CHURCH HISTORY MEDIEVAL | Research

The Rise of Scholasticism

By Paul Dungca, SDB

Introduction
Man’s search for truth is eternal. It has become his unending pursuit. Man is the only
animal that though given all the biological necessities (food, shelter, education, society, etc.) is
still thirsting for something more. Hence, society, history and culture are moved by this desire of
knowing. It has a name. It is so-called ideology. It is powerful entity that serves as an energy that
molds an era. And the Dark Ages is never an exemption. It is in this premise that I chose the
topic. Scholasticism is the workshop of ideas and constructor of motives during the middle ages.
It has produced saints, heretics, philosophers, theologians, commentators, scholars, etc. If one
wants to understand the events of medieval times; one should not only ask the questions: “what
happened? who was involved? or when was that again?” One should inquire, more than anything
else, “why things happened the way they happened?” One should dive into the very forces of the
courses of events.
Scholasticism is a huge movement of thoughts in the medieval time; hence, it was dubbed
as the medieval philosophy. Certainly, it was not the only intellectual belief-system and yet it has
been the conventional ideology of the Western Europe from 1100 to 1600. 1 Consequentially, it
caused the weakening of pagan culture of the Athenian thinkers. 2 However, one should not forget
that the birth of one school of thought is actually a reaction to the previous. The central problem
of the preceding era was the urstoff (a material search for the source of all the things that exist in
a cosmic world).3 Though there were attempts to transcend the material inquiries, they remained
to be very materialistic. Hence, the questions of medieval period transcended the questions of
materiality, “what is the being?” “who/what is the source of the being?” Such a broad topic
deserves not just an article nor a book but a library. I can offer a mere attempt to synthesize this
school of thought in a page as a sheer piecemeal.
Synthesis of the Topic
The concoction of this forceful ideology was not simple. It was a combination of classical
pagan philosophy (mostly from the Great Triumvirate: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) with
Christianity, which was considered still as a new “religion” in the medieval age. 4 The mixture
was enriched by a variety of Jewish and even Islamic intellectual heritages. The dialectics
happened for 1300 years, which was unlike the other philosophical era that lasted only for a half
century. It has so far, the longest enduring brewing of a variety of intellectual traditions. This
becomes a challenge to the Church, but likewise a fertile ground to grow. Most of the features of
Christianity do not fit into the classical understanding of reality. The teachings on Incarnation
and Trinity are obvious cases in point.5 But even before these mysterious and gigantic realities,
the notion of “soul” has been a consistent confusion. Is it the Aristotelian soul? Or is it a form?
Or is it just a nominal value? Or is it a spiritual substance?
 A platonic reader can probably assume that Christianity is nearer to Plato’s theses; in
fact, it is. It is an ideology concerned with the moral education of the soul in a “spiritual” sense.
Spiritual in contrast to the extended realities. Also, from which, man has seen that the highest
objective of the human person is The Good or The One. Hence, it offered the possibility of
explaining the afterlife.6 Aristotle’s own view, on the other hand, sees the immortality of the soul
are notoriously obscure, and he was often interpreted as denying it outright. 7 It is in this beautiful
dilemma that three towering figures of the Medieval ages become extra significant.
The Three Significant Elements for Medieval Church History
I have intentionally chosen two prevailing figures that can immediately surface when one
raises the topic of Scholasticism during the middle ages: Aquinas and Dun Scotus. Two gigantic
representatives from this vast intellectual movement of Scholasticism. However, to make the
research more interesting and to make the narrative fluid with other topics and medieval era in
general, I wish to offer another figure and an element at that in this work: Eckhart which
represents mysticism. I shall justify the choice at the end which shall serve too as the conclusion
of this work.
Aquinas listened to Jewish rabbis and to Arabic Islamic scholars. He studied and
examined pagan scientists and even Christian heretics’ notions of man. 8 It is this ability of laying
down all the possible truths from all different traditions possible – sciences, religions, pagans,
