Medieval philosophy briefly: problems, features, brief characteristics, stages

The Middle Ages are almost a millenniumtime in the history of Europe. It originates from the breakup in the fifth century AD of the Roman Empire, captures feudalism and ends at the beginning of the fifteenth, when the Renaissance is coming.

The main features of the philosophy of the Middle Ages

The features of medieval philosophy briefly represent the Christian faith as a tool for the unification of all people, regardless of their financial situation, nationality, profession, sex.

Medieval philosophers have achieved that everyonea person who was baptized received the opportunity to find in the future life those benefits that were deprived in this. Belief in the immortality of the soul as the main component of the essence of each person equalizes everyone: a king and a beggar, a publican and an artisan, sick and healthy, a man and a woman. If we represent the stages of the evolution of medieval philosophy briefly, then this is the establishment of the dogmas of Christianity and the introduction of the Christian worldview into the public consciousness in accordance with the requirements of feudalism as the main form of the state structure of most countries of the time.

The problems of Christian philosophy

The main problems of medieval philosophy are brieflyto state is rather difficult. If we try to present them in a few words, then this is the establishment of the universal domination of the Christian church, the justification of its doctrine from a scientific point of view, from positions that are understandable and acceptable to people of all categories. One of the main collisions of medieval philosophy was the theme of universals. The dichotomy of spirit and matter was expressed in the polemics of nominalists and realists. According to the concept of Thomas Aquinas universal manifested in a threefold form. The first one is parasitic, that is, intangible, in the form of the original plan of the Creator. The second is material or material, that is, physical appearance. The third is the aftereffective, in other words, imprinted in the mind, the mind of man. To Thomas Aquinsky, the nominalist Rosselin contradicted. His point of view of extreme rationalism was reduced toto the fact that the world can only be known from the standpoint of the primacy of matter, for the essence of universals is only in their names. Studies worthy of only that which is individual. It is not just a swing of the voice. The Catholic Church condemned the theory of Roszelin as incompatible with the dogmas of Christianity. The Papal See was approved version of the world order by Thomas Aquinas. His moderate realism was eventually adopted by the Catholic Church as the most rational and logically quite easily amenable.

God-seeking is the main task of medieval philosophers

Medieval philosophy can be brieflyis designated as God-seeking and confirmation of the existence of God. The atomism of the ancient Greek philosophers was rejected, as was the consubstantiality of God according to Aristotle, while Platonism, on the contrary, was taken as a basis in the triune aspect of the divine essence.

Theocentrism of medieval philosophy is briefly described.in the catechism. Christianity began to occupy a dominant position in the political life of the states of medieval Europe. The harsh era of the Inquisition of the problem of medieval philosophy was briefly and fully used as a driving force for the introduction of the Christian way of thinking into everyday relations that were taking shape in agricultural communities, among merchants of the townspeople and among the knightly class.

Three stages of medieval philosophy

The following stages of the medievalphilosophy, briefly summarize them as follows. The generalized characteristic of the first is the establishment of the trinity of God, the proof of the existence of God, the adaptation of early Christian rituals and symbols to the nascent Christian church. The second stage of medieval philosophy set itself the task of establishing the rule of the Christian church. The medieval philosophy briefly defined the third stage as a period of rethinking of the Christian dogmas legalized in the previous period. The separation of these stages in time and the personalities of the philosophers themselves is only possible very conditionally, since different sources provide inconsistent information on this matter. Scholasticism, patristics and apologetics are very closely intertwined and intertwined.

However, apologetics is still considered timethe birth of the medieval view of philosophical science on being and consciousness of man and takes a period of time approximately from the second to the fifth century. Patristic conventionally begins in the third century and is actively dominant until the eighth century, and scholasticism is most clearly represented in the interval from the eleventh to the fourteenth century.

