Medieval philosophy
Chronological framework:
• Beginning of the Middle Ages
refer to II-IV centuries A.D.
• Completion of the Middle Ages is
to XII-XIII centuries.
However, beginning of the
Middle Ages is still
controversial for historians of
philosophy.
Philosophy of this period had
two main sources of its
formation. The first is the ancient
Greek philosophy, especially in its
Platonic and Aristotelian
traditions.
The second source is the Holy
Bible, turning this philosophy into
the mainstream of Christianity.
Christianity (from the Greek word
Christos – “Anointed One”,
“Messiah”) originated as one of
the sects within Judaism in I cent.
A.D. in Palestine.
However, in a strict religious
dictatorship, supported by state
power, philosophy was declared as
ancilla theologiae (“servant of
theology”)
Medieval European philosophy
has developed five core
principles:
➢ theocentrism,
➢ creationism,
➢ providentialism,
➢ personalism,
➢ revelationizm.
[Link] (Greek theos -
God) – in the center of the
universe is God.
[Link] is the idea that the
world and mankind created by
God.
3. Providentialism is the idea
that destinies of the world and
people are determined by God.
4. Revelationizm is a principle
that there are two ways of
revelation: Holy Bible and sacred
tradition.
5. Personalism is the
principle according to
which human is
created in image and
similarity of God, but
because of the Fall
human has lost his
likeness, retaining only
the image of God.
The first stage of the medieval
Christian philosophy is apologetic
(II-III cc.).
Apologetic period, coming after
the apostles, gives us a number of
well-known Christian writers and
thinkers (Justin the Philosopher,
Tatian, Tertullian, and others).
Justin first gave Christianity the
concepts of Greek philosophy and
laid the foundation of theological
interpretation of history.
In the emerging theology Tertullian
(2-3 c.) first expressed the concept
of the Trinity. “I believe, because it
is absurd” (Credo quia absurdum).
Patristics.
At the heart of this theology was
Alexandrian School (Clement of
Alexandria, Origen etc).
Origenes Adamantius (about
185-254). Founder of biblical
philology. Coined the term “God-
man”. God is Providence in
action. Apocatastasis meaning
reconstitution (воспроизведение) to
the primordial (к изначальному)
condition (universal salvation-
спасение).
Aurelius Augustinus – St. Austin
(354-430). The ancestor
(родоначальник) of the Christian
philosophy of history. Augustine
describes human history in his
book “The City of God”.
God created matter and endowed
(наделить) it with different shapes.
Evil is the deficiency (недостаток)
of good.
Scholasticism is a systematic
medieval philosophy, centered
around universities and is a
synthesis of Catholic theology and
Aristotelian logic.
Scholasticism is characterized
by two trends: the realists and
nominalists.
According to realism only
general concepts, or universals,
have true reality (Guillaume de
Champeaux).
According to nominalism,
common concepts are only the
names (Johannes Roscelin,
Anselm of Canterbury, William of
Ockham etc.)
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Universalis
• He linked Christian faith with the
philosophy of Aristotle.
• Nature ends in grace, intelligence
ends in faith, philosophical
knowledge and natural theology
end in a supernatural revelation.
Five proofs of God’s existence:
• Proof through motion
• Proof through producing cause
• Proof through necessity
• Proof through degrees of being
and perfection
• Proof through a target cause.
Works of Thomas:
• Summa Theologica
• Summa contra
Gentiles etc.
Arab-Muslim philosophy
The main question during the
development of Islamic dogma,
was the question of monotheism
(tawhid). The idea of monism,
the unity of existence and
uniqueness of the universe has
become a central theme of
philosophy.
As a philosophical problem
unity of being was discussed in
two plans: the mystical vision and
rationalistic justification.
Rationalism of Islamic
philosophy was expressed
in the development of
special teaching – Kalam.
Adherents of kalam
were Mutakallims.
Among them there were two basic
directions: Ascharites (followers
Ashari’s theology) and Mu'tazila.
First group developed conceptions
of unity being proposed by
Mutasillits (isolated): religious
rationalists-philosophers.
Mutasillits shared attributes of
God to “attributes of the self” (Ift
az-zat) and “attributes of action”
(Ift al-fi’l)
Asharizm, which became the main
school of Kalam in X cent., is solution
“theological” questions as “middle
ground” between the position of
Mu'tazila and the doctrine of the
traditionalists (the Salafittes),
proponents of free will and
predestination (предопределения)
supporters.
Falsafa (Eastern peripatetism) is a
direction of secular philosophy in
classical Islam, which develops the
ancient model of philosophizing,
mainly of Aristotle.
Al-Kindi (801-873), (philosopher
of Arabs) has formulated the
main questions:
▪ the rational-allegorical
interpretation of the “sacred
texts”
▪ identification of God with the
primordial cause
▪ the interpretation of creation as
granting the existence of things
with a kind of causal relationships
▪ a process of emanation (the
origin of the Universe through
emergence beyond first
principles);
Abu Nasr al-Farabi
(873-950)
Philosophy and
religion arise after
people mastered the
“practical arts” and seek
to understand the
causes of surrounding
things.
People are attached to the
truths by two ways: by using
apodictic judgments and through
the dialectical, rhetorical or
poetic expressions.
The need for religion related to
the needs in Political Science and
Law. Ideally, people should
managed by philosophers, who
give the truth to “the public”
through “true religion” in images
and allegorical discourses.
(“Treatise on the views of the
virtuous city residents”)
Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980-1037) -
Central Asian philosopher and
physician, a representative of the
eastern Aristotelianism.
Ibn Sina proved co-eternity of
the world with the Creator.
Creation in eternity Ibn Sina
explained by Neoplatonic concept
of emanation, thus justifying the
logical progression from the
initial substance to the plurality
of the created world.
According to him, absolute truth
can be comprehended by intuitive
vision which presents the
culmination of the thinking process.
Works:
▪ The Canon of Medicine
▪ About predestination etc.
Ibn Bājjah (Avempace) (1070-
1138) is the first major
representative of the eastern
peripatetism in Muslim Spain.
• In his “Farewell (прощальный)
message” Ibn Bājjah considers the
questions of first ‘engi[i]ne, a human
goal, connection of person with an
active mind.
Ibn Rushd (Averroes)
(1126-1198) –
Western-Arab philosopher.
• Developed the doctrine of dual
truth.
• The first substance is identical to
world order
• Genesis of things based on their
unity, relationships.
Ibn Khaldun
(1332-1406).
He almost did not
interested in classical
problems of
cosmology and
philosophy. His areas
of interest was history.
He has created a theory of social
development from the lowest level
(barbarism) to the highest
(civilization), through the
development of productive
activities of people, explaining the
development of social life through
the development of production.
A mystical form of Islam expressed in
such a direction as Sufism.
Fundamentals of Sufism incorporated in
the 9th century by Egyptian al-Misri and
a resident of Baghdad al-Muhasibi.
• However, Sufism has been
developed in the esoteric
concepts of al-Hallaj (I am truth)
and al-Ghazali (Sufism is the
essence of Islam.)
