St. Augustine on Medieval Philosophy

             St. Augustine viewed medieval philosophy as a period that realized the intermarriage of the divine and the secular by discovering the former through the latter. This is basically his way of affirming the necessity of both the divine and the secular to man’s search of truth. This was despite the disagreement of the Skeptics, Epicureans, and the rest of other thinkers during his time.  That is why, for him, medieval philosophy is a rational, contemplative way of knowing God which is similar to the Platonic thrust: the highest achievement of being is to know Being.

          His main point centered on the Divine Being whose truth can be discovered in various particulars in all that we see and experience.  This is deductive.  All the realities and truths about all things are founded on the Divine Being.

          Contrary to some ancient thinkers like Pythagoras who considered the existence of things out of the “unlimited”, or Thales of Miletus who considered water as the ultimate principle by which all things come, or Anaximander who attributed the existence of things from the principles implicitly knitted from the numbers and worlds in infinite fashion. The next line of successors starting from Anaxagoras down to Diogenes mentioned air as the first principle, but emphasized that there is a “divine mind” or “divine reason” which causes the existence of things. Archelaus’ thoughts also jibed with Diogenes but emphasized more on the homogeneity of particles and the role of the divine mind in the process of things.

Moreover, as every man is gifted with reason, then, he has the capacity to know and to know the truth.  But according to St. Augustine, the truths that man can discover in all things are fundamentally rooted in the revelations of the Divine whose truth is beyond question, relative to certainty. He believes in the basic role of nature, and of all things in it in the realization of man’s search for wisdom or truth.   

This is why, according to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the different concepts of the medieval thinkers during St. Augustine’s time, most of those who belonged to the Italic school were too engrossed with the scientific, mathematical, and mystical perspectives of  the world and all of the things in it ¹.

           The thinkers of the Ionic school headed by Thales were engrossed in understanding the first principle of things.  However, in the later development, the next successors still held on the concept of the unity of things and/or separation of things through the significant intervention of a “divine mind” or  “divine reason”.  This “divine mind” or “divine reason” is responsible for the necessary existence of all things.

         Therefore, with the existence of Italic and Ionic schools in the medieval period, St. Augustine found a more striking way to make a balance between the thoughts of the two schools through his principles of the union of the divine and the secular.  He had played a significant role in molding the foundation of medieval philosophy as “philosophical” in terms of the principle of logical necessity of all things, and “theological” in terms of discovering the truths of the said necessity in God.

Source:

     1.       “Pythagoras”, accessed June 29, 2015, http://www.iep.utm.edu/pythagor/.

Is There Such Thing as a “Medieval Philosophy”?

      In modern times, whenever one encounters the term “medieval”, the first thing that comes into mind would be crusades, the Black Plague, and many other depressing truths about human history.  This is the reason why the thought of a “Medieval Philosophy” sounded unreal and peculiar. The notion of a “medieval” philosophy is somewhat ignored, with its contribution in the birth of modern and contemporary thought being overshadowed by the harshness of the events during the Medieval times.  Another issue that questions the existence of a “Medieval Philosophy” is that the thinkers themselves at that period identify themselves more as “theologians” more than “philosophers”.  Jorge J. E. Gracia, in his book A Companion to the Philosophy in the Middle Ages confirms this thought, saying:

The use of the expression ‘medieval philosophy’ to refer to the philosophy in the Middle Ages is paradoxical because it is hard to find anyone during the period who considered himself a philosopher, whose concerns were purely philosophical, or who composed purely philosophical works.¹

        Based on Gracia’s statement above, having no “philosopher” or “thinker” presupposes that there is no “philosophy” to begin with.  Amidst all these complications in the historical setting and authorship, it cannot be denied that there is “Medieval Philosophy”.  This is proven by the concerns and methods of their thinkers, and its historical emergence.   Medieval Philosophy is not exclusively equated with pure philosophers of that period.  Rather, it is implicit of the development of philosophy in the midst of a theological environment.     

