The Main Controversies Of Medieval Thought In — страница 2

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belief. This was accomplished by adapting the former wherever it conflicted with the latter. For instance, Thomas would agree with Aristotle’s theory of a primary unmoved mover, although to him the unmoved mover was the Christian God. The major opponent of growing Aristotelianism was the Augustinianism of Henry of Ghent. Henry believed that in any instance where human intellect was used, it was only God who would “illumine” the human intellect in question. Apparently Henry’s insistence on this issue did not gain him many followers . Another important figure of the era was Roscellin. The man is often called the first nominalist and is therefore at the root of the nominalist-realist debate on the question of universals. Universals are words like “humankind” that refer

to something abstract. A nominalist like Roscellin would argue that “humankind” is only real in the sense of its verbal expression and a realist would take the opposite view. Peter Abelard found himself exposed to and influenced by well-known adherents of both views. He was a student of both Roscellin and Guillaume de Champeaux, a realist. Abelard has been called the “greatest champion of the nominalist-conceptualist point of view “, a conceptualist being someone who finds themselves between the extremes of nominalism and realism. Abelard attempted to combine secular teachings with his career as a monk. The results were that much of his work was judged to be heretical and he nearly faced trial with the king of France. Due to the influence of Bernard of Clairveaux a

council at Sens condemned him and the Pope confirmed his condemnation in 1140. Later in life he made peace with Clairveaux. Bernard of Clairveaux was the most influential figure in western Christendom of his time. He was personally conflicted by his desire to lead a solitary life of monastic studies and his desire to help others. He strongly opposed dialectical scholasticism and is almost the embodiment of the church’s opposition to growing intellectual movements of the time. Clairveaux believed that God’s mysteries are not meant to be discovered. Scientific inquiry was to him “scandalous curiosity “. At the end of the thirteenth century the controversies of faith and reason had not been resolved. If anything the two ideals had grown farther apart and they would merely be

taken up by the next generation of scholars. The arguments had been forever altered however, marked by the developments of preceding centuries. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were a time when those who provoked thought and interest often provoked fear and hatred. Controversy was the word of the day. Regardless, nothing in these times or any other could stop the evolution of human thought. “Abelard, Peter.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Averro?s.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Bernard de Clairvaux, Saint.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. Crump, C. G. and E. F. Jacob, eds. The Legacy of the Middle Ages. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969. “Early Scholastic period.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. Hoffman, Ross J. S., and James J. Flynn. Medieval

History. Totawa, N.J.: Littlefield, Adams and Co., 1965. Hollister, C. Warren. Medieval Europe: A Short History. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998. Knowles, David. The Evolution of Medieval Thought. London: Northumberland Press Limited, 1962. “Late Scholastic period.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Maturity of Scholasticism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Medieval philosophy: Jewish thought.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Medieval Skepticism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Nominalism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Roots of Scholasticism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Roscelin.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Scholasticism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Scholasticism: Nature and Significance.”

Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “St. Thomas Aquinas.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Stoicism in Medieval and Modern Philosophy.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “The System of Aristotle and its Impact on Medieval Thought.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Thomas Aquinas.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Thomas Aquinas and Thomism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Thomist Philosophy.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999 ed.