MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS

I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

PETER DAMIAN

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Saint Peter Damian was born in Ravenna,

Italy, around 1007. He was the youngest of
many children in his family. Although they
were noble, the family was poor, and Peter
was orphaned at a young age. He was
adopted by one of his older brothers, who
treated him poorly, malnourishing him and
forcing him to work as a swineherd. A few
years later, another of his brothers, who was
the archpriest at Ravenna, named Damianus
took him out of the care of the other brother
and sent him to be educated. Peter was
grateful for Damianus' kindness and took Damianus as his second name. Peter excelled in his
education, particularly in theology and canon law. By the age of 25, he was a famous teacher at
the University of Parma and at Ravenna.In about 1035, he gave up teaching and became a hermit
in the secluded Fonte Avellana. He practiced extreme mortifications and penance to the extent
that his health was affected. He developed severe insomnia. After he recovered, he became a
renowned preacher and lecturer both within his own monastery and at surrounding monasteries.
In about 1042, he wrote one of his famous works, entitled "The Life of St. Romuald". In about
1042 he was appointed manager (economus) of Fonte Avellana and the following year, he was
made prior of the monastery. Under his leadership, several associated hermitages were opened
and he instituted very austere practices, including flagellation in the monasteries. These extreme
penances drew criticism from outside the monastery walls, but the houses became known for
their holiness. Due to loss of sleep for the monks at night, an afternoon nap was allowed to
compensate for the deprivation of sleep.Peter lived in a time of lacking spirituality. Though he
lived in seclusion, he made calls for reform of the Church hierarchy. He applauded the
resignation of Pope Benedict IX in 1045, and urged the new Pope Gregory VI to correct the
scandals of the church in Italy, which was the work of corrupt bishops in Pesaro, Citt di
Castello, and Fano.

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

Peter Damian's voluminous writings, including treatises (67 survive), letters, sermons, prayers,
hymns and liturgical texts (though, in a departure from many early medieval monks, no biblical
commentaries)reflect the spiritual conditions of Italy: the groundswell of intense personal piety
 MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS

that would overflow in the First Crusade at the end of the century, and his Latin abounds in
denunciatory epithets.

-De Divina Omnipotentia, a long letter in which he discusses God's power.

-In the short treatise Dominus vobiscum (The Book of "The Lord be with You") (PL 145:231-
252), he questions whether a hermit praying in solitude should use the plural; Damian concludes
that the hermit should use the plural, since he is linked to the whole church by faith and
fellowship.

-His Life of Romauld and his treatise The Eremitical Order demonstrate his continuing
commitment to solitude and severe asceticism as the ultimate form of Christian life.

-He was especially devoted to the Virgin Mary, and wrote an Officium Beatae Virginis

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY / QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Nobody can fight properly and boldly for the faith if he clings to a fear of being stripped of
early possessions St.Peter Damian

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :

 MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS

I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

ANSELM

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Saint Anselm was one of the most

important Christian thinkers of the eleventh
century. He is most famous in philosophy
for having discovered and articulated the
so-called ontological argument; and in
theology for his doctrine of the atonement.
However, his work extends to many other
important philosophical and theological
matters, among which are: understanding
the aspects and the unity of the divine
nature; the extent of our possible
knowledge and understanding of the divine
nature; the complex nature of the will and its involvement in free choice; the interworkings of
human willing and action and divine grace; the natures of truth and justice; the natures and
origins of virtues and vices; the nature of evil as negation or privation; and the condition and
implications of original sin.

In the course of his work and thought, unlike most of his contemporaries, Anselm deployed
argumentation that was in most respects only indirectly dependent on Sacred Scripture, Christian
doctrine, and tradition. Anselm also developed sophisticated analyses of the language used in
discussion and investigation of philosophical and theological issues, highlighting the importance
of focusing on the meaning of the terms used rather than allowing oneself to be misled by the
verbal forms, and examining the adequacy of the language to the objects of investigation,
particularly to the divine nature. In addition, in his work he both discussed and exemplified the
resolution of apparent contradictions or paradoxes by making appropriate distinctions. For these
reasons, one title traditionally accorded him is the Scholastic Doctor, since his approach to
philosophical and theological matters both represents and contributed to early medieval Christian
Scholasticism.