      According to Klima, the principled demarcation of the medieval philosophical tradition is “the unifying characteristics by criteria of doctrine, methodology, mentality and terminology”². Any philosophical thoughts utilized by a theologian bears a transformation of such through the integration on new perspectives (e.g. from analytic metaphysics developed analytic philosophy of religion).   Anselm and Augustine utilized Aristotle’s logic in defending Christian doctrine against the heretics.

       The existence of “Medieval Philosophy” is shown by the different thinkers that existed at that period.  This is because of the reason that the thinkers embody the concerns and methods which make their ideas not purely theological, but also philosophical in nature.  These concerns of the “medieval thinkers” are pointed out by Gracia, saying “The concern to integrate revealed doctrine and secular learning distinguishes medieval thought from ancient, Renaissance, and modern philosophy, and determines to a great extent the philosophical problems the medievals addressed and the solution they proposed for those problems.”  ³

       Although the concern of the “medieval thinkers” is primarily revolving around the questions about God, it does not mean they are not philosophical.  It is still philosophical because it involves the fundamental questions about life and its other aspects, in the pursuit of answering the theological questions.

        On the other hand, the method of the “medieval thinkers” is philosophical, for it extends to other subject areas, synthesizing answers to arrive at a reasonable conclusion. It does not merely revolve around the single question about God.  Rather, it includes the other implications which can aid in widening one’s perspective in different issues. This makes the “theological” aim of the “medieval” thinkers still “philosophical”.  Although it has been previously stated that the lack of identification for “medieval philosophers” became the problem for identifying a “medieval philosophy”, it is not enough to debunk the emergence of such a philosophical thought. 

        The other qualification for one to truly say that indeed, there is a “Medieval Philosophy” would be its place in history.  Even with identified thinkers, one cannot actually identify a “philosophy” without its emergence in a specific period of time.  “Medieval Philosophy” can be traced back as early as the time of St. Augustine.  “Medieval Philosophy” made its mark in the history of thought through the numerous works of its thinkers.  Such writings and developed thoughts which one accessed or studied today are enough to prove that indeed, a philosophy of the “Medieval” period really flourished and emerged.   

       Therefore, there is “Medieval Philosophy”.   It connotes the period of the Middle Ages and the continuity of the development of philosophy in such period.  It is not exclusively equated with the existence of medieval philosophers with pure philosophical works. However, it is one which is centered on theological pursuits but takes along philosophy as its handmaid. Theologians were also concerned with philosophical problems, say about man and his nature; but they were focused more on the implications of all philosophical and human concerns to Christian faith or doctrine.  

        The main goal of such philosophy is to place in the noblest and holiest pinnacle God to integrate the revealed truths into all human and secular experiences.  Medieval philosophy exists and it is fundamentally scholastic.  

     References:

     

     1. Jorge Gracia, “Philosophy in the Middle Ages: An Introduction”, (UK:Blackwell Publishing), In A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages, 1.

      2. Gyula Klima, “Introduction”, (UK: Blackwell Publishing), In Medieval Philosophy: Essential Readings with Commentary,2.

       3.  Jorge Gracia, “Philosophy in the Middle Ages: An Introduction”, (UK:Blackwell Publishing), In A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages, 1.

 

The History of Philosophy: How to Study It?

Based on the importance or significance of the study of History of Philosophy written by Frederick Charles Copleston, S.J., any principle or thought in a given period conveys truth.  The more thoughts and principles are conceived by a thinker or philosopher, the more anyone can learn truths from all of these.  Learning or being educated on the History of Philosophy implies that one should have a balanced knowledge of it.  Balanced knowledge requires that one sees all aspects of the history of philosophy without being distorted or confused by its smooth or harsh unfolding.  Even if the philosophers and thinkers were atheist or theist, rationalist or naturalist, utilitarian or pragmatic, existentialist or consequentialist, all of them make history of philosophy a path to the man’s search for truth.

