The most important questions of scholasticism are: The emergence of scholasticism and its main directions: nominalism and realism

Scholasticism in philosophy is a direction of scientific thought, born at the intersection of logic and theology. Scholastic philosophers, using logical methods, sought to analyze and comprehend the Divine principle of all that they recognized.

Today, it is customary to call scholastic disputes from scratch, meaningless judgments about what is not possible to believe, pointless conversations. The words "scholastic, scholasticism" can be used as negative characteristics of a person or an ongoing phenomenon.

But, firstly, such a judgment is fundamentally wrong, and below we will analyze what this philosophical direction has taught mankind.And secondly, it wasn't always like that. Already in Western Europe in the 9th-12th centuries, this scientific discipline had a huge impact on the development of public self-consciousness, the formation of harmony of mind and faith.

This branch of philosophical thought received a negative connotation after more than a thousand years of its formation and development - in the 19th century. The Age of Enlightenment - the time of the denial of the Divine, the mass departure from religion in the direction of actively developing scientific thought, simply ousted scholasticism from the minds of contemporaries.

Who first thought about the logic of faith?

It is known that even Plato (428-348 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) worked on the correlation of belief in a supreme being with the laws of formal logic.

The philosopher Proclus (412-485), who lived in the Byzantine Empire in the 5th century AD, came to grips with the interpretation of theology and mysticism. Trained by the greatest minds and hard-working, Proclus headed the Platonic Academy of Athens at a comparatively young age, under 40.

The social processes that took place on the ruins of the Great Roman Empire determined the direction of development of the scientific thought of the philosopher. The Byzantine Empire was a theocratic state. The supreme power belonged christian church, pagan cults - declared heresy and persecuted. It was believed that a person with his mind is not able to understand the full depth of God's providence, cannot distinguish good from evil. Everyone was obliged to trust the church and believe in God without thinking or reasoning.

The inquisitive mind of the philosopher and teacher Proclus did not fit the option of “blind faith”. He and his followers considered it blasphemous to forcibly convert to the Christian faith, destroy places of worship, which were historical heritage. After the publication of the work “Objections against Christians”, completed in 18 volumes and not extant to this day, the head of the Platonic Academy was even forced to flee Athens for some time.

Fundamental for the scholastic * direction in ancient philosophy * are the works of Proclus "The Fundamentals of Theology" and "Plato's Theology", devoted to the consideration and analysis of the higher principles of all things.

How and where did scholasticism develop?

Having dealt with the origins, we will consider *briefly* the main milestones in the development of scholastic thought.
At the beginning of the 2nd millennium, a system of school education appeared in Western Europe. Universities began to develop. Already in 1088, the first university was established in the Italian city of Bologna. In a short time, similar educational institutions were organized in most major cities in Europe. They were formed according to a single model, from 3 faculties: medical, legal and theological. It was at the theological faculties that they sought to know God, studied the logical aspects of faith and theology.

Therefore, the *definition* of the scholastic branch of philosophical thought is considered the most correct, as school, educational philosophy(from lat. scholia "scientist", "school"). This direction should not be considered a philosophy *for dummies*. Those who successfully mastered Latin and the Holy Scriptures, succeeded in studying arithmetic and grammar, astronomy, logic and even music, which was a compulsory discipline in schools of the Middle Ages, could enter the theological faculty.

The main tasks of the school philosophy of that time was the ability to logically comprehend, make accessible the content of the faith, bring the church teachings and the works of Christian thinkers into a system.

In simple words, the philosophy of that time is a tool for knowing God. The issues solved by the scholastics of the initial period consisted largely in the formalization of faith - the arrangement "on the shelves" of the existing knowledge about the highest spiritual essence.

However, the learned scholastics of that time no longer had a common opinion on a number of fundamental philosophical issues, in particular on the issue of the interaction of individual things and general concepts. So there were currents: realism, nominalism and conceptualism. It was during the disputes and the division of the doctrine into several branches that the most ambitious encyclopedic works of philosophical and theological content were created - the sum.

In the XIII century, the flowering of scholastic philosophy began, which lasted until the XV century. At this stage, the scholastics asked questions of immortality and the abilities of the soul. Questions of the relationship between the will of the individual and Divine Providence came to the fore. During this period, the works of scholastic philosophers begin to acquire a certain legislative coloring. The relationship between man and God is seen as a set of certain rights and obligations. There are such currents as voluntarism and intellectualism.

Crisis and disappearance of scholastic philosophy to XVIII century driven by the changing needs of society. Natural sciences developed actively. It has become more interesting for mankind to learn new things by experience than to mark time, again and again arguing about the most correct interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. The attention of society turned away from knowledge inner world to the study of the external, where there was no place for scholasticism.

Interestingly, throughout the Renaissance (XVI-XVII), it continued to be the official philosophy studied in most European universities. School philosophy, which had lost its relevance, continued to be studied by inertia for centuries, which finally discredited this philosophical direction in the world of science.

It is even more interesting that, despite all the persecution, the names of many scholastics are often mentioned in the works of contemporary figures. Their works are studied and are in demand in the scientific community. Many are familiar with the names of Albert the Great (1206–1280), Bonaventure (1218–1274), Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), John Duns Scotus (1265–1308), William of Ockham (1285–1347), Raymond Lull (1232–1315), Jean Buridan (1295–1358) and others.

