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Medieval Western Philosophy: the European Emergence

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Medieval Western Philosophy: the European Emergence Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change Series I, Culture and Values, Volume 9 History of Western Philosophy by George F. McLean and Patrick J. Aspell Medieval Western Philosophy: The European Emergence By Patrick J. Aspell The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy 1 Copyright © 1999 by The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Gibbons Hall B-20 620 Michigan Avenue, NE Washington, D.C. 20064 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Aspell, Patrick, J. Medieval western philosophy: the European emergence / Patrick J. Aspell. p.cm. — (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series I. Culture and values ; vol. 9) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Philosophy, Medieval. I. Title. III. Series. B721.A87 1997 97-20069 320.9171’7’090495—dc21 CIP ISBN 1-56518-094-1 (pbk.) 2 Table of Contents Chronology of Events and Persons Significant in and beyond the History of Medieval Europe Preface xiii Part One: The Origins of Medieval Philosophy 1 Chapter I. Augustine: The Lover of Truth 5 Chapter II. Universals According to Boethius, Peter Abelard, and Other Dialecticians 57 Chapter III. Christian Neoplatoists: John Scotus Erigena and Anselm of Canterbury 73 Part Two: The Maturity of Medieval Philosophy Chronology 97 Chapter IV. Bonaventure: Philosopher of the Exemplar 101 Chapter V. Thomas Aquinas: Philosopher of the Existential Act 155 Part Three: Critical Reflection And Reconstruction 237 Chapter VI. John Duns Scotus: Metaphysician of Essence 243 Chapter VII. William of Ockham: Philosophy of Nominalism 317 Epilogue 387 Bibliography 391 Acknowledgements 3 Preface "We are like dwarfs," wrote Bernard of Chartres, "seated on the shoulders of giants; we see more things than the ancients and things more distant, but this is due neither to the sharpness of our own sight, nor to the greatness of our stature, but because we are raised and borne aloft on that giant mass."1 In the search for truth, modern Western philosophers stand on the shoulders of the "giant mass" of ancient and medieval thinkers whose ideas they have inherited. Western civilization lives by the ideas that animate it." This book is written for students making their first acquaintance with these ideas in the history of philosophy. The author’s chief purpose is to introduce students to the origin, development, and interconnection of philosophical ideas. To achieve this goal, emphasis has been placed upon making the major ideas of the medieval philosophers accessible to the reader in a direct, clear, and informative manner. This history of philosophy is intended, not as an end, but as a means of introducing the reader to a more extensive and intensive study of the philosophers’ writings and of their interpretations by specialists in various fields. When the student is first acquainted with the myriad ideas of medieval thought, they may appear to him widely elusive, hopelessly incoherent, and even self-contradictory. It is the taunting, tantalizing challenge of the history of philosophy to discover the overall pattern of interrelated meaning. With this insight one can savor the distinctive contribution of each man or movement. In understanding the meaning of philosophical ideas, one has not only factual information but an appreciation of what philosophizing meant for Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham. What better way is there to learn to philosophize than to observe the great philosophers of the past? This history of philosophy is intended as an introduction to the process of philosophizing itself. With adequate knowledge of the history of philosophy, one can share in the collective enterprise of philosophizing which has occupied the mind of Western man for twenty- five centuries. To disclose effectively the pattern of meaning in the history of medieval philosophy, the historian of philosophy must keep in mind two aims. First, he must discover the spirit of an age by fathoming. 5 Chapter I Augustine: The Lover of Truth Augustine "was, to a far greater degree than any emperor barbarian war lord, a maker of history and a builder of the bridge which was to lead from the old world to the new."1 He was the bridge between ancient and medieval thought and the founder of philosophy in the Middle Ages. In his passionate pursuit of truth and happiness, Aurelius Augustine’s life spiraled through three spiritual states: conversion, enlightenment, and unity. Life2 and Works3 - Conversion. Augustine was born in Tagaste (modern Souk Ahras, Tunisia), A.D. 354, of a Christian mother, Monica, and a pagan father, Patricius. An offspring of the dying ancient civilization and the emerging Christian culture, he experienced a powerful inner conflict of values. During his studies of literature and grammar at Madaura and his higher education in rhetoric at Carthage, he reveled in "the ways of Babylon" and enjoyed the Circes of sensuality. For