Medieval philosophy

[edit]
History of Western philosophy
Pre-Socratic philosophy
Ancient philosophy
Medieval philosophy
Renaissance philosophy
17th-century philosophy
18th-century philosophy
19th-century philosophy
20th-century philosophy
Postmodern philosophy
Contemporary philosophy
See also:
Eastern philosophy

Medieval philosophy is the philosophy of Western Europe in the era now known as medieval or the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. Though medieval philosophy is widely varied, one defining feature which distinguishes this period, in the western world, is the degree to which competing or contradictory philosophical views and systems were brought into dialogue with each other.

From the Neoplatonic (Johannes Scotus Eriugena, Saint Anselm) figures who dominated the early middle ages, to the Peripatetic debates of the 12th and 13th century, to the Nominalist and Voluntarist conflicts of the 14th and 15th, it is hard to find a similar period in the history of recorded thought so populated with figures who believed their ideas could be reconciled, given enough debate and inquiry. In fact, this belief is the very essence of the philosophical mode of inquiry most closely associated with the medieval period, scholastic philosophy.

List of Philosophers

See: Christian philosophy, Early Muslim philosophy, Jewish philosophy, Scholastic philosophy

External links

Further reading


Middle Ages
Art | Literature | Poetry | Music | Architecture | Technology | Philosophy | Universities | Warfare | Fortifications

See also: Medieval philosophy, 17th-century philosophy, 19th-century philosophy, 20th-century philosophy, Albertus Magnus, Alexander of Hales, Ancient philosophy, Anselm