Scolastique comes from Latin schola (ae, F) , school . It is about a Philosophie developed and taught in the Université S of the Moyen-âge aiming at reconciling ancient philosophy , and in particular teaching and the Philosophie first of Aristote, with the Christian Théologie.
It is very difficult to define the scholastic in a few words, nevertheless the approach of Marie-Dominique Chenu gives a rather precise idea of what it is: " the medieval scholastic cannot be defined more by the concern of subordinating the intellectual life to the religious life, and of constituting a speculative system having for essential object the direct agreement of a philosophy with the Christian dogma (or the Moslem dogma, if it were about a Moslem scholastic). Yes, the medieval ones continued an ideal to know, a design of the world, where would engage in high and single wisdom the resources of various sciences réunies"
When the reform comes, the scholastic will be shown to have ruined the Christian doctrines by establishing the preponderance of ancient philosophy the debate summarizes herself in these terms: the reformers, in particular Luther, will show the scholastics to have héllenisé the Chrétienne religion. Holding intellectual the Vatican consider that the scholastics have Christianisé rather hellenistic civilization, opening the faith with the ancient categories of thought.
Description
This reconciliation passes in particular by the attempt to solve the tensions between Philosophie first (according to Aristote) and Théologie, in other words between a general metaphysics (Philosophie first called later ontology, or ontosophie) and a science of the to be par excellence (later, metaphysica specialis , theology).
This reconciliation with the Philosophie first is presented in the Summa Theologica of Thomas d' Aquin. In the center of this work, one finds a Théologie of Creation (PRIMA leave: God, creation).
The reconciliation is subjected to the hierarchy augustinienne: “If you do not believe, you will not include/understand”. It is a question above all of better including/understanding the Christian Foi in the light of ancient philosophy.
The scholastic is also a method founded on the study and the comment of the fundamental and authorized religious and profane texts. She comprises three types of exercise: the lectio on the one hand, the quaestio and the disputatio on the other hand. It is on this aspect that the rationalist and modern criticism of the scholastic will concentrate. Its method is indeed intellectual, founded pure gamble exclusively on the comment of texts or the comment of comments, prohibiting any direct glance on reality.
The scholastic seen with measurement of the penetration of Aristote
The development of the scholastic was primarily subordinated to the penetration of Aristote in Europe, like with the translations of the philosophers Jewish and Arab (most important being Avicenne, Averroès, Maimonide) the installation of the Physics and the metaphysics of Aristote in occident created a true “revolution”. The Chronology can be broken up as follows:
- During all Middle Ages, Aristote is seen only like one logician, and one knows of him only the Organon, then the Catégories and the Periermenias , bases on which one will add some indirect sources, which will give a unit called old logical . It is this version which Abélard had used
- Comes the moment when “by Tolède, the knights of Reconquista bring to the troubadours the echoes poetry of Islam. It was initially the nature which Aristote discovered with the spirits”. It is primarily Gerard de Crémone, as from 1134 with Tolède, having with its credit 86 translations of Arabic (works of mathematics, astrology, of hermetism), who will translate “the version of analytical posterior, of Physics, of the treaties of the sky and the world, the generation and corruption, as well as first books of the meteors”. According to Jeauneau, these first translations are still impregnated of Neo-Platonism
- The exact dates of arrival of the various translations in France are currently unknown for us, although it is strong problable that their diffusion was progressive. Nevertheless, E. Gilson gives us the following indication: " It seems well that something of the physics of Aristote was known as of the end of the XII° siècle".
1210, the books of philosophy of nature are prohibited.
1215, several schools are assembled to amalgamate and become the Parisian Université, institution with whole share, with its own statutes. The academic founds there his method, the scholastic who will know her first vexations, because of irreconcilability of a culture imported with the established culture. With the faculty of arts of Paris, the logic of Aristote is tolerated, but not physics and metaphysics
1231, the pope Gregoire IX “reiterates the prohibition of the council of 1210, but adds that Physics of Aristote will be subjected for the examination by a commission and purged its errors”
- Of 1230 to 1255, the barriers break gradually, under the impulse of Albert Large the and Roger Bacon in 1244, then of Robert Grossetête, chancellor of the university of Oxford which finishes the translation of the ethical with Nicomaque in 1247, and finally of Saint Thomas d' Aquin in 1252, where “Holy Thomas frankly chose Aristote”
- This break will be only of short duration. In 1270, Etienne Tempier, Bishop of Paris, condemns the aristotelism, judgment reinforced in 1277, where he says: “that it could exist several worlds, and that the whole of the celestial spheres could, without contradiction, animated being of a rectilinear motion”. This date corresponds, according to Duhem, with the birth of modern science. Tempier, in the name of a theological need, will open an open breach from which the bases of the modern thought will be posed: “If modern science were not born in 1277, it is the date where the birth of modern cosmologies became possible in Christian medium”
Four periods
The influence of the scholastic is divided into four great periods, even if the influence of this one extends beyond.
