Character of Medieval Philosophy
Medieval philosophy is characteristically theological: With the possible exceptions of Avicenna and Averroes, medieval thinkers did not consider themselves philosophers at all. Their concerns are theological: For them, the philosophers were the ancient pagan writers such as Plato and Aristotle. However, the theological works of medieval writers use the ideas and logical techniques of the ancient philosophers to address difficult theological questions, and points of doctrine. Thomas Aquinas, following Peter Damian, argued that philosophy is the handmaiden of theology (ancilla theologiae).
The three principles that underlie all their work are the use of logic, dialectic, and analysis to discover the truth, known as ratio, respect for the insights of ancient philosophers, in particular Aristotle, and deference to their authority (auctoritas), and the obligation to co-ordinate the insights of philosophy with theological teaching and revelation (concordia).
One of the most heavily debated topics of the period was that of faith versus reason. Avicenna and Averroes both leaned more on the side of reason. Augustine stated that he would never allow his philosophical investigations to go beyond the authority of God. Anselm attempted to defend against what he saw as partly an assault on faith, with an approach allowing for both faith and reason. The Augustinian solution to the faith/reason problem is to (1) believe, and then (2) seek to understand.
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“No sooner does a great man depart, and leave his character as public property, than a crowd of little men rushes towards it. There they are gathered together, blinking up to it with such vision as they have, scanning it from afar, hovering round it this way and that, each cunningly endeavouring, by all arts, to catch some reflex of it in the little mirror of himself.”
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