What benefit did scholasticism bring?

Three reasons to "respect" this theological philosophy:

It is believed that it was scholasticism that taught mankind to think logically. This direction of philosophical thought, having God as a subject of study, could in no way affect the development of the natural sciences. Trying, however, to comprehend the relationship between human and higher spiritual essences, they were forced to solve complex multicomponent logical problems, and this is how modern mathematical logic was born.
Vocabulary and conceptual apparatus created by philosophers of this direction is widely used in science to the present day.
It was on the formalisms created by theological philosophy and the ways of thinking adopted in it that modern philosophical currents developed. It can be said that scholasticism is the cradle of modern philosophy.

This article briefly and clearly describes all the most important things that we need to know about this important philosophical doctrine today. We did not delve into the difficult to understand features of the flow of theological and philosophical thought, forming a comprehensive understanding of science.

Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov

Scholasticism (from lat. scholastica - "school", "scientist") - the direction to medieval philosophy, closely associated with religion, which tried by way of logical reasoning and analysis explain the rules of the church and prove that God exists.

Philosophers believed that religion should be based Not only on blind faith and feelings, but also on mind believer.

Second meaning scholastics - knowledge, which is not based on life experience. That is, this is philosophizing, thinking without relying on life situations.

Scholastic- This:

scholastic philosopher;
a person who philosophizes scholastically, that is, his reflections Not built on life experience and Not follow from practice.

Representatives of scholasticism

Boethius (Anicius Manlius Torquat Severin);
Alcuin;
Petr Damiani;
Anselm of Canterbury;
Eriugena (John Scotus);
Thomas Aquinas;
Roger Bacon;
Duns Scott;
Bonaventure (real name Giovanni Fidanza);
William of Ockham and others

Medieval scholasticism

Scholasticism was formed in the Middle Ages in IX-XIII centuries.

However, even before this period, scholastic ideas could be found in the writings of ancient Greek philosophers. Aristotle And Plato in the IV-V centuries. BC e.

The development of scholasticism is associated with the name of the Roman philosopher Boethia(V-VI centuries). The philosopher translated the works of these ancient Greek philosophers. I paid a lot of attention to logic.

Along with logic in the Middle Ages came the reasoning about whether God exists and how to prove it logically.

It was an Italian philosopher who proved the existence of God Anselm of Canterbury(XI-XII centuries). According to the philosopher, a person must understand his faith with the help of reason.

The philosopher argued that faith and reason can coexist. But faith does not follow from reason. It is something divine that is bestowed from above.

As for the existence of God, the philosopher tried to prove it with the help of ontology(science that studies being). God is perfect. And this means that if it exists in our reflections, thoughts, then we cannot come to the conclusion that it does not exist. Because then it wouldn't be perfect.

Scholasticism and Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas - Italian philosopher (1225–1274) Considered a moderate realist.

The philosopher proved the existence of God, citing the following arguments:

God is the primary cause of everything: everything exists for a reason. So there must be a primary root cause of everything. And that's God.
Everything is moving because of someone, and this movement has been started by someone. God is the one who launched the first movement.
Everything has a purpose, an end goal. God gives this setting, sets a goal for everything.
The necessity, the obligatory nature of everything is also laid down by God.

Thomas Aquinas believed that reason and faith can coexist. That there are concepts or things that only the mind can understand. And there are those in which you just need to believe and through the mind you can’t reach them.

His main works are: "The Sum of Theology" and "The Sum against the Gentiles" (this work is also known as the "Sum of Philosophy").

Scholasticism and patristics

Patristics (from Greek πατήρ (pater), Latin pater - father) is a teaching, the works of the Fathers of the Church, which are aimed at confirming Christian dogmas and doctrines.

Church Fathers- so called themselves philosophers and preachers who proved the truth of Christian concepts and views.

The period of origin and development of patristics can be considered II–VIII centuries. And the main representative is Aurelius Augustine (or Augustine the Blessed).

Patristics tried to establish Christianity in the pagan world, to make it the main religion.

Scholasticism she changed her patristics. The scholastics tried to combine the teachings of ancient philosophers (about logic and reason) with religious dogmas.

Scholasticism and patristics are united theocentrism. Both teachings assert that God (and not man) is at the heart of the world, at its center.

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Medieval philosophy - the most important thing briefly. This is another topic from a series of articles on philosophy in brief.

From previous articles you have learned:

Medieval philosophy - the most important briefly

The Middle Ages is a period of European history lasting almost a millennium. It starts from the 5th century (the collapse of the Roman Empire), includes the era of feudalism and ends at the beginning of the 15th century with the onset of the Renaissance.

Medieval philosophy - main features

The philosophy of the Middle Ages is characterized by the idea of uniting all people of different classes, professions, nationalities with the help of Christian faith

Philosophers of the Middle Ages said that all people, having received baptism, in the future life will acquire those blessings that they are deprived of in this life. The idea of the immortality of the soul equalized everyone: the beggar and the king, the artisan and the publican, the woman and the man.

