History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages

Abstract

0. Hamelin once said that Descartes was a direct successor of the ancients, almost as if, with the exception of a few naturalists, there had been no philosophical thought between the ancients and Descartes. The refutation of this view seems to be the driving force in the philosophical development of Etienne Gilson. From his earliest research on Descartes, up to the present, Gilson has, in one way or another, attempted to point out both the validity of medieval philosophy and its historical influence on the moderns. Gilson's recent publication, History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages,' must be seen within this broad framework. He attempts to show that there is a validly constituted system of thought called Christian Philosophy. This book is a comprehensive analysis of philosophical thought from the second century to the fifteenth century, from the Greek Apologists through Nicolas of Cusa. During this period we find that philosophical thought exiists only within a theological context. The Christians had the divinely inspired books of Holy Scripture; but in these canonical writings there are terms of Greek philosophical origin. C'hristian Philosophy is understood therefore as the use made of philosophical notions by the Christian Writers (iii). It was not that the nature of Revelation was such that it should be made philosophical. It was, rather, the particular dynamism of man as he attempted to support Revelation rationally. It is in this sense that Gilson understands the existence of a philosophy that takes its inspiration from the truths of Revelation. The theme of the volume is simply stated: Every time educated Christians came in contact with Greek philosophical sources, there was a blossoming of theological and philosophical speculations (540). The book starts with a discussion of the Greek Apologists. They, the first Fathers of the Church, directed their writings to a defense and explanation of their beliefs against the pagans. Since the first language of the Church was Greek, these men wrote in Greek, the language of philosophy; thereby began a dialogue between Christianity and philosophy. It is with the next period, entitled Early Christian Speculation, that we find a conscious use of Greek philosophical thought. Neoplatonism was used to explain the Christian Faith. Clement of Alexandria had even believed that God had guided the Greek philosophers. After this introductory section, we move on to the major part of the book. If one would permits such a classification-it is made with realization that it iIs only one perspective-there are three categories of philosopher: major, to which more than eighteen pages are devoted; intermediate, between eight and fifteen pages; and minor, less than six pages. In the category of major we have four philosophers: Avicenna (29 pp.), St. Albert (22), Roger Bacon (18), and St. Thomas (22). In the category of inter