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Talk:Medieval philosophy

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by BevRowe (talk | contribs) at 22:14, 9 February 2003. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

I think this list is worth having, if added to! But what order should it be in?

Much more imporantly, what's it's geographic and cultural scope? Do you mean Medieval European philosophy, or Early Christian philosophy, or Medieval Christian philosophy, or what? BTW no philosophers coudl be non-Christians in this era in Europe or they would have been burned at the stake. ;-0)

It is too Europe-centric to claim ownership of an entire era - there was much interaction between people like Aquinas and the important Muslims like the Mutazilite - but also the Asharite and the disciplines of isnah and fiqh. For this history see Early Muslim philosophy (historical and political perspective) and Islamic philosophy (the actual arguments mostly re: Aristotle, discussing the chain of influences from ancient Greek and Rome via Islam to medieval Islam and Europe). Having two such treatments for Early Christian philosophy and Christian theology <-- what Christians did was not 'philosophy' by The Renaissance - philosophy itself had to be revived by inputs from Islam, mostly methodological. Then of course as Christianity woke up and got scientific, Islam went to sleep and forgot that it invented science... Is it really correct to talk about these strains geographically or within faiths? Or is it just that all "Western" Judeo-Christian-Islamic thought is one thing? In which case the Islamics must be in the 'medieval' list too.

Yes, of course. I have no bias against Islamic influences but European medieval philosophy is a reasonably defied area. I am happy to move the list down a level and link it from this page, allowing futre links to Islamic and other areas.

My only reservation is that "medieval" makes sense in a European context and, to some extent, Islamic. But makes little sense in Indian or Chinese contexts.

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I don't think that Garsonides should be in this list, which is of chritian philosophers. He should be start of another list of Jewish philosophers. UNless a strong case is made to merge these two categoroes, I should like to remove him.

I don't understand why this entry is titled medieval philosophy, if it means to exclude all Jewish and Islamic medieval philosophers. I thoguht that the idea of a medieval era includes not only Christian Europe, but also Muslim Europe, and Europe-influenced North Africa. This would include many Jewish and Islamic philsophers, including Gersonides and Maimonides. I agree with the above unsigned statement, "It is too Europe-centric to claim ownership of an entire era - there was much interaction between people like Aquinas and the important Muslims like the Mutazilite - but also the Asharite and the disciplines of isnah and fiqh." Perhaps this article (given its title) should deal with the topic in general, and include Christian, Jewish amd Muslim medieval philosphers, and mention the interlectual cross-fertilization between them. If someone wants to focus exclusively on Christian, Jewish or Muslim medieval philosophy, they could then follow the links to the appropriare more specialized articles. RK

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You don't seem to have read the opening disclaimer above the list. I know that there are important names outside the scholastic tradition and would be only too happy to see them listed. Would you be satisfied if I push this whole page down a level and leave a niche for someone to deal with other medieval philosophies? BevRowe

I, for one, disagree. Citing only Christian philosophers is misleading and exclusionary. How can we discuss the philosophy of the time without mentioning Avicenna, Averroes, and Maimondides? Yet, they were Muslims and Jews. Danny

The opening disclaimer means little. If you want an exclusive list for Christian medieval philosophy it is very easy.make a page. Two16

In agreement with Two16 and Danny, I note that many U.S. College courses on medieval philosophy mention both Islamic and Jewish philosophers, as well as Christian ones. Consider this book: "Readings in Medieval Philosophy" Edited by Andrew B. Schoedinger. "The most comprehensive collection of its kind, this unique anthology presents fifty-four readings--many of them not widely available--by the most important and influential Christian, Jewish, and Muslim philosophers of the Middle Ages." RK Readings in Medieval Philosophy

I don't believe any of you are bothering to read what I am actually writing. YES, YES, YES, Islamic and Jewish philosophers of this period are immensely important and had a huge affect on philosophy in NW Europe. But that's not the point. Medieval is esentially a term relating to Western Europe. It doesn't make a lot of sense for other culture areas as it is not between anything significant. However, I have offered to move this whole list down a level. THe scholastic philosophers form a relatively coherent group and it is worth keeping them together. Let us by all means have lists of philosophers from other cultural areas but there is some point in keeping them separate.BevRowe
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