The philosophy of the Middle Ages, in brief, is a Christian worldview, embedded in the consciousness of the public, often in a light favorable to the feudal lords.

The main problems of medieval philosophy

The main problems considered by the philosophers of the Middle Ages were the following:

Attitude towards nature. In the Middle Ages, a new perception of nature was formed, different from the ancient one. Nature, as a subject of Divine creation, was no longer considered an independent subject for study, as was customary in antiquity. Man was placed above nature, they called it the lord and king of nature. This attitude towards nature contributed little to its scientific study.

Man is the likeness of God, the image of God. Man was considered in two ways, on the one hand, as the likeness and image of God, on the other - as in the ancient Greek philosophers - as a "reasonable animal". The question was, what kind of nature is more in a person? Philosophers of antiquity also highly extolled man, but now he, as the likeness of God, completely goes beyond nature and rises above it.

The problem of soul and body. Jesus Christ is God incarnated in man and atoned for all the sins of mankind on the cross for his salvation. The idea of uniting the divine and the human was completely new, both from the point of view of the pagan philosophy of Ancient Greece, and from the standpoint of Judaism and Islam.

The problem of self-consciousness. God gave man free will. If in the philosophy of antiquity mind was in the first place, then in the philosophy of the Middle Ages the will is brought to the fore. Augustine said that all people are wills. They know good, but the will does not obey them and they do evil. The philosophy of the Middle Ages taught that man cannot overcome evil without the help of God.

History and memory. The sacredness of the history of life. In the early Middle Ages, there was a keen interest in history. Although in antiquity the history of being was more associated with the cosmos and nature than with the history of mankind itself.

Universals- This general concepts(for example, a living being), and not specific objects. The problem of universals arose in the days of Plato. The question was, do universals (general concepts) really exist in themselves, or do they manifest themselves only in specific things? The question of universals gave rise in medieval philosophy to the direction realism, nominalism And conceptualism.

The main task of the philosophers of the Middle Ages is God-seeking

The philosophy of the Middle Ages is, first of all, God-seeking and confirmation that God exists. Medieval philosophers rejected the atomism of ancient philosophers and the consubstantiality of God in the interpretation of Aristotle. Platonism was accepted in the aspect of the trinity of God.

3 stages of the philosophy of the Middle Ages

Conventionally, such 3 stages of the philosophy of the Middle Ages are distinguished, briefly their essence is as follows.

Stage 1 Apologetics- the statement about the trinity of God, the proof of His existence, the revision of early Christian symbols and rituals of service to new conditions.
2nd stage Patristika- the establishment of the dominance of the Catholic Christian Church in all spheres of life in European states.
3rd stage of Scholasticism- rethinking the dogmas legitimized in previous periods.

Apologetics in philosophy?

The main representatives of apologetics - the 1st stage in the philosophy of the Middle Ages - Clement of Alexandria and Quintus Septimius Florent Tertullian.

Apologetics in philosophy, briefly, is the main branch of theology, which proves the truth of the existence of God and the main provisions of the Christian faith using rational means.

Patristics in philosophy?

During the period of the 2nd stage of medieval philosophy, it was no longer necessary to prove the existence of God. The stage of spreading the Christian faith began.

Patristika (from the Greek " pater" - father) in philosophy in short - this is the theology and philosophy of the Fathers of the Church who continued the work of the Apostles. John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa and others worked out the doctrine that formed the basis of the Histian worldview.

Is it scholasticism in philosophy?

The third stage of medieval philosophy is scholasticism. During the time of Scholasticism, schools arise, universities with a theological orientation, and philosophy begins to turn into theology.

Scholasticism(from the Greek "school") in philosophy is a medieval European philosophy, which was a synthesis of the philosophy of Aristotle and Christian theology. Scholasticism combines theology with a rationalistic approach to questions and problems of philosophy.

Christian Thinkers and Philosophical Searches

The outstanding thinkers of the 1st stage of medieval philosophy include apologetics Tatian and Origen. Tatian collected four Gospels (from Mark, Matthew, Luke, John) into one. They became known as the New Testament. Origen became the author of the branch of philology, which was based on biblical stories. He introduced the concept of the God-Man.

Outstanding thinker in the period of patristics was Boethius. He generalized the philosophy of the Middle Ages for teaching in universities. Universals are the brainchild of Boethius. He divided 7 areas of knowledge into 2 types of disciplines - humanitarian (grammar, dialectics, rhetoric) and natural science (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music). He translated and made an interpretation of the main works of Euclid, Aristotle and Nicomachus.

To the outstanding thinkers of scholasticism carry the monk Thomas Aquinas. He systematized the postulates of the church, indicated 5 indestructible proofs of the existence of God. He combined the philosophical ideas of Aristotle with Christian teaching. He proved that there is always a sequence of completing reason with faith, nature with grace, philosophy with revelation.

Philosophers of the Catholic Church

Many philosophers of the Middle Ages were canonized by the Catholic Church. These are Blessed Augustine, Irenaeus of Lyon, Clement of Alexandria, Albert the Great, John Chrysostom, Thomas Aquinas, Maximus the Confessor, John of Damascus, Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius the Areopagite, Basil the Great, Boethius, canonized as Saint Severin and others.

