Module 4 - Foundations Of Western Philosophy: Middle Ages And Scholasticism Flashcards
From where did medieval philosophers believe knowledge of the truth came?
God
Augustine’s worldview was the dominant influence on medieval philosophy.
true
Which set of philosophies did the early medieval period emphasize?
neoplatonic
Why did the later medieval period of philosophy shift towards an interest in Aristotle?
because Arabic translations of Aristotle’s writings had been discovered in the Crusades
When the Roman empire and its educational centers collapsed, where was knowledge from the past preserved and studied?
monasteries
Who wrote Sic et Non?
Abelard
who was Boethius?
the medieval theologian/philosopher who hoped to translate many of the ancient Greek works into Latin
what was Anselm’s ontological argument?
a definitive proof that God existed which did not rely on any outside logic or philosophy
Who was Héloïse?
the intelligent philosopher who had a scandalous affair with Peter Abelard while she studied under him
What does the technical philosophical term “universal” mean?
a characteristic that can be observed in multiple objects
Which educational institution grew out of the late medieval period?
Universities
The only thing the scholastics had in common was a commitment to rigorous scholarly debate
True
What was the scholastic method?
A style of teaching in the medieval university classroom
The European university arose as a result of Arabic influence through the crusades
True
Which textbook was the standard textbook in medieval universities?
Sentences
Aside from philosophy, in which field were Avicenna and Averroës experts?
medicine
Clocks were invented during the golden age of Islam when Aristotle’s ideas were popular.
true
Which Arabic-speaking scholar developed a precursor to the Western philosophy of tabula rasa, but proposed that people must learn knowledge of the truth from experiences in the world?
Avicenna
Averroës was a 16-year old Jewish prodigy, a master of innovative Hebrew poetry.
false
How many commentaries did Averroës try to write on each of the works of Aristotle?
three, a short, medium, and long one for varying skill levels
Who was the seminal figure that made Aristotle’s ideas palatable to the average Christian towards the end of the medieval period?
Aquinas
Why were Aristotle’s ideas unpopular in the West during the medieval period?
because Christianity adopted platonism since the time of Augustine
What was Aquinas’s nickname during his time as a student at university?
“the dumb ox”
Thomas Aquinas brought about the eventual end of the medieval period.
true
Before Aquinas, most Christians had assumed that they could not learn any truths by observing and experimenting on the physical world.
true
What were monastic schools?
the first place where medieval students preserved knowledge and studied it
Which was a defining feature of medieval philosophy?
It was almost always intertwined with theology.
What threatened to make many ancient philosophical writings lost to history?
the gradual decline of the Greek language
Which ancient Greek philosopher was rediscovered in Arabic translations by the Crusaders?
Aristotle
After monastic and cathedral schools, which became the center of education in the late medieval period?
universities
Who was the early medieval scholar, philosopher, and theologian who attempted to translate Plato and Aristotle’s works into Latin but was executed by the king of Italy before he could?
Boethius
Who is remembered for developing the ontological argument for the existence of God?
Anselm
Who was the medieval philosopher known for quitting multiple schools and then having an affair with one of his students after starting his school?
Abelard
What is the term that medieval philosophers used to describe a characteristic which can be seen demonstrated in more than one object, such as “blueness” or “heaviness”?
universal
Which of the following books was written by Peter Abelard and contrasted the disagreements between statements made by earlier church fathers?
Sic et Non
By what title was the Arabic scholar Averroës known in the West?
The Commentator
Who was Avicebron?
young prodigy of Hebrew poetry with Neoplatonic thought
Why was Aristotelian philosophy controversial among Christian thinkers in the late medieval period?
Christians could see scientific advancements under Aristotelianism but were unsure whether they were compatible with orthodox Christianity.
Who is known as the founder of Islamic philosophy?
Avicenna
Which Arabic scholar, like Anselm, created an argument for the existence of God but applied it to the God of the Quran?
Avicenna
Which movement was defined by its encouragement of vigorous debate?
Scholasticism
When did the university arise in Europe?
in the late medieval period
What was the first movement in the West to question Augustine’s authoritative blend of Neoplatonism and philosophy in nearly a thousand years?
scholasticism
Who was Peter Lombard?
the author of the classic textbook used in medieval universities
Which earlier book most deeply influenced Peter Lombard’s Sentences?
