scholasticism (skōlăs`tĭsĭzəm), philosophy and theology of Western Christendom in the Middle Ages. Virtually all medieval philosophers of any significance were theologians, and their philosophy is generally embodied in their theological writings. There were numerous scholastic philosophies in the Middle Ages, but basic to all scholastic thought was the conjunction of faith and reason. For the greatest of the scholastics, this meant the use of reason to deepen the understanding of what is believed on faith and ultimately to give a rational content to faith. It was in the course of applying reason to faith that medieval thinkers developed and taught important philosophical ideas not directly related to theology.

Influences on Scholasticism

The greatest of earlier Christian philosophers had been St. Augustine Augustine, Saint (ô`gəstēn, –tĭn; ôgŭs`tĭn), Lat.
..... Click the link for more information. , who saw in Plato (or in Neoplatonism Neoplatonism (nē'ōplā`tənĭzəm), ancient mystical philosophy based on the doctrines of Plato .
..... Click the link for more information. ) a system congenial with Christianity. This influence combined with that of the Pseudo-Dionysius (see Dionysius the Areopagite, Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, Saint (dīənĭsh`ēəs, ârēŏp`əjīt), fl. 1st cent. A.D.
..... Click the link for more information. ) to color the speculations of Western thinkers with Neoplatonic ideas. Much knowledge of ancient philosophy came to the early scholastics through the writings of Boethius Boethius (bōē`thēəs), Boetius
..... Click the link for more information. . John Scotus Erigena Erigena, John Scotus (skō`təs ĕrĭj`ĭnə) [Lat. Scotus=Irish, Erigena=born in Ireland], c.
..... Click the link for more information. continued the tradition of Neoplatonism in the 9th cent., adding to it certain mystical notions of his own.

Early Scholasticism

The beginning of scholasticism can be identified in the methods used by civil and canon lawyers of the 11th and 12th cent. to reconcile seemingly contradictory statements. St. Anselm Anselm, Saint (ăn`sĕlm), 1033?–1109, prelate in Normandy and England, archbishop of Canterbury, Doctor of the Church (1720), b.
..... Click the link for more information. in the late 11th cent. took as his life's motto "fides quaerens intelligentiam" [faith seeking understanding], and sought to use reason to illuminate the content of belief. An example of this is his famous ontological proof of the existence of God, based on the assertion that the highest being of which our minds can conceive must exist in reality.

The most important philosophical problem in the 12th cent. was the question of the universal (see realism realism, in philosophy.

1 In medieval philosophy realism represented a position taken on the problem of universals . There were two schools of realism.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Opposing both the extreme nominalism of Roscelin Roscelin (rŏs`əlĭn), c.1045–c.
..... Click the link for more information. and the realism of William of Champeaux William of Champeaux (shămpō`, shäNpō`), c.1070–1121, French scholastic philosopher.
..... Click the link for more information. , Peter Abelard Heloise, d. c.1164, the learned niece of Fulbert, canon of Notre Dame, who had hired Abelard as her tutor.

After Heloise bore a son, a secret marriage was held to appease her uncle.
..... Click the link for more information. taught a moderate doctrine; he recognized the universal as a symbol to which human beings have attached a commonly agreed significance, based on the similarity they perceive in different objects. Abelard's emphasis on the powers of reason, which he exaggerated in his early years, led to his condemnation by Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint (klrvō`), 1090?–1153, French churchman, mystic, Doctor of the Church.
..... Click the link for more information. . John of Salisbury John of Salisbury (sôlz`bərē), c.1110–1180, English scholastic philosopher, b. Salisbury.
..... Click the link for more information. , an English scholar noted for his humanistic studies, was representative of the important work done at the noted school at Chartres.

Hugh of St. Victor, a German scholar and mystic, urged the study of every branch of learning. His treatise On Sacraments was the first summa, an important medieval literary genre. The summae were comprehensive, intricately arranged works on theology and philosophy; they were characterized by their wide scope and vast learning. The Book of Sentences, however, assembled by Peter Lombard Peter Lombard, Lat. Petrus Lombardus, c.1100–c.1160, Italian theologian, often called Magister Sententiarum. He studied at Bologna, Reims, and Paris, where he is said to have been a student of Abelard.
..... Click the link for more information. in the early 12th cent., was to become the classical source book for medieval thinkers. It was a compilation of sources from the church fathers, especially St. Augustine, and in subsequent years virtually every great medieval thinker wrote a commentary on the Sentences.

