UNIT 1 EARLYMEDIEVAL

PHILOSOPHERS
Contents
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Early Medieval Philosophers
1.3 End of the Early Medieval Philosophy
1.4 Let Us Sum Up
1.5 Key Words
1.6 Further Readings and References
1.7 Answers to Check Your Progress

1.0 OBJECTIVES
In this Unit, we expose the role of theApologists who defended faith against various
heresies in the early history of medieval period and we explore their philosophical
contribution to formation of faith. Thus we can learn that:
 faith and reason are not contradictory but complementary in our pursuit
 how reason and faith played an important role in human enrichment without
any prejudice
 that early Medieval philosophers were not only Christian saints but also those
who contributed a lot to the philosophical foundation
 how Medieval philosophers used the ancient philosophers in their arguments
and contributions

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Early Medieval Philosophy begins with the Patristic era which starts immediately
after the death of the lastApostle John, which marked the end of theApostolic era.
The term ‘patristic philosophy’ covers all of these activities by the ‘fathers’ (patres)
of the Church. Obviously this term was at first attributed by some Christians to their
bishop and which soon was extended to all bishops. Around 4th cent, the term
“Father” began to be applied to men,who, even if theywere not bishops, distinguished
themselves because of their doctrinal authority. This period refers to anyof the great
bishops and other eminent Christian teachers of the early centuries whose writings
remained as a court of appeal for their successors, especially in reference to
controversial points of faith or practice.The earlyPatrisitic philosophers are commonly
referred to as the apologists because they devoted most of their attention to
apologetics, a philosophical defense of the Christian faith against the claims of secular
philosophy and gnosticism. An effective defense required the apologists to merge
rational philosophy with Christian doctrines based on faith. The early medieval
philosophers, thus, struggled to explain their faith in philosophical terms. 5
Medieval Philosophy
1. 2 EARLY MEDIEVALPHILOSOPHERS
MARCIANUS ARISTIDES
Marcianus Aristides, a philosopher of Athens’, wrote an Apology dated A.D.140
and is addressed to the emporor Antoninus Pius. At the beginning of his work,
Aristides declares that he is ‘amazed at the arrangement of the world moved by the
impulse of another who is more powerful than that which is moved- that mover is
Godhimself’.Aristidesidentifies thedesignerandmoveroftheworldwiththeChristian
God who is eternal, perfect, incomprehensible, wise, good.
FLAVIUS JUSTINUS (JUSTIN)
In his dialogue with Trypho Justin declares that philosophy is a most precious gift of
God designed to lead human to God. Its true natureand unityhave not been recognised
by most people, as is clear from the existence of so many philosophical schools. He
prized the Platonic doctrine of the immaterial world and of the being beyond essence,
which he identified with God who revealed himself in and through Jesus Christ. He
was one of the most important of the Greek philosopher-Apologists in the early
Christian church. His writings represent the first positive encounter of Christian
revelation with Greek philosophy and laid the basis for a theology of history.
Of the works bearing Justin’s authorship and still deemed genuine are twoApologies.
In the first part of the First Apology, he defends his fellow Christians against the
charges of atheism and hostility to the Roman state. He then goes on to express the
coreofhis Christian philosophy: thehighest aspiration ofbothChristianityand Platonic
philosophy is a transcendent and unchangeable God; consequently, an intellectual
articulation of the Christian faith would demonstrate its harmony with reason. Such
a convergence is rooted in the relationship between human reason and the divine
mind, both identified by the same term, logos (Greek: “intellect,” “word”), which
enables man to understand basic truths regarding the world, time, creation, freedom,
the human soul’s affinity with the divine spirit, and the recognition of good and evil.
TATIAN
Very little is known of Tatian’s life, and even less of his death (ca.A.D. 165/175).
He was bybirth a Syrian, born into paganism. His wanderings brought him to Rome,
where he was a pupil of Justin. Work: Diatessaron; Address to the Greeks.Tatian
declares that we know God from his works. He holds a doctrine of the Logos,
distinguishes soul from spirit, teaches creation in time and insists on free-will. He
recognised the human mind’s ability to prove God’s existence from creatures by
using philosophical notions and categories, as when he maintains that the Word,
proceeding from the simple essence of God, does not fall into the void as human
words do, but remains in its subsistence and is the divine instrument of creation. “By
His simply willing it, the Word springs forth: and the Word, not proceeding in vain,
becomes the first begotten work of the Father. We know Him to be the beginning of
the World”.
