The Causes Which Contributed to the Perfecting of Scholasticism

Article i. The Causes Which Contributed to the Perfecting of Scholasticism in the thirteenth Century The perfection achieved by Scholastic Philosophy in the 13 century may be traced to four causes :

a) The state of Scholasticism itself at the beginning of this century;

b) The diffusion in Western Europe of the works of Orientals ;

c) The rise of the universities, especially that of Paris;

d) The institution of the Mendicant Orders.

a) The St at e of Schol ast icism at t he Beginning of t he 13 Cent ur y. Speculation was strongly astir in the 12 century, particularly after St. Anselm and Abelard had applied the rational method of treatment to philosophical and theological questions. Orderly summaries of theology were made. Much progress was also made in philosophy : the great question of the nature of Universals came near its right solution (Moderate Realism) at the end of the 12 century; and many questions of Logic, Cosmology, and General Metaphysics had been thoroughly investigated. Still, no one had succeeded in editing a satisfactory summary of philosophy as distinct from theology. Thus, at the beginning of the 13 century, philosophy lacked an orderly synthesis. But, as it really treated of most of the important questions in its field, it was ripe for such a synthesis. In other words, the body of Scholastic doctrines had been so far formulated in the 12 century that the genius of the new age could complete them and set them forth in a systematic exposition.

b) The Diffusion in West er n Eur ope of t he Wor ks of Oriental s. During the Middle Ages the Christian princes of Western Europe had to wage continual war against the Mohammedans, who had set their hearts on winning all Europe to Islam. In the 9 century the Arabs (Mohammedans) had almost complete control of Spain, and held secure footing also in Italy and Sicily. In the 10 century the Christian rulers joined forces against the common foe, and expelled the Mohammedans from Italy. Sicily was freed of the infidel incubus in the 11 century. Meanwhile the people of Spain had begun to prevail against the forces of Islam, and at the beginning of the 13 century the dominion of the Arabs in Spain was limited to the little kingdom of Granada. The long contact with infidels brought to Europeans a knowledge of Oriental philosophy and religion. Islamism had no proper philosophy of its own. We have seen, in our account of Arabian philosophy, that these Orientals took the doctrines of Aristotle (which they possessed in faulty and interpolated translation) as the basis of their own speculations. The quasi-Aristotelean philosophy which the Europeans learned from the Arabs exerted a strong influence upon their own speculation, and—since that philosophy had been warped out of character to be the rational support of Islamism —this influence was not only a menace to sound philosophical culture, but also to the purity of Christian Faith. The Christian doctors of the time gave themselves earnestly to the study of the Arab philosophy that they might combat heretical theology and philosophy upon strictly rational grounds. Thus speculative effort was stimulated. In consequence, then, of the new (if faulty) knowledge of Aristotle, and of the strong energy in speculation, Scholastic Philosophy progressed mightily towards perfection. In passing, it is to be noted here that even the untrustworthy and interpolated translations of Aristotle were of great value to Scholasticism. However, the Neoplatonic and Arabian doctrines which were interlarded with those of the Stagirite in the available translations, led many serious philosophers to condemn Aristotle himself. The Provincial Council of Paris condemned Aristotle’s Physics and the Moorish commentaries thereon in 1209. In 1225 the study of Aristotle’s metaphysics was prohibited in the University of Paris. But when reliable translations of Aristotle were made from the original text, these condemnations and prohibitions were removed; and in 1255 the University of Paris prescribed the very works it had prohibited thirty years earlier. Direct translations of Aristotle were begun in 1220; but the translation made by William of Moerbeke in 1260 was long considered the best, and was used for many years in preference to all others.

c) The Rise of t he Univer sit ies. At the beginning of the 13 century the masters and pupils of all the Schools of Paris formed a league or confederation called The University of Masters and Scholars. Little by little this federated body was drawn into four distinct branches according to the different studies followed by the members, viz., Theology, Philosophy or Arts, Law, and Medicine. In the department of the students and masters of Philosophy other groups were formed on a basis of nationality, and these groups were the so-called nationes. At the head of the nationes was the Rector. The head of the whole University was at first the Chancellor of the Cathedral of Paris, but his place was taken in the 14 century by the Rector of the Philosophy Department. The University of Paris, formed gradually in the manner described, was the model for the formation of many others throughout Europe. But during the Middle Ages the University of Paris excelled all rivals, and in it the most celebrated of the Scholastics achieved renown. The founding of the Universities, especially that of Paris, aroused a mighty interest in scientific and specialized learning, stirred deep the intellectual currents of Western Europe, and caused Scholasticism to emerge in perfected form.

d) The Inst it ut ion of t he Mendicant Rel igious Or der s. The Religious Orders of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic were founded to root out the evil effects that had come upon Europeans as a result of contact with the infidels. The members of these Orders lived penitential lives, begged their bread from door to door (Mendicants), and preached whenever and wherever they could get a hearing. They won many thousands back to pious Catholic life. But, finding that they had often to argue points of doctrine with persons learned in infidel philosophy, the monks set themselves at the task of mastering rational science. Soon indeed the Religious of the Franciscan and Dominican Communities were famed as men of profound learning. They secured chairs in the University of Paris, and so wide was their influence and so great their ability that by 1257 the fate of Scholastic Philosophy was practically in their hands. The Cistercians, the Hermits of St. Augustine, and the Carmelites were also factors in the development of Scholasticism, and each of these orders had representation among the teachers in the University of Paris. The Religious Orders—families that do not die out, bodies that keep traditions intact—gave a solidity and permanence to the notable achievements of the Scholastics that could not have been attained by other agencies. Hence theirs is a notable share in the work of perfecting Scholastic Philosophy. To sum up: Scholastic Philosophy had been developed in a somewhat diffuse and vagrant fashion during centuries preceding the 13, and the beginning of this century found it ripe for ordering and synthesis. The knowledge of Aristotle—cultivated by Europeans for the purpose of enabling them to meet the Oriental infidels on their own ground—occasioned an earnest and broad speculative movement at the beginning of the 13 century, from which came the ultimate development and organization of Scholasticism. This movement was furthered by the founding of Universities, and by the institution of Religious Orders, those armies of God which assembled under religious discipline to save men’s souls through a profound knowledge of the divine science and of its handmaid, philosophy. All these concurring causes contributed to the advancement and perfection of Scholasticism. One thing more was needed, and it was not lacking. This was the “power of the man” which had to be united with the “power of the moment” (already described above) in order that lasting achievement might be won. Splendid minds, extraordinary talents, met at the flood the current which set, in the 13 century, in the direction of science, and especially of philosophy. Great genius wedded to great opportunity assured by the concurrence of four notable causes, brought Scholastic Philosophy to the peak of perfection. The great philosophers of the time are discussed in the article which follows.