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

Major Works:

Monologion (1076) Proslogion (10771078) Cur Deus Homo (1098)

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Other works:

De grammatico (10751085) De veritate (10801085) De libertate arbitrii (10801085) De casu

diaboli (10851090) De Epistola de incarnatione verbi (1092 1st version ; 1094 final version) De
conceptu virginali et originali peccato (10991100) Meditatio redemptionis humanae (1099
1100) De processione spiritus sancti (1102) Epistolae de sacramentis (Epistola de sacrificio
azymi et fermentati and Epistola de sacramentis ecclesiae) (11061107) De concordia
praescientiae et praedestinationis et gratiae dei cum libero arbitrio (11071108)

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY / QUOTABLE QUOTES:

For I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand. For I
believe this: unless I believe, I will not understand.

Remove grace, and you have nothing whereby to be saved. Remove free will and you have
nothing that could be saved.

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :

Si Anselm pala ay isa sa pinakaimportanteng Christian thinkers sa panahon niya. Marami

siyang naiambag at nagawa. Isa sa makahulagang kasabihan na nagmula sa kanya ay ang
Remove grace, and you have nothing whereby to be saved. Remove free will and you have
nothing that could be saved. Ayon sa pagkakaintindi ko sa kasabihan ni Anselm , sinasabi niya
rito na kapag tinanggal mo ang free will na binigay sa bawat tao wala kang niisa na gawa na
mananatili sa mundo. Ang free will ay ang kalayaan ng tao na gawin ang nais niya . At meron
pang Gods will kung saan ang will ng Panginoon ang iyong gagaawin.
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I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

PETER ABELARD

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Peter Abelard (1079-1142) was the

preeminent philosopher of the twelfth
century and perhaps the greatest logician of
the middle ages. During his life he was
equally famous as a poet and a composer,
and might also have ranked as the
preeminent theologian of his day had his
ideas earned more converts and less
condemnation. In all areas Abelard was
brilliant, innovative, and controversial. He
was a genius. He knew it, and made no
apologies. His vast knowledge, wit, charm,
and even arrogance drew a generation of Europe's finest minds to Paris to learn from him.

Philosophically, Abelard is best known as the father of nominalism. For contemporary

philosophers, nominalism is most closely associated with the problem of universals but is
actually a much broader metaphysical system. Abelard formulated what is now recognized as a
central nominalist tenet: only particulars exist. However, his solution to the problem of
universals is a semantic account of the meaning and proper use of universal words. It is from
Abelard's claim that only words (nomen) are universal that nominalism gets its name. Abelard
would have considered himself first a logician and then later in his life a theologian and ethicist.
He may well have been the best logician produced in the Middle Ages. Several innovations and
theories that are conventionally thought to have originated centuries later can be found in his
works. Among these are a theory of direct reference for nouns, an account of purely formal
validity, and a theory of propositional content once thought to have originated with Gottlob
Frege. In ethics, Abelard develops a theory of moral responsibility based on the agent's
intentions. Moral goodness is defined as intending to show love of God and neighbor and being
correct in that intention.

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

Philosophical works

-Logica ingredientibus ("Logic for Beginners") completed before 1121

-Petri Abaelardi Glossae in Porphyrium ("The Glosses of Peter Abailard on Porphyry"), c.1120
 MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS

-Dialectica, before 1125 (11151116 according to John Marenbon, The Philosophy of Peter
Abelard, Cambridge University Press 1997).

-Logica nostrorum petitioni sociorum ("Logic in response to the request of our comrades"),
c.1124-1125

-Tractatus de intellectibus ("A treatise on understanding"), written before 1128.

-Sic et Non ("Yes and No") (A list of quotations from Christian authorities on philosophical and
theological questions)

-Theologia 'Summi Boni', Theologia christiana, and Theologia 'scholarium'. His main work on
systematic theology, written between 1120 and 1140, and which appeared in a number of
versions under a number of titles (shown in chronological order)

-Dialogus inter philosophum, Judaeum, et Christianum, (Dialogue of a Philosopher with a Jew

and a Christian) 11361139.[23]

-Ethica or Scito Te Ipsum ("Ethics" or "Know Yourself"), before 1140.