ATHENAGORAS
Athenagoras (- 180) was a Christian philosopher ofAthens. He had a very attractive
style of Greek. Work: Supplication for the Christians. Athenagoras argues that
there cannot be a multitude of material gods. God, who forms matter, must transcend
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matter. Matter is one thing and God another, and that there is a great difference Early Medieval Philosophers

between them. The cause of perishable things must be imperishable and spiritual.
THEOPHILUS OFANTIOCH
Theophilus (-ca.185/191) was the seventh bishop ofAntioch, the sixth successor of
Peter. Little is known of him. He was born near the Euphrates, and was converted
from paganism to Christianity as an adult. He died between the years 185 and 191
A.D. Work: To Autolycus.After emphasising the fact that moral purity is necessary
for anyone who would know God, Theophilus further speaks of the divine attributes
such as incomprehensibility, power, wisdom, eternity, immutability.As the invisible
soul of human is perceived through the movements of the body, so the invisible God
is known through his providence and works.
IRENAEUS
Irenaeus (ca. 140-202) was the second bishop of Lyons. He was a native Asia
Minor, of Smyrna, where he was a pupil of Polycarp. Work: Adversus hereticorum.
Irenaeus, writing against the Gnostics (Gnosticism professed to substitute knowledge
(gnosis) for faith, offered a doctrine of God, creation, the origin of evil, salvation, to
those who liked to look upon themselves as superior persons in comparison with
the ordinary Christians.) in his Adversus Hereticorum, affirms that there is one
God, the Creator of heaven and earth. He appeals to the arguments from design and
universal consent. God freelycreated the world out of nothing without anypreviously
existing matter.Though the human mindcan know God throughreason and revelation,
it cannot comprehend God who transcends the human intelligence. To pretend to
know the ineffable mysteries of God and to go beyond humble faith and love is mere
conceit and pride.
MINUCIUS FELIX
Biographical details of Minucius Felix (ca. 218/235) are utterly lacking. We can say
of him only that he was a Christian, a layman, a Roman, and a rather distinguished
member of the legal profession in that city. Work: Octavius. Arguing that God’s
existence can be known with certaintyfrom the cosmic order and the design involved
in the organism, particularly in the human body, Minucius affirmed that Greek
philosophers, too, recognised these truths. WhileAristotle recognised one Godhead
and the Stoics had a doctrine of divine providence, Plato spoke in almost Christian
terms of the Maker and Father of the universe.
TERTULLIAN
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus (ca. 155/160-240/250) was born in Carthage
of pagan parents between the years 155 and 160. He was a lawyer of considerable
repute. Within the span of nearly twent-five years, his numerous writings fall into
three fairlydistinct periods: his Catholic period, semi-Montanist period, and Montanist
period. Work: Apology; The Shows; The Demurrer against the Heretics; Prayer;
Patience; Baptism; Repentance; To My Wife; Against the Jews; Against
Hermogenes; The Veiling of Virgins; Against Marcion.
Tertullian was the first outstanding Christian Latin writer whose works contained
contempt for pagan philosophy. However, in spite of his contempt for it, he himself
developed philosophical themes influenced bythe Stoics. He holds that the existence
of God is known with certainty from his works. Everything, including God, is
corporeal, bodily. 7
Medieval Philosophy ARNOBIUS
Arnobius of Sicca (-ca. 327) was born a pagan and was for many years a vigorous
opponent of Christianity. Finally, warned in his dreams, he was converted to
Christianity. Work: Against the Pagans.Arnobius makes some curious observations
concerning the soul.Although he affirms creationism, he makes the creating agent a
being inferior to God. He also asserts the gratuitous character of the soul’s
immortality, denying a natural immortality. He also asserts the expereintial origin of
all our ideas with one exception of the idea of God. For example, a child brought up
in solitude, silence and ignorance would know nothing by‘reminiscence,’ as thought
by Plato.