The Crusades - Causes and Consequences

You can often hear the question, why were the Crusades so cruel in the Middle Ages, if the reason for their organization was the preaching of faith in God? But God is love. This question often confuses both believers and non-believers.

If you are also interested in getting a deep and historically proven answer to this question, watch this video. The well-known missionary, theologian, Doctor of Historical Sciences Andrey Kuraev gives the answer:

Books on the philosophy of the Middle Ages

Anthology of philosophy of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Perevezentsev Sergey.
Richard Southern. Scholastic humanism and the unification of Europe.
D. Reale, D. Antiseri. Western philosophy from its origins to the present day: the Middle Ages. .

VIDEO Philosophy of the Middle Ages briefly

I hope that the article Medieval Philosophy briefly most importantly turned out to be useful to you. In the next article, you can get acquainted with.

I wish you all an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of yourself and the world around you, inspiration in all your affairs!

In the article we will talk about what scholasticism is. We will consider in detail the different aspects of this issue, understand the key concepts and take a short digression into history.

What is scholasticism?

So, scholasticism is a European philosophy of the Middle Ages, which was systematized and ordered. It concentrated around ideas that were a kind of synthesis of the logic of Aristotle and Christian theology. Characteristics- this is a rational technique, the study of formal logical problems, the use of theological and dogmatic ideas.

What is scholasticism in the modern world? Most often, this word means some concepts or reasoning that are divorced from reality, cannot be verified empirically.

Features and problems

The features of scholasticism are that:

She considers any problem, which she takes on in great detail and scrupulously. All details, opinions and ideas are taken into account.
Developed citation culture.
The presence of "Amounts" - summaries for any question.

The problem in this area is:

Proof of the existence of God.
The problem of the general and the individual.
The problem of faith and knowledge.

Description

So what is scholasticism in more detail? It is a kind of religious philosophy that uses special methods and techniques to understand the Christian doctrine. At the same time, science is far from a free and free interpretation of these issues, in contrast to Greek philosophy. Scholasticism was preceded by a patristic philosophy, about which we shall speak in more detail later.

The philosophy of scholasticism and patristics are in many ways similar. They wanted to explain faith and religion through reason. The only difference is that the last source of knowledge was Holy Scripture. Strict dogmatic formulations were used. In scholasticism, the dogmas of the great fathers were the basis. Philosophy was used only to explain and systematize knowledge. At the same time, it cannot be said that patristics and scholasticism are completely different concepts. They dough intertwined and evolved together. We can say that each of them develops something that the other has not yet achieved.

Reflections are based on the basic teachings of the church and ancient philosophy, which could survive until the Middle Ages. However, in this double source, the dominant place still belonged to the teachings of the church. Much attention was also given specifically to philosophy. It is clear that the scientific enlightenment of peoples at the initial stage went quite well, since people, like little children, listened to the science of antiquity with fascination. The problems of scholasticism were that it was necessary to combine these two directions into a single whole and take only the best from each of them. To better understand how to do this, scientists started from the principle that not only revelation comes from God, but also the human mind. That is why their opposition simply cannot be. The truth is in their complex and association.

heyday

It should be noted separately that during the heyday of this science, many of its provisions passed from theological to philosophical. It was normal at that stage, but it was also clear that sooner or later they would part. Thus, by the end of the Middle Ages, philosophy and theology really became isolated.

Medieval scholasticism understood the difference between these two trends. Philosophy was based on natural and rational truths, while theology was based on divine revelation, which was more "supernatural". In philosophy one can find truth, but only in part. It only shows us what limits a person can reach in his knowledge. At the same time, in order to contemplate God, it is necessary to turn to revelation, since philosophy is not able to satisfy this desire.

Foundation for foundation

Scholastics have always treated the philosophers of antiquity with great respect. They understood that these people had reached some peak in their knowledge. But at the same time, it was clear that this did not mean that they had completely exhausted all knowledge. It is precisely in this question that a certain advantage of theology over philosophy is manifested. It lies in the fact that the first has practically no boundaries in knowledge. The pinnacles of truth are so impressive that the human mind cannot always comprehend them. Actually, this kind of truth was the basis for the scholastics, who used philosophy only as an additional means. They have repeatedly said that she is only a "servant" of theology. However, this is a rather controversial issue. Why? Thanks to philosophical ideas theology takes on its scientific form. Moreover, these ideas provide a reasonable and logical justification for the theses of theology. It must be understood that having such a serious foundation, theology in general could treat Christian mysteries very speculatively and interpret them for its own benefit.

Status

Medieval scholasticism at the time of its inception was not yet in such a position in relation to theology. Let us recall Eriugen, who said many times that any research in any field should begin with faith in divine revelation. But at the same time, he completely refused to perceive religion as something given from a sanctioned authority. And what is most interesting, in the event of a conflict between this authority and the human mind, he would give preference to the latter. Many of his colleagues condemned such views as disrespectful to the church. However, such great ideas were achieved much later, and then not completely.

It should be noted that already from the 13th century such thoughts had a fairly solid foundation. There was only one small exception, which was that some church dogmas, such as the incarnation, the trinity of the image, etc., did not lend themselves to a reasonable explanation. Against this background, the range of theological questions that reason could explain was gradually, but rather rapidly, narrowed. All this led to the fact that in the end philosophy and Christianity simply went their separate ways.

