Philosophical Evolution: From Ancient Greece to Medieval Scholasticism
Historical Context: Ancient Greece
Following the Persian Wars (479 BC), Athens experienced a golden age. The Peloponnesian War saw Athens, the birthplace of democracy, defeated by Sparta, which imposed a tyrannical dictatorship. After 30 years, the Athenians restored their democratic regime. These political changes fueled philosophical thought, particularly with Plato. Eventually, democracy declined, leading to Alexander the Great unifying the Greek city-states into an empire.
Sociocultural: Greek society was divided into three classes: free citizens and slaves; nobles and commoners; and foreign citizens. The emergence of merchants led to new social alliances, challenging the aristocracy. Increased trade also facilitated the exchange of philosophical ideas, resulting in a great cultural flourishing. This era produced the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; the comedies of Aristophanes; the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides; the sculptures of Phidias and Praxiteles; and the philosophies of Socrates and Plato.
Philosophical: With democracy, citizen participation in assemblies made rhetoric a priority. Sophists, paid teachers, began to question the nature of pre-Socratic thought. They defended relativism, arguing that there is no single truth, but multiple truths that serve each individual, social group, or culture. Socrates and Plato opposed these teachings, believing them destructive to society and that a single truth must exist.
Influences on Plato
- Heraclitus: Influenced Plato’s view of the sensible world as constantly changing and therefore unreliable.
- Parmenides: Provided the concept of being and the division between the path of truth (knowledge) and the path of opinion (sensible world).
- Pythagoreans: Introduced the dualism of body and soul, the immortality of the soul, reincarnation, and the importance of mathematics.
- Anaxagoras and Atomists: Proposed an ordering intelligence (nous) that created the universe, which Plato used in his concept of the Demiurge.
- Socrates and the Sophists: Plato was interested in their social and political objectives, opposing the skepticism and relativism of the Sophists. Socrates inspired Plato’s method of seeking universal truths through dialogue.
Repercussions of Plato’s Thought
Plato founded the Academy, which influenced many students, most notably Aristotle. Although initially a follower of Plato, Aristotle later developed his own distinct philosophical system. Plato’s ideas influenced Neoplatonism, which posited an absolute good from which all realities emanate. In the Middle Ages, Christian philosophers like St. Augustine adopted Plato’s dualism. His work “The Republic” inspired later authors, such as Thomas More’s “Utopia.” Plato has been criticized by philosophers like Machiavelli, who criticized his lack of realism, and Popper, who saw his political philosophy as totalitarian. Kant was influenced by Plato’s defense of immaterial realities and ethics, while Nietzsche criticized Plato’s dualism, arguing that only the physical world exists. Today, Platonic philosophy is defended by currents of thought against relativism.
Historical Context: Medieval Europe
Historical: During the Middle Ages, three cultures coexisted in Europe: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The rise of a universal Christianity led to conflicts between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire. The 11th century saw the beginning of urban development, which reached its peak in the 13th century, the era of St. Thomas Aquinas. Technical advances and economic growth led to population increases and the resurgence of cities.
Sociocultural: The feudal system organized society into classes based on vassalage (nobility, clergy, and peasantry). A middle class of merchants emerged, organized into guilds. A spirit of independence from religious authority grew. Universities and Gothic art emerged as important cultural expressions. Gothic art sought to represent God’s nature, while universities became centers of learning. Mendicant orders like the Franciscans and Dominicans played a key role in the renewal of the Church.
Philosophical: St. Thomas Aquinas’s philosophy was radically Aristotelian, leading to conflicts with Augustinian Platonists. His ideas were developed within the scholastic tradition, which used dialectical methods in universities. This period was a great era of Christian philosophy, seeking to reconcile faith and reason. The relationship between faith and reason was a central theme of medieval thought.
Influences on Aquinas
- Aristotle: Aquinas adopted Aristotle’s theory of being, categories, hylomorphism, theory of movement, and politics, while rejecting aspects incompatible with Christianity.
- Plato: Aquinas adopted Platonic concepts not incompatible with Christian doctrine, such as the immortality of the soul and the participation in God.
- St. Augustine: Aquinas addressed the problem of creation and Neoplatonic ideas.
- Arab Philosophers: Aquinas was influenced by Avicenna, Averroes, and Maimonides.
- Stoicism: Ancient Stoicism also influenced Aquinas.
Other influential figures included Albertus Magnus, Peter Abelard, and Isidore of Seville.
Repercussions of Aquinas’s Thought
Aquinas’s theory of natural law influenced the 16th-century School of Salamanca, especially Fernando de Vitoria, who developed the basis of human rights. His philosophy also influenced modern philosophy through the metaphysical disputations of Francisco Suárez, Descartes, and Leibniz. In the 19th and 20th centuries, his thought was revived by Jacques Maritain, Étienne Gilson, and others. St. Thomas Aquinas remains a prominent philosopher, not only within the Church.