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INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY IN VERSE
Contributed by
RAJNANDY
on
Saturday, 12th June 2010 @ 12:49:44 AM in AEST
Topic:
StoryPoetry
|
For all true lovers of Philosophy ! I will be submitting this serially ,
since it covers a thousand years of actual History ! I have tried to keep it simple & diluted , so that the readers can enjoy it, Even Without Having Read Philosophy !Sources for my work are books of Philosophy by Frank Thilly, Sir BertrandRussell & others . I also had been a student of Philosophy once ! Happy reading !
INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
THE HISTORY OF
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
IN VERSE
BY
RAJ NANDY
‘’I HUMBLY INVOKE THE GODS THAT BE , AS I
COMMENCE TO WRITE –‘THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL
PHILOSOPHY’- AS A SEQUEL TO MY EARLIER ‘HISTORY
OF GREEK PHILOSOPHY’, WITH ALL SINCERITY !
TO LEAVE BEHIND MY WORK FOR POSTERITY !’’
ALL COPY RIGTS ARE RESERVED BY -
RAJ NANDY (65yrs)
NEW DELHI
2010
INTRODUCTION
Background
During the second half of 5th century CE ,
With the disintegration of the Roman
civilization ,
There was also a decay of culture and of
all shared institutions , -
That had long sustained philosophic activity
in late antiquity !
Thus Medieval Philosophy became deprived , -
Of Greek language and classical texts and
thoughts ;
And only Latin had remained as a language , -
For all intellectual discourse !
Latin provided access to Cicero , Seneca , and
the Latin Church Fathers ;
And to the works of St Augustine and those of
Boethius !
Yet despite the demise of the Empire’s social
structure ,
The Church had remained as the only institution , -
Capable of supporting intellectual culture !
The Medieval philosopher mostly trained in
ecclesiastical institutions ,
Were basically theologians , without any false
pretension !
While Christianity provided a great stimulus , -
for all philosophical speculations !
Thus Medieval Philosophy took roots in an
intellectual environment ,
Permeated with religious texts and ideas ,
For its further advancement !
Time Frame :
It becomes difficult to provide firm cut-off
dates ,
Since Medieval Philosophy covers a wide
and motley canvas ,
Which cannot be treated as unified or as
homogeneous !
From the disintegration of the Roman Empire –
in the early 5th century AD ,
Till the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman
Turks in 1453 ;
From the philosophy of St Augustine till the
time of Descartes ;
Covers a broad and sweeping canvas and
a motley visage ,
Embodying a rich and most varied part of
Western intellectual heritage !
Its Main Ingredients :
Coming to the main ingredients of Medieval
Philosophy ; -
It contains classical and pagan elements of
Greek philosophic speculations ,
Including those of later Neo-platonic version ;
Mixed with the emerging influences of Christian
religion !
It gets seasoned with flavouring from Jewish and
Islamic intellectual heritage ,
Stirred and simmered for a period of about 1300
years or so ,
Resulting in a potent theological brew , -
On which the Medieval Philosophy developed
and grew !
Philosophy’s Quest :
Philosophy in its eternal quest for wisdom and
truth ,
When confronted with the question of good and
evil ,
Now finds a newly emerging Christian faith , -
Which was able to save mankind from the very
devil !
And to recall what St Augustine had said ,
That one must begin to reason with faith ,
And believe in God to better human reason ;
Since pursuit of knowledge without faith , -
smacked of treason !
Philosophy now becomes a handmaiden of
Theology !
Its logical contents and speculations were
increasingly used , -
To justify the new religion of Christianity !
Initially Medieval Philosophy began with the
influence of Plato ,
But from 13th century onwards , the influence
of Aristotle began to dominate the show !
Only to be later displaced by the inductive reasoning
of the Renaissance ,
Ushering in a new era of scientific speculations and
discourse !
Scope of Work :
For better understanding I have divided my work
into three sections ;
Pre-Augustine , Augustine , and Post- Augustine !
Since St Augustine stands like a giant colossus ,
Whose shadow looms large over the entire Medieval
canvas ;
Thus providing a suitable reference point for easy
demarcation for us !
So my work commences with Advent of Christianity
and the Period of Evangelization ;
With the pioneering work of Church Fathers , -
Along with its many religious heresies and
countless persecutions !
Section Two covers the philosophical work of great
St. Augustine ;
Finally , highlighting the work of those who spent
their life-time ,
Justifying God’s existence with logical reasoning
and faith , -
Till it blossomed as Scholastic Philosophy and
began to spread ;
And their ceaseless efforts to synthesize Medieval
faith and theology , -
With Greek classical reasoning and philosophy !
..............................................................................
(Next portion will cover the "Advent of Christianty" -which forms
the backbone of Medieval Philosophy !) Thanks for reading ,
-Raj NandY
Bob Blackwell likes this poem !
"Raj, I have found your work most interesting to read. Thank you for all the research and writing!"
..............................................................................................................................................................................
Copyright ©
RAJNANDY
... [
2010-06-12 00:49:44]
(Date/Time posted on
site)
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Re: INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY IN VERSE
(User Rating: 1 )
by iodinelove on
Monday, 14th June 2010 @ 12:00:06 AM AEST
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