The history of Philosophy is ultimately founded on the principle of progression, a scheme of continuity where ancient philosophy as popularly attached to Socrates, Plato and Aristotle contributes to the understanding of medieval philosophy as commonly known with St. Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, and the medieval philosophy which contributes to the understanding of the modern philosophy and so on.  One philosophy of a given period maybe challenged, criticized, and opposed by past or other existing system of thought or principle. This is a natural part of the process or scheme in order to reveal the truths in any thought or principle in a particular historical setting.  There is reason or purpose in anything.  That is why, through discursive reason, this purpose reveals the truth of that anything or something.

Furthermore, understanding the History of Philosophy aims to search for truth.   It requires that a learner or a student comprehends its connections and implications in any system, its pleasant and unpleasant realities, and its relation with other systems. In the process, this search for truth is  ultimately aimed to the search for the Absolute Truth or God.  This is because Copleston’s History of Philosophy is grounded on the standpoint of Scholastic or Thomistic philosophy.  Implicitly, this is the True Philosophy or Philosophia Perennis which continually develops within and through any historical setting or epoch.

Philosophia Perennis is defined as “a perspective in the philosophy of Religion which views each of the world religious tradition as sharing a single, universal truth on which foundation all religious knowledge and doctrine have grown.”¹   and that it is “a view that sees the world as divided into two aspects: the invisible, unmanifest, implicit mystical level of reality and the visible , manifest, explicit material level of reality.” ²  

 Based from the definitions above Scholastic philosophy in the Middle Ages, which was associated with St. Thomas Aquinas, gained strength and influence during that period.  Despite the many challenges and criticisms against and for it, all human searching for truth is towards the search for the Absolute Being, the foundation of everything.

How should a learner or a student in philosophy study the History of Philosophy?  There are three suggested ways: by looking into the historical setting and connection; by adopting an imaginative insight through a kind of placing oneself in the person of the philosopher to see his thoughts within; and by working one’s way into any thinker’s system in order to understand meanings, implications, details and relations.

First of the methods is by looking into the historical setting and circumstances present in that time. This is the more social, political and external aspect of the method.  For example, if one wishes to grasp the philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, he must first know the place of their birth and the culture of their place. One’s environment is a probable factor in developing his state of mind, and the events which the philosopher involved himself with.  Cultural practices and traditions can also give an effect to one’s way of thinking.  Going back to the previous example, being able to know the culture and traditions of Greece can make one have a clue in the main point of the philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle and why do they push for these ideas to be lived out and remembered.  

Knowing the connections between the different philosophical thoughts can also aid one in understanding the purpose and reason of its creation. This notion is supported by Copleston, saying, “It should be obvious that we can only grasp adequately the state of mind of a given philosopher, and the raison d’etre of his philosophy, if we have first apprehended its historical point de depart.” ³

This presupposes that other than knowing the historical setting of the philosopher, it is also helpful to look at the previous thoughts before him.  Looking back to previous philosophies can aid any learner to understand the subsequent philosophies.  Doing this is a very practical pre-requisite to understanding other philosophies.  For example, in understanding Plato’s philosophy, one should understand first Socrates, Plato’s teacher.  And in order to understand Aristotle’s philosophy, one needs to understand the thoughts of Socrates and Plato.  This implies that things in history come in succession.  Then, it is easier for a learner to see connections of thoughts and systems.

Second, by adopting an imaginative insight through a kind of placing oneself in the person of the philosopher to see his thoughts within.  This is knowing the personal aspect of the philosopher or thinker.  This is the more personal, psychological and internal aspect of studying the history of Philosophy.  This involves knowing his state of mind or his character.  A philosophical system is not put into flesh when there is no thinker to embody its idea.  That is why it can be a helpful tool if one not only knows the setting of the philosophy, but also the individual formulating it.  This is because one can gain a feel of a philosopher’s thoughts if he can be able to get a grasp of his way or thinking or attitude towards the world.  An example would be, understanding Kierkegaard’s ethics and Marx’s communist philosophy. A person cannot readily get the idea of Kierkegaard’s attack of the Catholic Church in his ethics, when he does not look into Kierkegaard’s dark past concerning Christianity.   Karl Marx’s disgust of elitism or the bourgeoisie originated from his painful experience of forced labor. 

