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.