CLEMENT OFALEXANDRIA
Clement was born around 150A.D. of a pagan family, either inAthens orAlexandria.
He received an excellent education in Greek literature and philosophy. He was a
student of Pantenus, the famous doctor who taught at theAlexandrian catechetical
school. With the spell of his eloquence and the fervor of his piety, Clement’s teaching
attracted many students. When the presecution of Septimus Severus broke out,
Clement took refuge in Cappadocia where he continued his priestly ministry. He
died in exile around the year 215. Work: Quis dives salvetur?; Protrepticus;
Paedagogus; Stromata.
Animated by the attitude which was later summed up in the formula, Credo ut
intelligam, Clement sought to develop the systematic presentation of the Christian
wisdom. He looks upon the Greek philosophers’ work as a preparation for
Christianity, an education of the Hellenic world for the revealed religion, than as a
folly and delusion. Given that the divine Logos has always illuminated souls, he
believed that just as the Jews had been enlightened by Moses and the Prophets so
had been the Greeks by their philosophers. Thus philosophy was to the Greeks
what the Law was to the Hebrews.
He was a ChristianApologist, missionarytheologian to the Hellenistic(Greek cultural)
world, and second known leader and teacher of the catechetical school ofAlexandria.
In a series of allusive writings, he presented a Hellenized Christianityalong with the
philosophical syncretism of his age: Stoic ethics,Aristotelian logic and especially
Platonic metaphysics. Just as Paul saw the Hebrew prophets and law as a preparation
for the Gospel, Clement saw Christianity as making possible a confluence of Plato
and the Old Testament, both offering anticipations of Jesus’ teaching. Clement’s
fusion of Platonism andChristianityvehementlyopposed thedualism and determinism
of Gnostic theosophy, and stressed free choice and responsibility as fundamental to
moral values. Central to his writing is the vindication of faith as the foundation for
growth in religious knowledge by philosophical contemplation and biblical study.
Check Your Progress I
Note: a) Use the space provided for your answer.
b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of the unit.
1) Explain brieflythe core of Justin’s Christian philosophy.
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2) What is Gnosticism? How did Irenaeus fight against the Gnostics?
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ORIGEN
Origen was born around 185, probably inAlexandria, of a Christian father, Leonid.
In order to complete his education, his father placed him in Clement’s catechetical
school at Alexandria. He also studied philosophy under Ammonius Saccas, the
greatest representative of Platonism at that time. Meanwhile began Origen’s first
battles with his bishop Demetrius, who condemned Origen at a synod of Egyptian
bishops and priests. The church of Rome ratified the condemnation. During the
perscution of Decius (250) Origen was arrested and tortured. This led to his
reconciliation with the Bishop ofAlexandria, who rehabilitated Origen and accepted
his return to the diocese ofAlexandria. Soon after (about 253) Origen died. Work:
The exapla; De principiis; Contra Celsum.
Attempting to defend theological beliefs which had hitherto been accepted through
faith alone, Origen asserted the rational argument that God, as pure spiritual essence
(in perfect unity and absolute changelessness), is not only above everything else in
the universe (and all beings) but also the eternal creator of all things. Matter is
changeable and perishable, but the unchangeableGod is everlasting. Although human
reason cannot encompass or trulycomprehend God’s attributes, it can discern certain
divine characteristics such as the absolute causalityof God’s will, or, in other words,
God’s eternal creativity. God’s creativity must be regarded as eternal because as
the eternal God he has forever been (and will continue forever to be) ceaselessly
active. He disagreed sharply with the Greek philosophers (for example, Plato and
Aristotle) who claimed that God is the architect that formed the world out of eternally
existing matter. Origen insisted that God created matter itself, that he willed the
universe into being and pre-determined its nature. Not matter, then, but creativity is
co-eternal with God. Owing to God’s unchangeableness, and to the changeability
and perishability of matter, God himself does not directly make the phenomenal
world, but allocates this function to his image, the Logos, begotten byGod. However,
the Logos is not the God (God himself), but a subordinate divinity. This second
God is the Son of God who participates in creation bybringing into beingthe transitory
and perishable world of matter. The Logos is a personal copy of the Father God,
though inferior to God himself. The relationship of the Logos to God is the same as
the relationship which the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) bears to the Son of God;
nevertheless, one is not temporally prior to the other, for all are co-eternal. The
Logos is the world’s prototype, the idea or ‘blue print’according to which everything
is created by edict of the divine will. Eventuallyall spiritual beings will know God as
his Son does, and they will then become sons of God comparable to the Logos, his
only begotten Son.