believers, etc. and make a beautiful symphony out of them that created a huge impact to mother
Church’s disposition until this very time. 9 The marriage of fides et ratio was redefined.10 His
account of theology is considered to be one of the most comprehensive, and yet likewise most
contested. His account embraces the origin of being, its identity, its operations and even its final
destination. His concept of exitus reditus is a cornerstone ‘til today of our catechesis.11
Side-by-side with this treatise was that of Dun Scotus. This Scottish philosopher and
theologian contributed so much to the advancement of a metaphysical systems that was well-
suited with Christian doctrine. Furthermore, he developed a gnoseology that altered the 13th-
century understanding of human knowledge, and a Theology that underscored both divine and
human will.12
The rise of Scholasticism as stressed by the previous figures was truly changing the ways
of thinking of the 13-century believers. However, there was so much emphasis on categorically-
logical explanation of realities that at times, rooms for mysteries and spiritual matters are
likewise occupied. Worse, at times, intellectual exercises were so appealing that spiritual matters
were neglected. Hence, the significance of Mysticism as represented by Eckhart is of value in an
age that reason prevails. Silence was needed in an age that seeks words. It is in this connection
that we see the underlying connection of mysticism to scholasticism. The former both
complimented and challenged the former.13
Eckhart’s philosophical formulations and theological statements served the ‘unspeakable
truth,’ a dynamic of the intellect and the will. Eckhart explained these dynamics mostly on the
basis of texts from the Holy Scriptures. 14 Mysticism is a reaction to scholasticism, but likewise
an antidote to a society that categorizes everything, including God, to philosophical reasoning.
Hence, Eckhart is actually a fruit of this long brewing of thoughts. Mysticism can be a nexus
where Athens meets Jerusalem. This nexus has renewed the church immensely and
unimaginably.
 1
Otten, Willemien. "Medieval Scholasticism: Past, Present, And Future." Nederlands Archief Voor
Kerkgeschiedenis / Dutch Review of Church History 81, no. 3 (2001): 275-89.
2
Butler, John. "The God of Medieval Scholasticism." In Rock of Ages?: The Changing Faces of the Christian God,
94-102. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Lutterworth Press, 2013. Accessed February 5, 2020.
www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cgdzx3.15.
3
Brown, Stephen F. "LATE SCHOLASTICISM." In The Columbia History of Western Philosophy, edited by
Popkin Richard H., 267-71.
4
Novotný, Daniel D. "Scholasticism of the Baroque Era." In Ens Rationis from Suarez to Caramuel: A Study in
Scholasticism of the Baroque Era, 1-22. New York: Fordham University, 2013.
5
Overfield, James H. "Late Scholasticism and the German University Environment." In Humanism and
Scholasticism in Late Medieval Germany, 3-60. PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY: Princeton University Press, 1984.
6
Monahan, John J. "Scholasticism and Order." Christian Education 29, no. 4 (1946): 268-73.
7
Prufer, Thomas. "Juxtapositions: Aristotle, Aquinas, Strauss." In Recapitulations, 35-42. Washington, D.C.:
Catholic University of America Press, 1993.
8
Thom, Paul. "Aquinas." In The Logic of the Trinity: Augustine to Ockham, 129-42. Fordham University Press,
2012.
9
Tapie, Matthew A. "Aquinas as Resource for Jewish-Christian Relations." In Aquinas on Israel and the Church:
Aquinas on Israel and the Church, 183-88. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co, 2014. Accessed February 5, 2020.
www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cgf6vw.15.
10
Sweeney, Michael. "The Medievalism of Fides Et Ratio." In The Two Wings of Catholic Thought: Essays on
Fides et ratio, edited By Foster David Ruel and Koterski Joseph W., 163-76. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of
America Press, 2012.
11
O’rourke, Fran. "Creative Diffusion in Aquinas." In Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas, 225-74.
Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005. Accessed February 5, 2020.
www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvpj7637.14.
12
McGrath, S. J. "Duns Scotus." In The Early Heidegger and Medieval Philosophy: Phenomenology for the
Godforsaken, 88-119. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2006.
13
Hasselhoff, Görge K. "Purity of Thought in Meister Eckhart." Zeitschrift Für Religions- Und Geistesgeschichte
65, no. 4 (2013): 313-22.
14
Ibid.