fifteen years he lived with a mistress by whom he had a son Adeodatus. He taught rhetoric and eloquence at Tagaste, Carthage, and Milan. Outwardly, he was pleased with the ensuing fame, but inwardly, he was discontented as his mind searched for enlightenment. He embraced the Manichean dualistic teaching that there are two ultimate principles, one responsible for good and for the human soul, the other for evil and matter, including the body.4 Dissatisfied with the materialism of Manichaeism and unable to find a basis for certitude in his experience, he adopted the skeptic attitude of the Platonic New Academy. On reading some "Platonic treatises" in the Latin translation of Victorinus, Augustine overcame his doubt about the possibility of a spiritual reality and found his way toward reconciling the presence of evil in the world with the Christian teaching of divine creation.5 - Enlightenment. Enlightened by the writings of St. Paul and the holy life of St. Anthony of Egypt, Augustine experienced a strong desire to improve his way of life. To that end he retreated for a year (3861387) with some friends to Cassiciacum outside Milan where he underwent a religious conversion and wrote Against the Academics — a justification of truth and certitude — On the Happy Life, On Order, the Soliloquies — a discourse on God and the soul — On the Immortality of the Soul, and On Music. After his spiritual seclusion, Augustine and Adeodatus were baptized by St. Ambrose. - Union. While residing at Rome (387-388), Augustine composed two philosophical dialogues, On Free Choice and On the Magnitude of the Soul — on the operations of the soul. After returning to Tagaste (388), he sold all his inheritance and established a small monastic community. Not long after writing On the Teacher — a study of knowledge — he was ordained a priest (391), and later, by popular acclaim, was consecrated Bishop of Hippo (395/396). His numerous sermons against the Manichaeans, Donatists,6 and Pelagians,7 his many theological treatises and letters, testify to his unceasing concern for the faith of his fellow Christians. Notwithstanding his pressing episcopal duties, Augustine wrote three magna opera: the Confessions (400) — an autobiography of his personal relationship to God — On the Trinity (400- 416), and the City of God (413-426) — a defense of Christianity and an exposition of the meaning of history. His work On the Nature of the Good responds to Manichaeism, his treatise On the Soul and Its Origin replies to Donatism. Toward the end of his life, he critically scrutinized his earlier 7 writings in the Retractions which chronologically enumerates his ninety-four works, explaining their purpose and making revisions. Appropriately, his last complete opus was On the Gift of Perseverance (428), expressing his mind’s and heart’s unceasing search for truth and happiness which he found ultimately in union with God. Augustine died in 430 as Genseric and his Vandals laid siege to Hippo. Encounter Within the cultural crisis of the Roman Empire, Augustine encountered spiritual problems concerning God and the soul, faith and reason, Christianity and history. Problems I. Emergence of Problems The cultural crisis which the Roman Empire experienced during the time of Plotinus intensified in the fourth and fifth centuries as the barbarians increased their pressure on the feeble frontiers and political discontent grew among peoples subjugated by Rome. As the political and economic order deteriorated, imperial authority became more dictatorial to stabilize the empire’s vast structure, and the populace in turn lost its time1honored freedoms and civic concern. Military might rather than law bound the body politic together. The religious element in ancient culture, which had been the inspiration of civic patriotism in the fifth and sixth centuries B.C., had almost disappeared from the cosmopolitan civilization of the imperial age. The temples and gods remained, but they had lost their spiritual significance and had become little more than an ornamental appendage to public life and an occasion for civic ceremonial.8 As the old ideals retrogressed, the new spirit of Christianity emerged to revivify classical civilization. II. God and the Soul Like Plotinus, Augustine saw that the core issue of the Roman Empire was not military, or political, or economic, but spiritual, and that the ultimate question concerns God and the soul. "God and the soul, I desire to know. Nothing more? Nothing whatever."9 Augustine added to the ancient Greek maxim, "Know thyself," to make it, "Know God and thyself." III. Faith and Reason To gain a deeper insight than ancient philosophy into the spiritual problems surrounding God and the soul, Augustine shifted the philosophical perspective from the purely natural level of Plotinus to the supernatural framework of Christian thought.11 Within this religious context, he was confronted with the relation of faith and reason: Can pure reason operate on its own or does it need faith to relate man to God? Can faith without the companionship of reason pursue wisdom? 8 IV.
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