It should be noted that not all scholastics of that time really considered philosophy an auxiliary tool for theology. But this was the mental tendency of the majority. We must not forget that the direction of spiritual thought in the Middle Ages was set exclusively by the church, which also explains a lot. That is, we understand that philosophy rises only because it is closely intertwined with theology. As long as she exalts him, her role will also grow. But as soon as something changes, the situation will change. Thanks to this, scientists were able to identify other characteristic features.

Other features

Institutions that provide a practical basis must be strictly organized. This is an important condition for their further prosperity. That is why catholic hierarchy at the time of her rise, she tried to draw up canonical rules that would be the basis. The desire for a clear systematization is also manifested in medieval philosophy, which wanted to differ from patristics. The latter wielded more extensive and disconnected concepts in which unified system did not have. This desire was especially pronounced during the heyday of scholasticism and the emergence of the systems of Thomas Aquinas, Albert the Great and Duns Scotus.

However, scholasticism in medieval philosophy had to turn to such a method also because it wielded knowledge and concepts for which the critical or polemical method was not suitable. All that was required was high-quality systematization. Scholastics received general provisions churches, which had to be processed accordingly using philosophical methods. From this follows the second characteristic, which lies in the desire to formalize concepts. At the same time, scholasticism is very often reproached precisely for the fact that there is too much formalism in it. Yes, these accusations are justified, but one must also understand that without formalism in this case, nowhere. If earlier the emphasis was on the diversity and richness of the language, then in our case all conclusions should have been short and clear.

Tasks

What was the general task of the doctrine of scholasticism? It is to accept and assimilate the philosophical thought of the ancient world and use it in modern conditions. The ancient treasures of wisdom became standards for the Middle Ages not immediately, but gradually. To begin with, it was necessary to fill in the gaps in philosophical wisdom, and only then to harmonize the teachings of contradictory scientists. Only fragments of some treatises were known, which the scholastics had to rework. Moreover, it was necessary to clearly clarify the relationship between philosophy and theology. It was necessary to describe reason and faith, to find explanations for many postulates from religion. All this led to the fact that it was necessary to create an integrated system. Naturally, all this gave rise to the formalism we spoke about above. As we understand, the scholastics carried out serious and painstaking work, which led them to new conclusions. These were not fragments of the sayings of the sages, but their own logical conclusions. That is why it cannot be said that this direction only retells the thoughts of Aristotle or Augustine.

Scholasticism of Thomas Aquinas

This topic should be considered separately. Thomas Aquinas came up with descriptions that later became known as "sums". These are capacious and containing only basic information complexes of information. He outlined the "Sum of Theology" and the "Sum against the Gentiles". In his first work, he resorted to the conclusions of Aristotle in order to systematize Christian doctrine. Thus, he managed to create his own concept. What are its provisions?

First, he speaks of the need for harmony between a person's mind and his faith. There are two ways of knowing: rational and sensitive. You should not use only one of them, because in this case the truth will not be complete. Faith and science should complement each other. Thanks to the latter, one can explore the world and learn about its properties, but only faith can give insight and a look at things from the side of divine revelation. In no case should there be a spirit of rivalry between these two global concepts. On the contrary, united, they will create harmony.

Secondly, the scholasticism of Thomas Aquinas is based on his 5 proofs of the existence of God. We will not consider each of them separately, as it will take too much time. Let's just say that he used both methods of knowledge in order to describe these evidence. Moreover, many of the provisions and ideas of Aquinas were later confirmed by real scientific experiments.

strife

The discord between philosophy and theology arose due to the fact that the secular and clergy had completely different views on life. This stemmed from the fact that their views, living conditions and even language differed. Note that if the clergy used Latin, then the representatives of the secular class spoke the language of the people. The Church has always wanted its provisions and principles to become standards for the whole society. Formally, it was so, but in reality it was almost impossible to do so. For scholastic philosophy, earthly problems and hardships were something distant, alien, and even low. She looked at metaphysics and tried to proceed from it. Natural philosophical questions were not even considered. It was necessary to give all attention exclusively to the divine mysteries and the morality of man. Ethics, which was also a kind of opposite in the worldly world, appealed to the heavenly and renounced the worldly.

In the language, such discord is also very clearly manifested. Latin was the privilege of the clergy, science was taught exclusively in this language. At the same time, poetry, which was romantic, but more simple and understandable to the average person, was written in the language of the laity. At that time, science was devoid of feeling, at the same time as poetry was devoid of reality, it was too fantastic.

Metaphysics

The period of scholasticism fell on the Middle Ages. As we said above, it was a time when the two branches of knowledge complemented each other. Opposition and at the same time the impossibility of existence of one without the other manifested itself most clearly in metaphysics. At first, it developed rather one-sidedly. To do this, we can recall at least the fact that in the Middle Ages from Plato, people knew only a couple of his works. Thoughtful works were known very superficially, as they touched on a more complex area.