The Golden Age

The 13th cent. is generally regarded as the golden age of medieval philosophy. It was marked by two important developments: the growth of universities, especially at Paris and Oxford (see colleges and universities colleges and universities, institutions of higher education. Universities differ from colleges in that they are larger, have wider curricula, are involved in research activities, and grant graduate and professional as well as undergraduate degrees.
..... Click the link for more information. ), and the introduction of Aristotle Aristotle (ăr'ĭstŏt`əl), 384–322 B.C., Greek philosopher, b. Stagira. He is sometimes called the Stagirite.
..... Click the link for more information. into the West. Until then, only the early works of Aristotle had been known to Western scholars, and those in poor translations; between 1120 and 1220 virtually the whole body of Aristotle's work was rendered into Latin, mainly from Arabic translations. The impact on Western thinkers of this vast body of systematic thought and organized research and analysis was enormous. Also important was the influence of Avicenna Avicenna (ăvĭsĕn`ə), Arabic Ibn Sina, 980–1037, Islamic philosopher and physician, of Persian origin, b.
..... Click the link for more information. and Averroës Averroës (əvĕr`ōēz), Arabic Ibn Rushd, 1126–98, Spanish-Arab philosopher.
..... Click the link for more information. , the two Arabic commentators whose interpretations of Aristotle were translated as well.

The Univ. of Paris became a leading center for the study of Aristotle and attracted scholars from all over Europe; the Dominicans and Franciscans, popular new religious orders, played a leading role in the expansion of the universities and the development of scholasticism. It was in the universities that the two traditional forms of scholastic literature were developed: the question (a thesis that is posed and defended against objections) and the commentary. Although Aristotle's work was of central significance in the development of scholasticism, it did not make its way without difficulties. In 1210 and 1215 papal authority prohibited the teaching of some of Aristotle's works at the Univ. of Paris, although by 1240 the ban was no longer enforced.

The first Western Aristotelian was Albertus Magnus Albertus Magnus, Saint (ălbûr`təs măg`nəs), or Saint Albert the Great, b. 1193 or 1206, d.
..... Click the link for more information. , who was an important student of the natural sciences as well. But the leading figure in the movement to "Christianize Aristotle" was St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, Saint (əkwī`nəs) [Lat.
..... Click the link for more information. , a Dominican and one of the greatest intellectual figures of the Middle Ages. He produced a vast body of philosophical work, which was remarkably precise, detailed, and organized. Denying any basic conflict between faith and reason, Aquinas sought to demonstrate that reason could lead man to many of the great spiritual truths and could help him to understand those truths that he accepted on faith. He combated secular interpretations of Aristotle, especially "Latin Averroism," the doctrines of Siger de Brabant Siger de Brabant (sēzhā` də bräbäN`), fl.
..... Click the link for more information. . In particular, Aquinas attacked the Averroist teaching that denied the immortality of the individual soul.

Aquinas himself was vigorously opposed by the Franciscans, led by St. Bonaventure 1)). His later mystical works bring the teachings of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Hugh of Saint Victor to full flower. He emphasized the total dependence of all things upon God, and he wrote guides to mystic contemplation. He also wrote the official and much-translated life of St.
..... Click the link for more information. . Bonaventure, rooted in an older theological tradition, feared the excesses of reason in its contact with faith and almost succeeded in having Aquinas' teachings condemned at Paris. Another opponent of Aquinas was Duns Scotus Duns Scotus, John (dŭnz skō`təs) [Lat. Scotus=Irishman or Scot], c.
..... Click the link for more information. , who developed a new scholastic synthesis. He argued that natural reason is limited in its ability to penetrate matters of faith, thus separating philosophy and theology.

