ThePhilosophyCenter: Medieval Aristotelianism

 Hello! This episode will be divided into three parts. Let's emphasize first. Aristotelianism made a surge in popularity in the medieval era. It mixed with religion and there were three major types of medieval aristotelianism: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim aristotelianism.

a. Christian Aristotelianism

Probably the most famous philosopher in Christian aristotelianism was Thomas Aquinas, who was born in 1225 CE. He wrote many works about Aristotle's books. He supported the Biblical statement that God made the heavens and the earth, saying it can be proven naturally. He also had his own theological statements. Though many of his theories have some alignment or inspiration from Aristotle's, he differs in the belief of Aristotle that the universe had existed forever. Aquinas said the universe had a creation. I don't think, as humans, we can prove the existence of God. His cosmological argument is one of the relevant arguments that support God's existence

b. Jewish Aristotelianism

Jewish aristotelianism's most famous philosopher is Maimonides, born around ninety years prior to Aquinas' birth. Maimonides' belief was, in simple terms, "God has no attributes.". He also contributed to Jewish law and thinking. He also studied Aristotle's works, appropriating it with Jewish tradition and religion. I disagree in his belief of an attributeless God. 

c. Islamic Aristotelianism

Islamic aristotelianism has multiple important philosophers involved, one of which being Avicenna. Outside of being a physician, he also made contriutions to mathematics, philosophy, poetry science. His philsophical belief greatly impacted Aquinas'. It believes that existence must be caused by something else.  Like Aristotle, he is more empiricist. He believes in the idea of a tabula rasa - the idea that which, when born, a person has no innate knowledge - an empty sheet.

That's all for today!

Next Topic: Epicureanism

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