Knowing a philosopher’s personal life or attitude is important in having a first-hand experience of his philosopher, but this must not be the sole basis of understanding.  Going back to the example of Kierkegaard, one may wrongly conclude that Kierkegaard’s ethics is only a result of a depressed childhood, instead of realizing the fact that his ethics is a criticism to those people who do not justify their faith in their actions.  The danger in putting primacy in the personal facts about the philosopher can blind one of the more important concern in understanding the unfolding of history.  This is the reason why one must not limit himself on the personal aspect of the philosopher in relation to his thought.  

Indeed, psychological states and characteristics affect a philosopher’s conception of his ideas, but it is not always the case.  It must be noted that a philosophical idea can be separate from the person who actually constructed them.

       Finally, the third, by working one’s way into the thinker’s system in order to understand meanings, implications, details, and relations.   This means that beyond specialization, one needs to see himself widened or broadened in thought by the learning he realized as he gets deeper into his study.   Beyond  “delving into the inner thoughts of a philosopher”,  he delves into his own.   As he delves into his own, the learning he got from such study of the history of philosophy of many thinkers paves the way for him to become stronger in upholding the essence and value of True Philosophy.

           Therefore, by the three ways on how to study the History of Philosophy, a learner realizes that the development of history of philosophy does not end in one historical period or that the truth is confined or found in one historical setting or philosophy.  Instead, any philosophy has truth in it and its truth connects to both the past and the present.  By studying the history of philosophy, man’s search for truth becomes nearer to the very foundation of all human search for truth, that is, search for the Absolute Truth or God.

References:

    

 1.“Perennial Philosophy”, Wikipedia, accessed June 13, 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_philosophy

 2.The Free Dictionary, accessed June 13, 2015, http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Perenial+Philosophy

         3.  Frederick Copleston, “Introduction”, (New York: Doubleday), In A History of Philosophy, 8.

Introduction: The History of Philosophy and Its Nature

I.   The Importance of Studying the History of Philosophy

All things have origin.  This origin unfolds and finds its roots in human existence.  There is always something in each thing that unfolds.  And it is where any history, like the history of philosophy, finds its niche.  Origin and history are two inseparable elements of change that can direct a learner to the basic foundation of events and realities of life. This notion also holds true in the study of the history of Philosophy.

First, it is important to study the history of philosophy so that one can see the bigger picture of philosophy unfolding in time in the course of human existence. To be more particular, history of philosophy began with the Greeks and permeated the society in the process. He makes a careful journey to its evolution, finds meanings in the truths of events, analyzes the fall and rise of philosophy in the context of change and sees himself as a seeker of knowledge in the said journey. He is properly grounded in philosophy. 

Second, having seen the bigger picture of philosophy, one can appreciate the past and present concepts and works in philosophy.  Appreciation is developed because one is able to understand the thinkers along with the processes and circumstances that paved way to the philosophical concepts and works.  For example, one cannot appreciate the Greek ways of thinking without first knowing the history of Greece itself. Being able to know these things makes one have a clearer understanding of the different philosophies made by the Greek thinkers, thus preventing the problem of misinterpretation and confusion. 