Beginning of the 11th century at the end of the 12th century
The first period is marked by the Querelle of the universals, opposing the realistic , carried out by Guillaume de Champeaux, with the nominalist , represented by Roscelin, and with the conceptualists (Pierre Abélard). But the truly preparatory form with the scholastic will be the school of Chartres which will redécouvrira Aristote
This period marks also the apogee of the medieval Exégèse S. Those interpreted the Holy Scriptures through the method scholastic which revealed its quadruple direction: literal, allegorical, tropological, and anagogic. Each of the four Sens was known and practiced for a long time, but these doctrines of the Four directions of the Writing recommended a plural interpretation of the text of the Bible. Hugues of Saint-Victor employed it ( De Scripturis ).
Works of Aristote are translated (at the same time as the Greek scientific treaties and arabo-Moslems), by teams of Christian, Jewish and Arab philosophers, in particular Averoès.
End of the 12th century at the end of the 13th century
This second period is regarded as the apogee of the scholastic. She is called for this reason the large scholastic. Works of Aristote are translated Greek into Latin by Albert Large the and Guillaume de Moerbeke, secretary of Thomas d' Aquin, and are introduced into the Université S.
Several sensitivities were expressed as of this time. It is noted for example that Robert Grossetête in Lincoln, and Roger Bacon in Oxford, more carried towards the Expérience that towards the pure speculation, had identified some errors made by Aristote in connection with the natural phenomena, which by no means prevented them from recognizing the importance of the philosophy of Aristote.
14th century and 15th century
The third period is a phase of fold. Guillaume d' Occam gives an opinion for the nominalist S, and founds a via moderna which is opposed to the Thomisme, distinguishing philosophy from theology.
As from the 16th century
As from the 16th century, Ignace de Loyola gives fresh impulse to the Catholicisme. It was formed with the philosophy of Aristote in Paris, with Pierre Favre and François Xavier. He is one of the principal inspirers of the catholic movement of Réforme and renews catholic teaching by melting the Society of Jesus. The colleges and the universities Jésuite S integrate the methods of the scholastic. One can consider that it is about a revival.
The school of Salamanque in Spain constitutes a very important revival on the great questions which one discusses during the Renaissance: natural Right, economy.
Francisco Suarez, Jesuit Spanish of the school of Salamanque, is regarded as the largest scolastician after Thomas d' Aquin. It seems to be fallen in a certain lapse of memory, however Descartes was based on its essays metaphysics to criticize the Philosophie first of the scholastic.
However, the scholastic will undergo attacks which will lead gradually to its disappearance.
Luther criticized at the beginning of the 16th century what he considered being a Syncrétisme: “In short, any Aristote is with theology what darkness is with the light.”
One of the events the most important releases was the appearance of the theory of the Héliocentrisme at the 16th century. The scholastic was pressed indeed on the work of Aristote. It was known that Aristote, in its books of physics, had made some errors on the natural phenomena. Certain writings of Aristote (the metaphysical , books gathered under this term at the 13th century) placed the Earth in the center of the Univers.
In 1632, Galileo wrote the Dialog on the two great systems of the world , in which it took openly party for the heliocentric thesis , the geocentric theses being defended, in its setting in scene, by a aristotelician, Simplicio . This was worth its judgment in to him 1633 (commuted to house arrest by the pope Urbain VIII).
The direct consequences and indirect of this judgment (see Révolution copernician) were considerable for the scholastic, who lost any credit gradually, and for the Catholic church in general:
- Descartes conceived a project of philosophy of sciences in reaction to this judgment. In famous the Discourse on Method (1637), he declares:
- the movement Jansenist, of inspiration augustinist developed in reaction with the Jésuite S, and Blaise Pascal took the defense of his/her friend Antoine Arnauld while denouncing, in Provincial the (1656), excesses of the Casuistique introduced at the beginning of the 17th century into catholic teaching by the Jésuite J. Azor, like at the Protestants.
These philosophical movements were prolonged in the philosophy of the Lumières.
Contemporary period
Even if the scholastic term has a negative connotation owing to the fact that it appears attached to an excessive speculation, the popes constantly reaffirmed the depth of the Pensée of Thomas d' Aquin:
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Leon XIII in the encyclical Aeterni Patris , August 4th 1879, on Holy Thomas d' Aquin and the Christian Philosophy;
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Jean-Paul II in the encyclical Fides and ratio:
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Benoît XVI declared on January 28th 2007:
Principal philosophers scholastics
It is necessary to quote primarily:
- Hugues of Saint-Victor
- Thomas d' Aquin
- John Duns Scot
- Francisco Suarez
For a more complete list, to see: List of philosophers scholastics
Note
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