Medieval philosophy dates back to the era of feudalism. This is the time of the dominance of a religious worldview, which is reflected in theology. Therefore, first of all, medieval philosophy is a servant of theology. Its main function is the proof of the existence of God, the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, the statement of the dogmas of the Church. Along the way, logic developed, the concept of personality (the difference between essence and hypostasis) was developed, and disputes arose about the priority of the general or the individual.
In its development, medieval philosophy went through three stages and, accordingly, directions:
- Apologetics. The substantiation of the possibilities of building a holistic worldview based on the text of the Holy Scriptures was carried out. The main representatives of the medieval philosophy of this stage: Saints Origen and Tertullian.
- Patristics. The period of updating Christian dogma, establishing public order and determining the role of the church for society. Medieval philosophy at this stage is represented by Augustine Aurelius and John Chrysostom. The Fathers of the Christian Church consider the Bible to be absolute truth and claim that God is outside the realm of intelligible and sensible perceived, which means that it can not be defined in words. The only way to know is faith. All the troubles and evil, the wrong choice of the people themselves.
- Scholasticism. Interpretation and substantiation of the main religious dogmas. At that time, Thomas Aquinas and Anselm of Canterbury represented medieval philosophy . They believed that absolutely all knowledge about our world can be found in the Bible and the works of Aristotle. They must be extracted from where by interpretation.
Fundamental principles
- Full worship of God and unquestioning fulfillment of the will of the church are the main general characteristics of medieval philosophy.
- God created the world from nothing in seven days. Therefore, all that they have, people owe him. History is interpreted as the realization of a divine plan. The Most High directs humanity to the coming of the kingdom of God on earth.
- The Bible is the oldest and most true book, God's word. His Testament is an object of faith, the only evaluative measure for any theories and philosophies.
- The authority of the church. The true author to listen to is God. The most authoritative interpreters of his creation and revelations are church fathers. Man is allowed to know the world as a commentator. True knowledge belongs only to God.
- The art of interpretation of the new and old Testament. The Bible is the only criterion of truth. It is a complete body of laws of being. Scripture is the beginning and end of any philosophical theories. It is the basis for reflection: words and meanings, general content, ideas are analyzed.
- Teaching and edification: the general orientation towards upbringing, education and advancement to salvation, that is, to God. Form - treatises, dialogues of teachers and impartial students. Main qualities: encyclopedic, a high level of knowledge of Scripture and mastery of the fundamentals of the formal logic of Aristotle.
- Optimism is like a common spirit. God is incomprehensible, but his instructions can be understood through faith. The possibility of one’s own salvation, resurrection and eternal life, the final triumph (on a cosmic scale) of Christian truth. The symbiosis of the holy and the secular. Christian philosophy uses the following forms of knowledge: insight, intuitive knowledge, intelligence, and divine revelation.
Of course, medieval philosophy carried a lot of problems. Here are the main ones:
- The world exists thanks to God, who created it.
- The will of God and the world created by him are practically comprehensible to man.
- Medieval philosophy defined the place and role of people in the world through the prism of saving their souls.
- The absolute combination of human free will and divine necessity.
- Definition of the general, the sole and the individual in the doctrine of trinity.
- Suppose God is good, truth and beauty, then where did the evil come from and why does it endure it?
- The ratio of biblical truths and the human mind.