Third, it enables one to create new ideas or concepts based on the studied history and establishes deeper perspectives on it.  This is because a study of the history of philosophy reveals to one the development of thoughts and concepts of philosophy in a given period.   He looks into the positive and negative aspects that led to the development of philosophy as it unfolds in time.  One can even realize gaps and loops that the previous thinkers before him were unable to resolve.  As Frederick Copleston stated in the introductory part of his book “A History of Philosophy” :

 The study of the history of philosophy is indispensable, otherwise he will run the risk of proceeding down blind alleys and repeating the mistakes of his predecessors, from which a serious study of past thought might perhaps saved him. ¹

Lastly, it enables one to be more critical and open in his study of Philosophy. It prevents one from going to the extremes, such as treating one particular philosophical thought as the absolute source of truth.  In studying the history of Philosophy, the learner prevents himself from any biases, which can greatly contribute in deepening the understanding of philosophy and contribute to its development.

 Thus, by studying the history of Philosophy, one learns its past and present, schools of thoughts and their thinkers, and their challenges in the course of human existence. It also develops properly grounded knowers and seekers of truth who know how to separate the essential from the non-essential, and to be able to know the “what” and “why” of the history of philosophy.

II.  The Nature of the History of Philosophy

Basically, the nature of history of philosophy reveals to one that there is a particular order in all things.  There is truth in all things that happen.  These order and truth in all things give one the reason to know and understand things in order to gain wisdom.  Also, there is always the question that one can formulate about things in existence.  That is why, it is very important to study both the history of philosophy and its nature.

 It is important to know the reasons why one needs to go through the history of a given study, because it gives one the necessary foundation in starting his intellectual growth.  And in order to take the next step in this growth, one must also consider knowing the nature of the history that they are studying. The history of Philosophy, like the history of other fields of study, also has its own nature.  The nature of the history of Philosophy is described by the connections exhibited by the different philosophical thoughts developed in each period, and the aim of the search for truth by the way of “discursive reason” ².

Firstly, the nature of the history of Philosophy is described by the connections exhibited by the different philosophical thoughts developed in each period. This shows that the history of Philosophy is not merely a list of all the developed schools of thought starting from the Early Greeks to the present thinkers.  Rather, the developed philosophical thoughts are guidelines to help one understand the succeeding thoughts after it. For example, one cannot easily grasp Platonic philosophy without first going over Socratic philosophy and understanding the connection between them. 

Secondly, this does not necessarily conclude that the philosophical thought succeeding a previous one has a better perspective or is more correct that its predecessor.  The development of the philosophical thoughts does not follow a specific order.  Some philosophers often go back to past problems of other thinkers in order to develop some answers to their own questions.  Some refute the ideas presented by other thinkers.  It would be a mistake to understand the connections of the different schools of thought by their chronological order alone. This is because the history of philosophy does not necessarily go in a spiral manner or in a progressive manner.  In other words, it does not necessarily mean that the latest philosophy made is the greatest synthesis or source of truth in a particular period.

Furthermore, the aim of the method of seeking truth by “discursive reason” is another nature of the history of Philosophy. When one talks about being “discursive”, it speaks of proceeding into a subject with utmost coherence.  Although such way of reasoning in seeking the truth exists in almost all known histories of various studies, what makes Philosophy different is its aim. This aim is that, it does not seek for an absolute answer. Rather, it seeks for possible and more convincing answers.  When one observes the different answers given by philosophers of different periods, it can be seen that there is no fixed solution in the problem they were trying to solve. What one can see are different outtakes on the subject being spoken about.  If one observes the history of other studies, one can tell that there is a sure end to all of the development of thought made by their respective thinkers. It is the ongoing search for the possible solutions by coherently proceeding to the subjects involved in philosophical thinking which identifies Philosophy from other studies.   

In conclusion, the nature of the history of Philosophy shows that there is always a purpose in all things.  This is shown by the contributions and connections of every school of thought in each period. They are interconnected and in continuous progression as time unfolds.  Each period leaves a challenge to the next and it is up to the learner to discover and understand such in the process of knowing. 

References:

1.       Frederick Copleston, “Introduction”, (New York: Doubleday), In A History of Philosophy, 3.

2.       Frederick Copleston, “Introduction”, (New York: Doubleday), In A History of Philosophy, 6.