Apologetics

The first stage was defined as apologetic. His main adherents were Quintus Septimus Florent Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria. The apologetic features of medieval philosophy can be briefly described as a struggle against pagan ideas about the world order. Faith must be above reason. What is impossible to verify in Christianity should be accepted as truth from God, without expressing doubts or disagreements. Belief in God should not be rational, but it should be invincible.

Patristic

The second stage is by definitionpatristic, since at that time there is no longer any need to prove the existence of God. Now philosophers demand to accept everything that comes from Him as a blessing, as a wonderful and rewarding gift. Medieval philosophy briefly and intelligibly conveys the Good News to the pagans through the organization of crusades. Whoever is not with the Christian church, that dissent was burned against it, with fire and sword. Blessed Augustine Aurelius in his "Confession" disbelief in God and the sinful desires of man defines as the main problems of medieval philosophy. He claims that everything good in the world is from God, and bad - from the evil will of man. The world is created out of nothing, so everything in it was originally conceived as good and good. A person has his own will and can control his desires. The human soul is immortal and preserves the memory, even after leaving its earthly abode - the physical body of man.

By patristics, the main features of the medievalPhilosophy is briefly - it is unremitting efforts to spread Christianity throughout the world, as the only correct information about the world and man. It was during this period that philosophers established and proved the incarnation of the Lord, His resurrection and ascension. It was also established the dogma of the second coming of the Savior, the Last Judgment, the universal resurrection and the new life in the next incarnation. The adoption of the dogma of the unity and conciliarity of the Church was very important from the point of view of the existence in the eternity of the Church of Christ and the priestly continuity within it.

Scholasticism

The third stage is the scholastic medievalphilosophy. A brief description of this period can be designated as giving form to the church-Christian dogmas established in the previous period. There are educational institutions, the philosophy goes into theology. Theocentrism of medieval philosophy, briefly expressed, manifests itself as the creation of schools and universities with a theological focus. Natural and human sciences are taught in terms of Christian doctrine. Philosophy becomes the service of theology.

Philosophical quest and Christian thinkers

Medieval philosophy, brief descriptionits stages are intelligibly explained in textbooks on the history of philosophy. There you can also find a mention of the works of such eminent thinkers of the first stage as representatives of the apologetics Tatian and Origen. Tatian gathered the four Gospels of Mark, Luke, Matthew, and John into one. They later became known as the New Testament. Origen created a branch of philology based on Bible legends. He also belongs to the introduction of the concept of the God-man in relation to Jesus Christ. Of the philosophers who left the most significant imprint on this science, one cannot but mention the patristics of Boethius Anitsia Manlii Torquat Severin. He left behind a remarkable work "Consolation of Philosophy." Medieval philosophy was briefly summarized and simplified for teaching in educational institutions. Universals are the brainchild of Boethius. From his initiative, the seven main areas of knowledge were divided into two types of disciplines. The first is humanitarian disciplines.

The triple path included rhetoric, grammar anddialectics. The second is natural science. Geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy are included in this four-way path. He translated and explained the main works of Aristotle, Euclid and Nikomaha. Scholasticism in philosophical doctrine is always associated with the name of the monk of the Dominican order of Thomas Aquinas, who systematized the tenets of the Orthodox Church, led five invincible proofs of the existence of God. He combined and logically connected the philosophical calculations of Aristotle with the teachings of Christians, showed that the natural human being, reason and logic in development certainly go to a higher level of consciousness, namely faith in the existence and active participation of the omnipresent, omnipotent, all-powerful God. He discovered and proved a sequence that always takes place, when the mind ends with faith, nature with grace, and philosophy with revelation.

Philosophers - Saints of the Catholic Church

Many medieval philosophers were rankedCatholic Church to the canon of saints. These are Irenaeus of Lyons, Blessed Augustine, Clement of Alexandria, John Chrysostom, Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, John of Damascus, Maxim the Confessor, Gregory of Nyssa, Basil the Great, Dionysius Areopagite, Boethius, canonized as Saint Severin, and others.