One can understand that under such conditions scholasticism developed rather peculiarly. Note that initially the role of metaphysics was given to dialectics and logic. Initially, dialectics was taught as a secondary doctrine. This was due to the fact that it was more about words than things, and was more of an additional discipline. However, after scholasticism began to take shape, dialectics quickly came to the fore. Because of this, teachers began to neglect other areas of knowledge, trying only in this area to find answers to all questions. Naturally, metaphysics as such did not yet exist, but even then there was already a need for it. That is why the basic principles began to be searched among the 7 main areas of education. Dialectics and logic, which belonged to philosophy, were most suitable.

Directions

Consider the direction of scholasticism. There are only two of them. The concept of scholasticism gives an understanding of what this science does, but even within it two different currents have formed - nominalism and realism. Initially, it was the latter direction that developed more actively, but after that the time of nominalism came. What are the differences between these two concepts? The fact that realism pays attention to the qualities of a thing and its properties, while nominalism rejects this and concentrates only on the fact of the existence of one or another.

At an early stage of development, realism dominated, which was represented by the schools of Scotism and Thomism. These were the schools of F. Aquinas and D. Scott, whom we have already mentioned above. However, they did not have a strong influence on the development of scholasticism specifically in this matter. Replaced by nominalism. At the same time, many researchers say that there was still the so-called Augustinianism. Some sources claim that initially there was even a certain victory of this trend over nominalism, but after a series of discoveries and achievements, views had to be changed.

The development of scholasticism was gradual, but not always consistent. Initially, nominalism was understood as a school of religion. Later it became clear that this direction does not even have its own tasks, goals or opinions. Many scientists who essentially belonged to this trend expressed not only different points of view, but sometimes even polar ones. Some of them talked about, for example, that a person is very strong and can make contact with God himself if he wants to. Others assured that man is too weak for such achievements. As a result of all these misunderstandings in the era of scholasticism, nominalism was divided into two schools. They had only one thing in common, which was that they were against realism. The first school was more optimistic and modern, while the second was the Augustinian school.

Augustinians and Pelagians

Later, a new division appeared, which came from two speakers - Pelagius and Augustine. Accordingly, new directions were named after them. The areas of discussion of these thinkers concerned what needs to be done in order for God to love and help, as well as how to contact him. They opposed each other, and therefore they were supported by two schools of nominalism, which, due to this, were divided even more.

The key differences were in the very view of the person. Augustine argued that man had fallen. He became too weak and subject to his sins. He said that at the moment, games with the Devil are more attractive than the purification of one's soul and the search for meaning. Augustine believed that God conceived people as beings more perfect and kind, but since we did not justify his hopes, we can observe the destruction of culture and the world. He argued that cultural values fade into the background, while material ones come to the fore. In other words, Augustine was sure that the salvation of man is solely in the hands of God, and he himself cannot do anything. At the same time, Pelagius spoke of quite the opposite. He believed that the salvation of man is within himself. You can do good deeds and thus earn God's forgiveness for your sins. Disputes and debates lasted a very long time, but as a result, the views of the last thinker were recognized as heretical, while the opinion of Augustine was correct and Christian. It would seem that the dispute was closed. Two councils officially supported Augustine. However, later this dispute still arose, and even today it has not yet been unanimously resolved.

Father

Boethius is considered the father of the Scholastics. It was he who proposed to study the seven sciences from which theology can be derived. He was statesman and Christian theologian. He wrote his famous work at a fairly young age. The work was called "Consolation in Philosophy". She had a huge influence on many authors. It raised questions of human freedom and the providence of God. Boethius says that even if God can foresee our actions, this does not mean at all that they will be so. A person has freedom of choice, and therefore can always do as he sees fit.

According to other sources, the first father of scholasticism is John Eriugen, whom we mentioned at the beginning of the article. He managed to achieve the decisive role of dialectics and combine philosophy and theology. The “second” father of this science is Anselm of Canterbury, who said that the human mind is really free, but only within certain beliefs. The main task that Anselm saw in scholasticism was the need to sort out the teachings of Christians, to study all the details and trifles in order to be able to state it in a simple way. He compares this science to learning or debate. As a result, truth crystallizes against the backdrop of analysis and detailed reflection.

Scholars agree that scholasticism in philosophy is a necessary element. The maximum development of science took place in the XIII century, when such people as Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure worked.

In general, scholasticism in philosophy is a way of studying faith with reason, but with the help of feelings.

How did general ignorance cause the development of science? What was taught in medieval schools? Why were there so few universities in Byzantium? And where does zeal lead in logic? By Viktor Petrovich Lega.

After Augustine, the so-called “dark ages” come in philosophy: for almost 500 years in the West there has not been a single more or less interesting philosopher, except, perhaps, Severinus Boethius (c. 480-524) and John Scotus Eriugena (815-877). Boethius is called one of the last Romans, and John Scotus Eriugena, although he lived in the ninth century, is often attributed to the forerunners of scholasticism.

This period is the time of the migration of peoples, the time of the destruction of the western part of the Roman Empire, the time of the formation of the Roman catholic church in its modern form. And the time of the decline of philosophy, although theology, of course, developed: there were interesting thinkers, interesting Western theologians. philosophical thought awakened at the beginning of the second millennium. And she received a well-known name - scholasticism.

But before talking about scholasticism as a phenomenon, let's consider what this word itself means.

