What is Scholasticism?
Q: What is Scholasticism?
A: Scholasticism is a way of thinking and teaching knowledge that was developed in the Middle Ages. It combines classical philosophy, which was developed in Ancient Greece, with Christian theology to create a method of teaching and learning that emphasizes the use of dialectic.
Q: Who were some of the people who started Scholasticism?
A: Saint Ambrose and St. Augustine were among the first Church fathers who brought Christian ideas and Greek philosophy together to start Scholasticism. Other important figures include Peter Abelard, Albertus Magnus, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas.
Q: What is Summa Theologica?
A: Summa Theologica is an ambitious synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine written by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.
Q: Why did scholastics focus on Aristotle's works rather than Plato's?
A: In the 13th century, Aristotle's works were considered more important than those of Plato because they provided more insight into natural world observations.
Q: How did scholastics differ from modern science?
A: Unlike modern science which relies heavily on observations from nature, scholastics focused mainly on written texts with arguments for or against certain ideas found within them.
Q: What language did scholastics use to read ancient manuscripts?
A: Scholastics used two ancient languages - Latin (the language of the Vulgate Bible) and Ancient Greek - when reading manuscripts related to their studies.
Q: What was Boethius' motto regarding faith and reason?
A: Boethius' motto was "As far as you are able, join faith to reason", reminding us that all scholastics were mediaeval Christians whose main concern was finding ways to fit Greek ideas into their religious view of the world.
