5 representatives of the MEDIEVAL philosophy: the most important
The representatives of medieval philosophy They are Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Anselm of Canterbury, William of Ockham, and Pedro Abelardo. In a Teacher we tell you.
Medieval philosophy is the set of currents of thought developed during the Middle Ages, from about the 5th to the 15th century. A period in which philosophy was greatly influenced by the Christian and scholastic religion, a philosophical current that developed in European universities during the Middle Ages.
In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we tell you who were the most important representatives of medieval philosophy and what were its most outstanding characteristics.
But, before reviewing the list of the most important philosophers of medieval philosophy, we remind you what were the most outstanding principles of the thought of the time:
- God exists? Medieval philosophy sought reason and truth, one of its main questions being whether God existed or not. Medieval philosophers thought that the existence of God could be demonstrated by reason.
- What relationship exists between faith and reason? As we have already pointed out, medieval philosophers thought that reason could help to understand faith and that faith was the basis for the search for truth.
- What is the relationship between the body and the soul? Medieval philosophy focused on human nature and the relationship between the body and the soul. Thus, the philosophers believed that the human being was a combination of body and human and happiness was only possible thanks to the union of both.
- What is the value of education? For medieval philosophy, the education of knowledge and education was highly valued since they believed that it was essential for the search for truth and the development of reason.
- What is the value of morality and ethics? Medieval philosophy thought that morality was basic to achieve a good and upright life and ethics was one of the bases of education.
In a Teacher we leave you a summary of medieval philosophy and the characteristics of medieval philosophy.
Some of the representatives of medieval philosophy The most important are the following.
Saint Augustine of Hippo
San Agustin (354 d. C.- 430 d. C.) is one of the philosophers most influential of the Middle Ages. His philosophy is based on Christian theology and his main concerns were evil and God, evil and the order of the world and evil and freedom. The philosophy of St. Augustine is linked to his vital experience and the cities of Carthage, Rome and Milan left an importance in the thought of the philosopher.
A thought that received a great influence from Plotinus. So, Saint Augustine built his philosophical system under neoplatonic categories, opening his mind to the contemplation of the eternal truths that exist in the human spirit. Faith becomes fundamental for the search for truth, being the dialectic between faith and reason fundamental to explain the relationship between the human soul and God.
Saint Thomas of Aquino
Saint Thomas of Aquino (1224/1225-1274) was an Italian philosopher and theologian who developed the scholasticism, a philosophical current. His work, the Summna Theologica, tries to prove the existence of God through reason. Among the principles of his that Saint Thomas considered basic for the formation of the person and reaching the state of virtue, the following stand out: realism or respect for being and to the value of objective reality, universality, love of truth, faith and reason, moral virtues, the common good and the dignity of the person human.
Saint Anselm of Canterbury
Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 - 1109) was an Italian philosopher and theologian scholastic representative. San Anselmo pointed out that it is necessary to believe to understand and although faith must have a rational foundation. Thus, San Anselmo continued with the process of rationalization of Christianity and he began the study of the principles of logical and philosophical analysis of theological discourse, thus establishing the principles of Theology as a science.
William of Ockham
William of Ockham(1287-1347) was a Franciscan friar, English scholastic philosopher and logician that he got into scholasticism and with the idea that reason and faith are interrelated. A philosophy that breaks with the thought of Saint Thomas and Saint Augustine, leaving Theology on the plane of revelation and away from any other issue that is not faith. according to ockham It is not possible to prove the existence of God from reason and philosophy only has to worry about knowledge. This philosophy is empiricist and considers that only the intuitive method helps to reach the truth.
Pedro Abelardo
Pedro Abelardo (1079-1142) was a French philosopher and theologian whose work focused on logic and reason. His great passion was dialectic, being a cultured and brilliant man who liked to debate. The dialectic was for him the science of the word and the debate. In the medieval polemic on the nature of universals, Abelard he opted for conceptualism and he opposed the realism of the scholastics. In his most famous work, Sic et Non, he laid the foundation for the dialectical approach of offering arguments for and against a certain opinion.