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY / QUOTABLE QUOTES:

The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to
question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.

It is by doubting that we come to investigate, and by investigating that we recognize the truth.

The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by
seeking we may come upon the truth.

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :

 MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS

I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

ROBERT GROSSETESTE

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:
Robert Grosseteste, (born c. 1175, Suffolk,
Eng.died Oct. 9, 1253, Buckden,
Buckinghamshire) English bishop and scholar
who introduced into the world of European
Christendom Latin translations of Greek and
Arabic philosophical and scientific writings.
His philosophical thinkinga somewhat
eclectic blend of Aristotelian and Neoplatonic
ideasconsistently searched for a rational
scheme of things, both natural and divine.

Grosseteste was educated at the University

of Oxford and then held a position with
William de Vere, the bishop of Hereford. Grosseteste was chancellor of Oxford from about
1215 to 1221 and was given thereafter a number of ecclesiastical preferments and sinecures
from which he resigned in 1232. From 1229 or 1230 to 1235 he was first lecturer in theology to
the Franciscans, on whom his influence was profound. The works of this, his pre-episcopal
career, include a commentary on Aristotles Posterior Analytics andPhysics, many independent
treatises on scientific subjects, and several scriptural commentaries.
Grosseteste became bishop of Lincoln in 1235 and held this office until his death. His career as
a bishop (during which he translated, among other works, Aristotles Nichomachean
Ethics from the Greek) was remarkable for his ruthless pursuit of three abiding principles: a
belief in the supreme importance of the cure of souls, a highly centralized and hierarchical
conception of the church, and a conviction of the superiority of the church over the state. His
challenge of the widespread practice of endowing officials in the service of the crown and
papacy with ecclesiastical benefices intended for the cure of souls brought him into conflict
with both. He attended the Council of Lyon (1245) and argued before the papal curia at Lyon
(1250).

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

Theologian and educator

For our purposes, however, it is his work as a theologian and educator that is Grossetestes most
 MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS

important contribution to the church. He continued his scholarly work at the University and
oversaw its teaching even while involved in his reform program. His theological treatises and
teaching shaped Franciscan thought and laid the foundation for theology at Oxford more
generally. His work on ecclesiology would be a major influence on the English Reformer John
Wyclif a century after Grossetestes death.

In addition to his work on formal theology and his translations, Grosseteste had a major impact
on the development of medieval science, both in terms of methodology and content.

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY / QUOTABLE QUOTES:

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :

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I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

ROGER BACON

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY /

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :

MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS
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I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

THOMAS AQUINAS

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Thomas Aquinas was born in a hilltop

castle in Roccasecca in central Italy in
1225. At the age of five, his studies began
at the abbey of Montecassino. When the
monastery became a battle site Thomas
was transferred by his family to the
University of Naples. It was here that he
came into contact with the "new" Aristotle
and with the Order of Preachers or
Dominicans, a recently founded mendicant
order. He became a Dominican over the
protests of his family and eventually went
north to study, perhaps first briefly at Paris,
then at Cologne with Albert the Great, whose interest in Aristotle strengthened Thomas's own
interest. He returned to Paris, completed his studies, became a Master and for three years and
occupied one of the Dominican chairs in the Faculty of Theology. The next ten years were spent
in various places in Italy, with the mobile papal court, at various Dominican houses, and
eventually in Rome. In 1274, on his way to the Council of Lyon, he fell ill and died in the
Cistercian abbey at Fossanova, which is near Roccasecca.
The writings of Saint Thomas cover almost every conceivable topic in more than fifty works. He
is best known for his Summa Theologiae that explores all aspects of creation including the role of
God, angels, and human beings. His writings continued until he had a mystical experience at the
end of his life that made him think that all he had done as "mere straw." At the time of his death
in 1274, he was under suspicion by some Church authorities and in 1277 a commission
appointed by the Bishop of Paris condemned some of his views. The condemnation was lifted; he
was canonized and eventually received the title of Common Doctor of the Church. Since his
death there have been many forms of Thomistic thought in the subsequent centuries and his
influence on Catholic intellectual life remains immeasurable.

