Medieval Social and Intellectual Life During the Middle Ages the study of philosophy, theology and science was pursued in various locales, including monasteries, cathedral schools and universities Most people in the Middle Ages lived in the countryside on manors and farms but by the 12th and 13th centuries towns and cities started to grow. Texts from Classical Antiquity and works of Christian spirituality serve as the foundation for European thinkers Other sources include Islamic thinkers like Avicenna and Averroes Two of the most important early thinkers were St. Augustine (354-430 C.E.) and Boethius (480- 524). In his Confessions St. Augustine articulated some of the most important features of the Christian faith. Boethius, for his part, defended Pagan authors in his Consolation of Philosophy and also translated some of Aristotle’s logical works. The Italian theologian and future archbishop of Canterbury, St. Anselm (1033-1109 C.E), would build upon the work of St. Augustine and Boethius. Treatises such as the Proslogion and Cur Deus Homo reflect his interest in exploring the roots of Christian faith (fides querens intellectum, faith seeking understanding). St. Anselm’s so- called ontological proof of God’s existence is also worthy of note. Basic features of Anselm’s ontological argument 1. If God exists, He must be perfect. (This definition would seem to be self-evident.) 2. If He is perfect, one cannot imagine anyone or anything greater in perfection to exist (“He is that-than-which- nothing-greater-can-be-thought”). 3. To be perfect entails both its possibility and its existence. Otherwise, if one can only imagine such a perfect being, (i.e., it would only exist in one’s mind and therefore be only possible and not yet real), a perfect being that actually exists would be greater. 4. But this cannot be the case, if God is that-than-which- nothing-greater-can-be-thought. 5. Therefore a perfect being such as God must not only be imaginable but also exist. The French scholastic Peter Abelard (1079-1142) would develop further some of Anselm’s, Boethius’ and Aristotle’s ideas about logic and language. In Sic and Non (1122) and other works, he perfected the Scholastic technique of juxtaposing opposing authorities and ideas in an effort to arrive at the truth dialectically .His strategy was to compose a list of apparently contradictory opinions drawn from the Bible and Church Fathers like St. Augustine, for example, and then explain how seeming contradictions aren’t really contradictions or show how one list of statements is more in keeping with the truth than another list of statements.
In contrast, other thinkers, such as St. Bernard of Clairvaux, would disdain such confidence in the use of one’s reason and would emphasize instead the importance of faith, prayer and meditation. New religious orders such as the Cistercians would become known both for their austerity and for their esteem for the contemplative life. The synthesis of faith and reason in the works of St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274)
Aquinas, a 13th-century Dominican friar from Italy, studied intensively the writings of Aristotle, Avicenna, and Averroes. In his Summa Theologica, he concluded that faith and reason need not be contradictory; rather, they could complement each other. For many years Aquinas spread his ideas as a professor at the University of Paris. William of Ockham (1285-1349)
This English philosopher was more skeptical than Aquinas of reason’s power. Although generally described as an empiricist, he thought that some things can never be proven; we just have to accept them on faith.
He is famous for Ockham’s razor, i.e the principle of reducing assumptions to the absolute minimum.
Ockham taught at the University of Oxford before he was forced to flee to Munich because of his political views.
Ockham died in Munich, possibly because of the Black Death. John Wycliffe (1328-1384)
-Wycliffe, another English philosopher- theologian, is identified with the idea that the Bible had more authority than the Pope or other Church leaders.
- A leading Church dissident, he eventually was accused of heresy but never put on trial.
-Wycliffe is also notable for his efforts to help translate the Bible into the vernacular (i.e., into English from Latin).
-Wycliffe influenced Jan Huss as well as Reformers like Martin Luther. Eventually, by the end of the Middle Ages, many other thinkers are distrustful of authority The Black Death and numerous famines and peasant revolts also played a role in making many people question the established order