustine6. Peter

Lombard7. St. Thomas

Aquinas8. Predestinati

on9. William of

Ockham10.Ockham’s

Razor

Answer The Following January 20, 2011

1. Compare St. Augustine and William of Ockham’s philosophy of human person

2. Explain St. Augustine’s maxim “Understand so that you may believe, believe so that you may understand”

3. What is the primary purpose of scholasticism?

4. What is “Universal concept” according to William of Ockham?

5. What is the “Principle of Sufficient Reason”? Cite instances where this principle applies

6. Do you agree with the beliefs of William of Ockham that the immortality of soul and infinity of God cannot be known by reason but are only known by Revelation alone?