School of Latin

The word "scholasticism" comes from the Latin "schola" - "school", and originally it denoted the school system adopted in the countries of Western Europe at that time.

Why suddenly in Western Europe there is such a need for schools? This is not only and not so much an interest in education, it is, first of all, an urgent church task. The fact is that since the end of the 1st millennium, Western Europe has been speaking completely different languages - Latin has become a dead language. The countries of Western Europe, which is divided into states close to modern ones, are inhabited by new peoples who speak almost modern languages: French, German, Italian, English - of course, in their ancient version. Nobody knows Latin. But the Church is conservative, and for her Latin remains the only language in which worship can and should be conducted. After all, the great fathers wrote in Latin Western Church: Blessed Augustine, St. Leo the Great, St. Gregory the Great (Dvoeslov), St. Ambrose of Milan ... The Bible, consecrated by church authority, was translated into Latin - the so-called Vulgata, the translation of St. Jerome of Stridon.

The school system arose as a solution to an important problem for the Church - the training of literate priests

Nobody knows Latin anymore, but a priest must know Latin, and know it excellently, know it like his native language, in order to read and understand the Bible; to read and understand theological writings, such as the most complex writings Blessed Augustine; to lead worship and understand it. And therefore there is a need for mass training of priests who know the Latin language well. This is a very important task.

In Byzantium, the situation is completely different: everyone there speaks the Greek language - and the apostles also spoke it, the Gospel was written in it, the fathers of the Church wrote in it. And the service is conducted in their native language, it is understandable to everyone. And if someone wants to read the Holy Scriptures, the works of the Fathers of the Church, then it is enough to learn the letters, which you can do on your own, without going to school for this. Therefore, the level of general literacy in Byzantium is much higher than in Western Europe.

Schools also appear in Byzantium, educated people also appear, but higher education is not as widespread as in the West. Why? For the reason that in the West, in fact, the training of intellectuals, that is, people who will be engaged only in intellectual work, is being put on stream. After all, learning Latin in order to speak this language as a native language is not a matter of one or two years, but of a much longer time - decades.

Many outstanding minds, remarkable theologians of the West, such as Isidore of Seville, Bede the Venerable, thought over what the system of education should be. But the system proposed by Alcuin in the 9th century took hold. It was distinguished by its simplicity, persuasiveness, and it actually works to this day.

Road of seven paths

In this system, education began, of course, with the study of Latin and the Holy Scriptures. At this first stage, the most general education necessary for the future priest was given. The most intelligent could move on to the next step, where, at the suggestion of Alcuin, the so-called "seven liberal arts" were studied, which were usually divided into trivium and quadrivium - literally translating, "three-way" and "four-way".

The quadrivium included exact sciences: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music, understood as harmony. And in the trivium - humanitarian sciences: grammar, rhetoric and dialectics - or logic. But dialectics is somewhat broader than logic: it is the art of argumentation, the art of thinking is the most philosophical discipline. And therefore, of all the "seven free arts", dialectics receives the greatest importance. At its core, it is a philosophy. Although with ancient philosophy it cannot be compared.

They were practically not familiar with ancient philosophy in Europe, they knew well only the logic of Aristotle

And the problem Western education was that they were extremely poorly acquainted with ancient philosophy in Europe: Greek language No one knew. Greek literature, philosophy, science - this is Byzantium. In Byzantium, they study Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Ptolemy... The level of education and science in Byzantium is such that it allows them to worthily continue the traditions of Ancient Greece. In the West, from Greek thought, they only know what Cicero retold, or Augustine explained, or Boethius translated a little. And Boethius, before his tragic death - an unjust execution (he was accused as a participant in a palace conspiracy) - managed to translate only the logical works of Aristotle. And according to these logical works of Aristotle, the whole philosophy of Ancient Greece was judged. Therefore, philosophy was reduced to logic, to the art of argumentation.

This is really the most important thing - the ability to think.

Subsequently, the stage of the "seven liberal arts" became the first, initial faculty of future universities, which began to be called the "faculty of the seven liberal arts" or simply the Faculty of Philosophy - precisely because of the superiority of dialectics among the "seven liberal arts".

"The pinnacle of knowledge, thoughts color"

Having studied the "seven liberal arts", the most intelligent could move on to the third level - to the university. Universities appear as a logical continuation of schools. And the first appears in 1088 in the Italian city of Bologna, and after it - literally like mushrooms after rain - in Oxford, Paris, Cambridge, Cologne and other cities, so that all of Europe is soon covered with a network of these educational institutions– and this is also very important.

First, despite linguistic fragmentation, intellectuals different peoples speak the same language, Latin. They understand each other, whether you are Italian or English. Secondly, professionals work in universities - those who are really capable of intellectual work, who are ready to devote their lives to this. This fact is very important for understanding why science later - in the 17th century - will arise precisely in Western Europe. Not in Byzantium, not in the Slavic countries, where the general level of education, I emphasize, is higher. But there is no caste - the "intellectual elite" - and there is no that vast network of universities that is necessary for the emergence of science. And the fact that science does not contradict Orthodox canons is evidenced by a simple fact: having arisen in the West, science will immediately spread to Eastern European countries.

