THE medieval philosophy was developed in Europe during the Middle Ages (5th-15th centuries). It is a period of expansion and consolidation of Christianity in Western Europe.
Medieval philosophy tried to reconcile religion with philosophy, that is, Christian conscience with philosophical and scientific reason.
This may seem paradoxical in our time, but at that time it was perfectly understandable.
Features: Summary
The main features of medieval philosophy are:
- Inspiration in classical philosophy (Greco-Roman);
- Union of Christian faith and reason;
- Use of concepts from Greek philosophy to Christianity;
- Search for divine truth.
Many philosophers of that time were also part of the clergy or were religious. At that time, the great points of reflection for scholars were: the existence of God, faith and reason, the immortality of the human soul, salvation, sin, divine incarnation, free will, among others questions.
Thus, the reflections developed in the Middle Ages, even though they could include scientific studies, could not oppose the divine truth reported by the Bible.
Periods of Medieval Philosophy and Main Philosophers
The object of study of medieval philosophy began before this chronological period in history. After all, after the death of Jesus Christ, the first Christians had to reconcile Greek philosophy with Christian teachings.
Since the Middle Ages were a long period of Western history, we divided Medieval Philosophy into four phases:
- Philosophy of the Apostolic Fathers;
- Philosophy of the Apological Fathers;
- Patristics;
- Scholasticism.
Patristic and scholastic philosophy, which correspond to the last two periods, were the most important of medieval philosophy.
Philosophy of the Apostolic Fathers
In the first and second centuries, the philosophy developed was related to the beginning of Christianity and, therefore, philosophers of that period were concerned with explaining the teachings of Jesus Christ in a pagan milieu.
It receives this name, since this early Christianity was based on the writings of several apostles.
The greatest representative of this period was Paul of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul, who wrote many epistles included in the New Testament.
Philosophy of the Apological Fathers
In the 3rd and 4th centuries, medieval philosophy entered a new phase related to apology. This was a figure of rhetoric that consisted in the defense of some ideal, in this case, the Christian faith.
The "Father Apologists" used the same figures of speech and arguments to dialogue with the Hellenists. Thus, he defended Christianity as a natural philosophy that would be superior to Greco-Roman thought.
In this way they brought Greco-Roman thought closer to Christian concepts that were spreading throughout the Roman Empire.
During this period, Christian apologists stand out: Justin Martyr, Origen of Alexandria and Tertullian.
Patristic Philosophy
Patristic philosophy was developed from the fourth century onwards and remained until the eighth century. It receives this name because the texts developed in the period were written by the so-called "Fathers of the Church" (pater, "father", in Latin).
Patristics were concerned with adapting the teachings of Greek philosophy to Christian principles. It was based on the works of Plato and identified the Word of God with the world of Platonic ideas. They assumed that man would be able to understand God through his revelation.
This is an early stage in the development of medieval philosophy, when Christianity is concentrated in the East and is expanding across Europe. Therefore, most philosophers were also theologians and the main theme was the relationship of reason and faith.
The Church Fathers needed to explain concepts such as immortality of the soul, the existence of one God, and dogmas such as the Holy Trinity, starting from Greek philosophy.
Among the Church Fathers, Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Ambrose of Milan, among many others, stand out.
The most outstanding philosopher of the period, however, was St. Augustine of Hippo.
Scholastic Philosophy
Based on Aristotle's philosophy, Scholastica was a medieval philosophical movement that developed during the ninth and sixteenth centuries.
It appears with the intention of reflecting on the existence of God, the human soul, immortality. In short, they want to justify faith on the basis of reason.
Therefore, the scholastics defended that it is possible to know God through empiricism, logic and reason.
Likewise, Scholastics seeks to defend Christian doctrine from the heresies that appeared and threatened to break with the unity of Christendom.
Great philosophers of scholasticism were Bernardo de Claraval, Pedro Abelardo, Guilherme de Ockham, Blessed João Duns Escoto, among others.
During this period, the most important philosopher was Saint Thomas Aquinas and his work "Theological Summa", where he establishes the five principles to prove the existence of God.
Scholastics remained in force until the time of the Renaissance, when the Modern Age begins.
Read too:
- Scholastic Philosophy
- Christian Philosophy
- ancient philosophy
- modern philosophy
- Contemporary Philosophy