Abelard’s Sic et non
Why was Aquinas’s philosophical work so influential on the field of science?
because he convinced Europe that the physical world right in front of them was a source of truth
Who was Thomas Aquinas?
scholastic theologian who shifted the philosophical tide in Europe toward Aristotelianism
Who was the teacher, philosopher, and theologian whose career is considered the golden age of scholasticism in the late medieval period?
Aquinas
In the late medieval period, which scholastic thinker unravelled the blend of theology and philosophy which dominated the West since the time of Augustine?
Aquinas
Which arose in the years after Aquinas due in large part to his influence?
rationalism
Aristotle believed that reality consists of the natural world. His students would spend time walking around to observe nature. They would note the way things were in plant life, animal life, geography, and so forth. Aristotle’s approach was much more ______ than Plato’s.
naturalistic
The existence of all things could be summed up with two ideas according to Aristotle: ______ and _____.
form and matter
Aristotle believed one’s ethics came from the _____. Ethics are things determined to be good or bad, right or wrong, helpful or hurtful.
soul
Plato was frustrated by the constant arguments over true knowledge. His solution was to develop a theory that eliminated disagreements and settled the matter of true knowledge once and for all. The study of true knowledge is known as ________, the branch of philosophy focusing on knowledge and justified belief.
epistemology
Socrates’s instructional method—dialogue based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking—was different from the Sophists who sought to _____________________.
input their own opinions and beliefs into the minds of students.
Justin Martyr saw an overlap between Christianity and the Greco-Roman philosophies. For instance, both sought to live_______, although their motivation varied. Thus, he concluded that there were some useful truths in the teachings of the philosophers.
a virtuous life
To understand Neoplatonic thought, one must first understand Plato’s famous analogy about a cave. Plato believed there was truth beyond what could be ______________.
seen in the physical realm
The figure often considered the founder of the Neoplatonist movement was ______ in the third century CE. He founded a philosophy school in Rome and began writing down his lectures at the encouragement of one of his students.
Plotinus
As is common in eras of unrest, people discovered that their worldview was insufficient for the complexities of life. In response, _______ articulated a political philosophy that allowed the Christians in his care to make sense of the fears with which they dealt regularly.
Augustine
Augustine believed Christians could participate in wars, acting as agents for a manmade government as long as a few basic qualifications were met: (Select all that apply)
The war must be declared by a legitimate government authority.
The war must be conducted for a just cause, such as an act of defense.
The Christian soldier must have the proper motives: he must grieve bloodshed rather than seek personal glory on the battlefield and must fight for eventual peace.
In Thomas Acquinas’s worldview, Aristotle’s philosophy could be a way to discover truths also discoverable through Christianity. The two used different rules to arrive at that truth. In this line of thinking, Aristotelianism may reveal information not expressly revealed by God but is true. This concept allowed _______ to rise in the West.
rationalism
Approximately one century after Augustine, a philosopher and theologian named _______ rose to prominence. He was worried some of the greatest minds would be lost to the Latin-speaking world, so he set out to translate the works of Plato and Aristotle into Latin.
Boethius
Anselm is remembered for pursuing a single line of reasoning that could prove God’s existence without relying on any outside logic or philosophy. Thus, he formulated the _________ for God’s existence.
ontological agreement
_________ was known as the father of Islamic philosophy. Blending bits of Neoplatonic thought with Aristotelian ideas and Muslim theology, he crafted a worldview that launched the Arabic-speaking world into the philosophical scene. He is remembered for making sense of Muslim beliefs by using logic and philosophy.
Avicenna
Beginning in the twelfth century and exploding in the thirteenth, such educational centers were found in major cities across the entire continent. In particular, the universities of ____________ were esteemed for their philosophy and theology degrees. To achieve a doctorate in this field required one to undergo fourteen years of rigorous academic classes.
Paris and Oxford
Philosophers ask questions and try to answer them. To some degree, the “love of wisdom” for most philosophers can be framed by a single question: _____________
What is the good life?
In simple terms, ______ refers to the pursuit of wisdom in terms of knowing and understanding our universe, our world, and the ways that humans think and live.
philosophy
_________ is the division of philosophy concerned with questions related to being, existence, or reality.
Metaphysics
In the pre-Socratic age, beginning around the 6th century BCE, philosophers attempted to deduce the working of the world around them based on ____________.
their natural observations
Aristotle viewed ___________ as the characteristics or qualities that ordinary objects or things have in common. They can be identified in the types, properties, or relations observed in the world.
universals
