Philosophy Department

Medieval Philosophy
(PHLU 3552)

Astrid O'Brien

Medieval Philosophy covers the development of medieval thought out of Greek philosophy, the modifications required to make Greek thought compatible with biblical theism and the forces leading to the breakup of the union between faith and reason which had been the grand achievement of medieval thinkers.  It begins with the first Christian thinkers, and considers in turn Augustine, Boethius, the Carolingian renaissance, Anselm and 12th century humanism, culminating in the rise of universities as centers for study.  The availability of Latin translations of Jewish and Islamic philosophers, as well as good translations of previously unavailable Aristotelian works created the intellectual ferment of the 13th century: the resistance of the Augustinian theologians to Aristotle, and the efforts of Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure and Duns Scotus to integrate Aristotle’s wisdom into Christian thought.  With William of Occam and the rise of Nominalism, this effort is abandoned, and medieval philosophy comes to an end.    

Abelard and Heloise