Lyceum & Book Club - Week 11 - Lecture Notes for Scholasticism

From philosophy basics.com

Scholasticism

Scholasticism is a Medieval school of philosophy (or, perhaps more accurately, a method of learning) taught by the academics of medieval universities and cathedrals in the period from the 12th to 16th Century. It combined Logic, Metaphysics and semantics into one discipline, and is generally recognized to have developed our understanding of Logic significantly.

The term "scholastic" is derived from the Latin word "scholasticus" and the Greek "scholastikos" (meaning literally "devoting one's leisure to learning" or "scholar") and the Greek "scholeion" (meaning "school"). The term "schoolmen" is also commonly used to describe scholastics.

Scholasticism is best known for its application in medieval Christian theology, especially in attempts to reconcile the philosophy of the ancient classical philosophers (particularly Aristotle) with Christian theology.

There are perhaps six main characteristics of Scholasticism:

• An acceptance of the prevailing Catholic orthodoxy.

• Within this orthodoxy, an acceptance of Aristotle as a greater thinker than Plato.

• The recognition that Aristotle and Plato disagreed about the notion of universals, and that this was a vital question to resolve.

• Giving prominence to dialectical thinking and syllogistic reasoning.

• An acceptance of the distinction between "natural" and "revealed" theology.

• A tendency to dispute everything at great length and in minute detail, often involving word-play.

The Franciscan and Dominican orders of the 13th Century saw some of the most intense scholastic theologizing of High Scholasticism, producing such theologians and philosophers as Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas Aquinas, Alexander of Hales (died 1245) and St. Bonaventure (1221 - 1274).

This period also saw a flourishing of mystical theology, such as Mechthild of Magdeburg (1210 - 1285) and Angela of Foligno (1248 - 1309), and early natural philosophy (or "science") at the hands of such men as Roger Bacon and Robert Grosseteste (c. 1175 - 1253).

Thomism and Scotism are specific off-shoots of Scholasticism, following the philosophies of St. Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus respectively.

Scholasticism was eclipsed by the Humanism of the 15th and 16th Centuries, and it came to be viewed as a rigid, formalistic and outdated way of conducting philosophy.