Scholasticism

The Scholastic is a school of medieval philosophy or, perhaps more accurately a method of learning in which was taught by academics from universities and medieval cathedrals in the period comprised of the twelfth century to the sixteenth . It was a school that combined logic , metaphysics, and semantics into a single discipline, and it has helped us to develop our understanding of logic in significant ways. The term “scholastic” is derived from the Latin word ” scholasticus ” and from the Greek “scholastikos “which literally means” to spend leisure time learning “or” scholar “and the Greek” scholeion “which means” school . “The term” schoolchildren “is also commonly used to describe scholastics.

What is scholasticism?

We can say that scholasticism is a learning tool and method that is based on dialectical reasoning and that is aimed at answering a series of questions or resolving contradictions. In other words, it consisted of a stream of philosophy that sought the way to relate and integrate reason with faith in the best possible way , but above all giving greater importance to faith.

It was a philosophical current that sought to find understandable answers to all the doubts that arose regarding reason and faith , mainly because for the scholastics the human being is the image of God , and for this reason, the scholastic school relied on the dialectics , logic , ethics , theology , cosmology , metaphysics, and psychology .

History

The development and history of scholasticism coincided with the founding of universities in the late 12th century and of religious orders such as the Dominicans and Franciscans in the early 13th century. In universities, Aristotle’s recently translated texts provided the basis for a system of thought known as Aristotelianism. In addition, the religious orders had their favorite doctors, whose teachings were also systematized. A characteristic of medieval universities were public disputesin which the doctors of these schools debated before the student body.  Despite the fact that their systems were different, the speech was possible thanks to the confidence of the participants in Aristotle’s method of logic .

Geographically, scholasticism developed in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, in France , Germany , the Netherlands, and the British Isles . The main schools were the University of Oxford , noted for philosophy, the University of Paris , for theology, and the University of Bologna , for law and medicine.

features

The main characteristics of scholasticism are the following:

• Its objective was to integrate the knowledge that one had of reason .
• The scholastics believed in the harmony between reason and faith .
• Philosophy can help theology explain the mysteries and revelations of the faith so that they are understandable to reason.
• It was used as a didactic method to explain and teach scholasticism.
• The topics were treated with the utmost care and dedication using public reading and discussion.
• The Christianity used it as a tool to understand the faith.
• Santo Tomás de Aquino was its maximum representative.
• Aristotle was accepted as a greater thinker than Plato .

Scholasticism and education

In educational scholasticism, the teacher and the student interact around the discussion that arises from the “quaestiones disputatae . ” Scholasticism was the most important current in the schools and universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, to find an ordered system of the natural knowledge of Greece and Rome and the religious knowledge of Christianity.

Some of the didactic procedures used in the universities of the Middle Ages were the lectio , the collatio , the gloss , the opinion , the dialogue , the dialectical discussion , disputed questions, the use of logic , the demonstration , the discussion and the public debate . The debate was used as an educational instrument to stimulate, test and communicate the progress of thought in the area of ​​philosophy and theology.

Revelation and reason harmoniously with which they affirmed that God was the source of knowledge and truth was important to the scholastics .

Contributions to the economy

Some of the contributions of scholasticism to economics were:

• The creation of the feudal economy that was characterized mainly by agriculture .
• The division of serfs , landowners , royalty, and the clergy .
• The contractual relationship occurred in which the father inherited the lands to his son.
• The fiefdoms were an economic and independent unit from the political point of view.
• They managed to set rules for economic behavior so that they were consistent with the doctrines of religion.

Importance of scholasticism

Scholasticism was in charge of proposing Christian doctrines within a rigid education of Christianity , where the most important and relevant concern was faith and reason . It was a way of working in an intellectual way in which all thought was subject to the principle of authority and teaching could be limited in principle to the Bible as the main source of knowledge .

Representatives

The main representatives of scholasticism are the following:

• Saint Thomas of Aquino
• Anselm of Canterbury
• Pedro Aberlardo
• Roscelino
• Roberto Grosseteste
• Alexander Hales
• Rogerio bacon
• St. Albert the Great
• Juan Duns Escoto
• William of Ockham

Plays

The main works related and based on scholasticism were:

• De Divisione Naturae (On the division of Nature)
• A treatise on the Trinity.
• Historia Calamitatum (Story of Misadventures)
• Destruction of destruction.