Scholasticism
Aquinas's intellectual tradition
Scholasticism is the medieval philosophical tradition centered in European universities from roughly the 11th to 15th centuries, associated with figures like Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus.
It used dialectical reasoning to address theological questions and synthesize faith with reason.
The tradition shaped Catholic intellectual life and continues to influence philosophy and theology. (Lowercase scholasticism can mean pedantic formalism.)
Aquinas's comprehensive theological synthesis
- theodicyDefense of divine goodness
- transubstantiationChange of underlying substance
- faith and reasonComplementary paths to truth
- sacramentsSacred Christian rites
grace · salvation · predestination · Christology · ecclesiology · exegesis · doctrine · apologetics
Scholastic philosopher-theologian surname
- universitiesInstitutions granting advanced degrees
- ParisFrance's chief city
- OxfordHistoric English university town
- BolognaNorthern Italian regional capital
trivium · Latin · manuscripts · commentaries · glosses · Dominican · Franciscan · monastic
Formal argumentative exchange
- dialecticLogical argument through opposition
- objectionsExpressions of disapproval
- commentaryExplanatory remarks on events
- glossShine or annotation
logical analysis · systematic · reconciliation · synthesis · argumentation · distinctions · definitions · propositions
Greek founder of formal logic
- metaphysicsPhilosophy of existence's nature
- first causeInitial triggering factor
- natural lawInherent moral principles
- teleologyStudy of purpose in nature
Accepting things as they are
- nominalismUniversals exist as labels only
- conceptualismUniversals as mental constructs
- universalsProperties holding across all
- particularsIndividual facts or details
essence · existence · being · substance · accident · form · matter · ontology
Formal deductive argument structure
- categoriesGroups of related things
- substancePhysical material with mass
- essenceFundamental nature of something
- potentialityCapacity to develop
actuality · form · matter · teleology · four causes · universals · particulars · quiddity
Church-run religious instruction
- seminariesInstitutions training clergy
- revivalReturn after decline
- perennial philosophyUniversal truths across traditions
Summa Theologica
Aquinas's comprehensive theological synthesis
- theodicyDefense of divine goodness
- transubstantiationChange of underlying substance
- faith and reasonComplementary paths to truth
sacraments · grace · salvation · predestination · Christology · ecclesiology · exegesis · doctrine · apologetics · dogma
Aquinas
Scholastic philosopher-theologian surname
- universitiesInstitutions granting advanced degrees
- ParisFrance's chief city
- OxfordHistoric English university town
Bologna · trivium · Latin · manuscripts · commentaries · glosses · Dominican · Franciscan · monastic · clergy
disputation
Formal argumentative exchange
- dialecticLogical argument through opposition
- objectionsExpressions of disapproval
- commentaryExplanatory remarks on events
gloss · logical analysis · systematic · reconciliation · synthesis · argumentation · distinctions · definitions · propositions · conclusions
Aristotle
Greek founder of formal logic
- metaphysicsPhilosophy of existence's nature
- first causeInitial triggering factor
- natural lawInherent moral principles
realism
Accepting things as they are
- nominalismUniversals exist as labels only
- conceptualismUniversals as mental constructs
- universalsProperties holding across all
particulars · essence · existence · being · substance · accident · form · matter · ontology · transcendentals
syllogism
Formal deductive argument structure
- categoriesGroups of related things
- substancePhysical material with mass
- essenceFundamental nature of something
potentiality · actuality · form · matter · teleology · four causes · universals · particulars · quiddity
Catholic education
Church-run religious instruction
- seminariesInstitutions training clergy
- revivalReturn after decline
- perennial philosophyUniversal truths across traditions
- Cultural MovementsRenaissance, Baroque, Romanticism, Harlem Renaissance, Enlightenment
- Schools of ThoughtStoicism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, Neoplatonism, Pythagoreans
- AristotelianismAristotle, Aristotelianism, Lyceum, syllogism, Organon
- universitiesuniversities, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge
- Italian ThinkersDante Alighieri, Niccolo Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei, Giordano Bruno, Thomas Aquinas
- medieval literatureBeowulf, Song of Roland, Canterbury Tales, Chaucer, Geoffrey Chaucer
Scholasticismempiricism
Knowledge through observation
experimentalism · positivism · scientific method · naturalism · pragmatism
Scholasticismmysticism
Pursuit of divine union
quietism · Sufism · Zen Buddhism · Gnosticism · via negativa
Scholasticismhumanism
Philosophy prioritizing earthly reason
Renaissance humanism · anti-intellectualism · eclecticism · belles-lettres · free inquiry