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

1. Aquinas thoughts on teaching can be found in the Summa Theologiae I. q.117, a.1, and in
his question on the teaching of Christ in Summa Theologiae III. q.42, a.4.
2. De Veritate, q.11.
3. Servais Pinckaers, O.P., The Sources of Christian Ethics, trans. Sr. Mary Thomas Noble,
O.P. (Washington D.C.: CUA Press, 2001), 221.
4. Vivian Boland, O.P., The Healing Work of Teaching: Thomas Aquinas and Education
in Behold the Heritage: Foundations of Education in the Dominican Tradition, ed. Sr.
 MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS

Matthew Marie Cummings, O.P., Sr. Elizabeth Anne Allen, O.P. (Tacoma, Washington:
Angelico Press, 2012), 279.
5. Summa Theologiae I. q.1, a.1. See Fergus Kerr, O.P., After Aquinas: Versions of
Thomism (Oxford: Blackwells, 2002), 128ff, where he shows how beatitude is a theme that
structures the whole Summa Theologiae.

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY / QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Beware the man of a single book.

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is
possible.
There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.
The soul is like an uninhabited world that comes to life only when God lays His head against
us.
Fear is such a powerful emotion for humans that when we allow it to take us over, it
drives compassion right out of our hearts.

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :

MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS

I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

DUNS SCOTUS

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY /

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :

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I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

WILLIAM OF OCKHAM

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY /

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :

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I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

RAMON LULL

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY /

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :

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I.NAME OF THE PHILOSOPHER :

ALBERTUS MAGNUS

II.PERSONAL BACKGROUND:
Albertus Magnus O.P. (c. 1200
November 15, 1280), also known as Albert
the Great and Albert of Cologne, was
a GermanDominican friar and Catholic
bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint,
he was known during his lifetime as doctor
universalis anddoctor expertus and, late in
his life, the term magnus was appended to
his name. Scholars such as James A.
Weisheipl and Joachim R. Sder have
referred to him as the greatest German
philosopher and theologian of the Middle
Ages. The Catholic Church distinguishes
him as one of the 36 Doctors of the Church.

The Early Years of Albertus Magnus

Born the eldest son of a wealthy German lord, Albertus received a substantive early education
before he studied liberal arts at the University of Padua.

There he joined the Dominican order in 1223. His education continued at Padua and Bologna,
and later in Germany, where he taught theology at several convents. By 1245 Albertus was
lecturing on the Bible and on Peter Lombard's Sentences at the Dominican convent of Saint-
Jacques at the University of Paris.

A Great Scholar

Albertus Magnus is the only scholar of his era to have earned the appellation "Great" -- a title
that was used during his lifetime. Even Roger Bacon, who was far from friendly to Albertus,
called him "the most noted of Christian scholars." He was canonized in 1931, and in 1941 he was
declared the patron saint of all who cultivate the natural sciences by Pius XII.

III.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION:

Albertus Magnus, also known as Albert the Great, was one of the most universal thinkers to
appear during the Middle Ages. Even more so than his most famous student, St. Thomas of
Aquinas, Alberts interests ranged from natural science all the way to theology. He made
 MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS

contributions to logic, psychology, metaphysics, meteorology, mineralogy, and zoology. He was

an avid commentator on nearly all the great authorities read during the 13th Century. He was
deeply involved in an attempt to understand the import of the thought of Aristotle in some
orderly fashion that was distinct from the Arab commentators who had incorporated their own
ideas into the study of Aristotle. Yet he was not averse to using some of the outstanding Arab
philosophers in developing his own ideas in philosophy. His superior understanding of a
diversity of philosophical texts allowed him to construct one of the most remarkable syntheses
in medieval culture.

IV. WELL-KNOWN PHILOSOPHY / QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Banish therefore , from thy heart distractions of earth and turn thine eyes to
spiritual joys, that thou mayest learn at last to repose in the light of the contemplation of
God.

Do there exist many worlds, or is there but a single world? This is one of the most
noble and exalted questions in the study of Nature.

I have never gone out to mingle with the world wihout losing something of myself.

Natural science does not cosist in ratifying what others have said, but in seeking the
causes of phenomena.

The greater and more persistent your confidence in God, the more abundantly you
will receive all that you ask.

V. LEARNING & REFLECTION :