Universities are built according to a single model. Three faculties: medical, legal and theological.

At the medical school, they are engaged not only in medicine proper, healing, but also in the knowledge of the material world. We agree with this: health is the most important thing. By the way, Galileo graduated from the medical faculty, although he was not a doctor.

At the Faculty of Law, they study everything that relates to the social structure. Let's agree with this: the main thing is that there should be peace and order in society, therefore the law is necessary.

Who is a good thinker? - He who divides well and defines

And the top is, of course, the knowledge of God. This is done at the theological faculty. But those who have just studied the “seven liberal arts”, including dialectics, enter the theological faculty. They are good at thinking, defining, sharing. As they said in those days, "he who thinks well, he expounds well." Who is a good thinker? - One who shares well. To be able to divide - to clearly define a concept, to distinguish it from another concept, to show the connection between them - that's the main task. And it pursues a very specific educational goal, because you need to be able to teach theology at the theological faculty - we also agree with this. After all, if you give an unprepared student to read Blessed Augustine or St. Basil the Great, then the student is unlikely to understand anything: he first needs to put everything on the shelves - “this is the doctrine of the Trinity, this is the teaching of Christ, this is the teaching of the Church, this is the teaching of salvation within the Church”, that is, there must be a clear system for which that very dialectic is used.

Logic trap

So, now is the time to move on to another, which has become the main meaning of the word "scholasticism", which is often expressed in a simple phrase: "philosophy is the servant of theology." Yes, philosophy fulfills this very role – so far only at the level of teaching. It should help to train students - future priests, theologians, so that they clearly understand the truths of the Christian faith. By the way, a great example of scholastic thought was given by the great Eastern Orthodox theologian Saint John of Damascus: his "Exact exposition Orthodox faith”is an example of amazing scholasticism in the best sense of the word. Based on Aristotelian philosophy and logic, having previously written the “Philosophical Chapters”, where he gives his understanding of Aristotle and shows how to define and prove, St. John of Damascus clearly and accurately expounds the Orthodox faith - chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph. So there was already a pattern. According to the model of the Exact Statement of the Orthodox Faith, the first textbook of theology was written - "Sentences" by Peter Lombard. So scholasticism arises precisely as a desire to present the truths of Christian theology clearly, logically, and conclusively. And I personally do not see anything wrong with this, on the contrary: this is a wonderful school innovation.

But later, after two or three centuries, having become accustomed to this method of presentation, many Western theologians will consider that there can be no other theology: theology must be clear, logical, and demonstrative. And this will become the main difference between scholasticism and patristics, where thought is alive, often reaching such heights that you cannot express it in logical syllogisms.

And therefore, starting from the XIV century, many Western Christians will be irritated by scholasticism - they will dream of returning again to patristics, to living Christian thought.

The time of scholasticism, its clear understanding as a philosophical, logical presentation of the truths of theology, is the 11th-14th centuries. Having arisen from simple school needs, scholasticism will crush everything - as they say: "kill the living" - in Christian thought. And it will end with the beginning of the Renaissance, and this, first of all, the revival of patristic thought - not antiquity, but, I repeat, precisely patristic thought, early Christianity, not distorted by scholasticism. And who are the early Church Fathers in the West? This is Augustine, first of all, and he is a Platonist. And therefore, through Augustine, interest in Plato, who is so opposite to the already bored Aristotle with his logical schemes, will be revived.

So when was science born?

The names of many scholastics are well known: Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Bonaventure (1218-1274), Albert the Great (1206-1280), Roger Bacon (1214-1292), John Duns Scotus (1265-1308), William of Ockham (1285-1347). Many remarkable scholastics of the late 13th-early 14th century will develop not only theological, but also anticipate modern scientific thought. Because - and many historians of science write about this - science did not actually arise immediately in the 17th century, but originated earlier - in the 13th century. And the system of universities and the methodology for training intellectual personnel will create fertile ground for its development. Already in the XIII century, this system will reach its perfect status, and not only the truth about God, but also other truths will be learned within the walls of the university.

Starting from the 13th century, interesting thinkers appear, less well-known than those listed above, but they will make a huge contribution to the knowledge of the material world: Raymond Lully (1232–1315), Nicholas Oresme (1320–1382), Jean Buridan (1295–1358), Richard of Mediavilla (1249–1308) ... I am outraged when they say that in the Middle Ages they did not study science, that the Church allegedly forbade the study of science oh and pursued scientists. Many modern scientific ideas arise precisely at this time. For the first time, the idea of mechanical thinking, which we now call cybernetics, arose from Raymond Lull; the idea of coordinates, which we call Cartesian coordinates, was first presented by Nikolai Orem, who also proposed the idea of the Earth's rotation around its axis; Roger Bacon wrote about the need to study physics for the improvement of our world, the concept of impetus, close to the modern concept of momentum, was introduced by Jean Buridan to explain the movement, and Richard of Mediavilla first expressed the idea of an expanding universe ... So even then, in the XIII-XIV centuries, not only an environment for the development of science arises - there are also scientific problems, thinkers are slowly getting to scientific method. Therefore, both Galileo and Descartes, the creators of modern science, are to some extent the heirs of medieval Western European scholarship.