Continuation of the Scholastic Tradition

William of Occam William of Occam or Ockham (both: ŏk`əm), c.1285–c.
..... Click the link for more information. , another Franciscan, is generally regarded as the last of the great medieval philosophers. By firmly separating philosophy and theology and insisting that there is no rational ground for faith, he brought an end to that synthesis of faith and reason that characterized the greatest scholastic thought. After the 15th cent. the reputation of medieval philosophy declined. But the break between medieval philosophy and Renaissance thought was mainly in the area of metaphysics; scholastic tradition and methods continued to be followed in politics and law—in canon law canon law, in the Roman Catholic Church, the body of law based on the legislation of the councils (both ecumenical and local) and the popes, as well as the bishops (for diocesan matters).
..... Click the link for more information. , civil law civil law, as used in this article, a modern legal system based upon Roman law , as distinguished from common law . Civil law is based on written legal codes, a hallmark of the Roman legal system, in which disputes were settled by reference to a written legal code
..... Click the link for more information. , and common law common law, system of law that prevails in England and in countries colonized by England. The name is derived from the medieval theory that the law administered by the king's courts represented the common custom of the realm, as opposed to the custom of local
..... Click the link for more information. and, later, in the development of international law international law, body of rules considered legally binding in the relations between national states, also known as the law of nations. It is sometimes called public international law in contrast to private international law (or conflict of laws ), which regulates
..... Click the link for more information. .

In the late 15th cent. the Dominicans began a Thomistic revival; its brilliant leader was the reformer Cajetan Cajetan, Saint (kăj`ətăn, kä'yātän`), 1480–1547, Italian churchman and reformer.
..... Click the link for more information. . There was also a living Scotist tradition, and every Catholic university had Thomists and Scotists in its theological faculty. After the 18th cent. the secularization of the universities resulted in the suppression of the theological faculties, and the old tradition was broken. The Scotists always suffered from the very bad state of the text of Duns Scotus' works, and in the 20th cent. the Franciscan order undertook a complete and authoritative edition of them.

Neoscholasticism

Contemporary interest in scholasticism, particularly among the neoscholastics, began as a concerted effort toward the end of the 19th cent. at the Univ. of Louvain. Impetus was given to the movement by the papal encyclical of Leo XIII, Aeterni Patris (1879), which called upon Roman Catholics to renew the study of the scholastics, especially St. Thomas Aquinas. Neoscholastics are not unanimous in their approach, but do generally agree that their philosophical study must not proceed in a manner that is neglectful of their Christian faith. Among the foremost neoscholastics have been the Frenchmen Jacques Maritain Maritain, Jacques (zhäk märētăN`), 1882–1973, French Neo-Thomist philosopher.
..... Click the link for more information. and Étienne Gilson Gilson, Étienne (ātyĕn` zhēlsôN`), 1884–1978, French philosopher and historian, b. Paris.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See E. Panofsky, Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism (1951, repr. 1963); J. Pieper, Scholasticism (tr. 1960, repr. 1964); J. R. Weinberg, A Short History of Medieval Philosophy (1964); J. Pelikan, The Growth of Medieval Theology (1978).

Scholasticism

Theological and philosophical movement, beginning in the 11th century, that sought to integrate the secular understanding of the ancient world, as exemplified by Aristotle, with the dogma implicit in the revelations of Christianity. Its aim was a synthesis of learning in which theology surmounted the hierarchy of knowledge. Principal figures in early Scholasticism were Peter Abelard, St. Anselm of Canterbury, St. Albertus Magnus, and Roger Bacon. The movement flourished in the 13th century, drawing on the writings and doctrines of St. Thomas Aquinas. By the 14th century Scholasticism was in decline, but it had laid the foundations for many revivals and revisitations in later centuries, particularly under Pope Leo XIII (1879), who sought to modernize the insights of the medieval scholastics. Modern philosophers influenced by Scholasticism include Jacques Maritain and Étienne Gilson (1884–1978).

scholasticism

the system of philosophy, theology, and teaching that dominated medieval western Europe and was based on the writings of the Church Fathers and (from the 12th century) Aristotle, the Greek philosopher (384--322 bc)