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Medieval Philosophy Origen maintained that human’s spirit existed prior to one’s body, that human became
an earth creature as a consequence of one’s sins, but also that human and all other
spiritual beings, including even Satan, will finally find salvation, a state of divine
blessedness in which each partakes of the divine essence. He held that human was
made out of (or imprisoned by) material substance as punishment for sin but now
has the power to achieve redemption through purification. Human’s fall is attributed
to misuse of one’s freedom of the will. Even after one’s fall, human still possesses
the freedom to choose between good and evil. The material world is in itself good,
for God created it; only human’s perverted will causes one to sin and results in
chaining one to substance (materiality) so that the soul is incorporated into flesh.
Non-human spirits (e.g., angels, stars, and evil demons) occupytheir different places
or ranks in the material world. Human, though in a fallen state, aspires through use of
one’s free will to attain salvation, to return to one’s divine origin through emancipation
from matter. With the assistance of the Logos, i.e., the sinless soul of Jesus, human
(whose spirit is eternal) may progress through two ascending stages of redemption,
namely, faith – whereby one achieves understanding of the sensory world through
religious knowledge – and knowledge of the Logos until one reaches the highest
state of absolute absorption into God, liberated entirely from material existence by
virtue of this combination of grace and freedom.All spirits find their perfection in the
third stage of redemption. Ultimate reality consists of personalities, together with
their interpersonal relationships with one another and with the infinite person, God.
EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA
Eusebius (ca. 263-340), a scholar of Church History, was born at Caesarea in
Palestine about the year 263. He studied under Pamphilus. In 313 he was made
bishop of Caesarea. Work: The Chronicle; History of the Church; Preparation
for the Gospel; Proof of the Gospel; Ecclesiastical Theology.
Plato, for Eusebius, is a prophet of the economy of salvation as he had borrowed
the truths from the Old Testament; but at the same time he is willing to admit the
possibility of Plato having discovered the truth for himself or of his having been
enlightened by God. But Plato did not himself enter into the promised land of truth,
though he approached near to it. He stood only on the threshhold of truth. It is
Christianity alone which is the true philosophy. Plato’s philosophy was highly
intellectualist, cavier for the multitude, whereas Christianity is for all, so that women
and men, poor and rich, unlearned and learned, can be philosophers.
GREGORY OF NYSSA
Gregory, younger brother of Basil, another luminary of eastern Patristics, was born
in Nyssa around 335. At the age of sixteen he entered a monastery to dedicate
himself to contemplation. When his brother became metropolitan at Caesarea and
asked him also guide a diocese, Gregory consented to being consecrated Bishop of
Nyssa. Around 380 he was chosen metropolitan of Sebastis, and in the council of
381 he was one of the greatest supporters of orthodoxy. The emperor Theodosius
assigned him various official duties in order to win the battle againstAryanism, and
he brought him to Constantinople to celebrate the funeral of his daughter Pulcheria
and his wife Flacilla. Gregory died not long after 394. Work: Contra Eunomium;
Oratian Catechtica; De anima et resurrectione; De hominis opificio.
Gregory of Nyssa realised that the data of revelation are accepted on faith and are
10 not the result of a logical process of reasoning. The mysteries of faith are not
philosophical and scientific conclusions. If they were, then supernatural faith and Early Medieval Philosophers

Greek philosophy would be the same. On the other hand, the Faith has a rational
basis. The acceptance of mysteries on authority presupposes the ascertainability by
natural reasoning of certain preliminarytruths, especiallythe existence of God, which
are capable of philosophical demonstration. While maintaining the superiority of
faith, it is only right to invoke the aid of philosophy. Ethics, natural philosophy, logic,
mathematics, are not only ornaments in the temple of truth but these also contribute
to the life of wisdom and virtue. Theyare not to be despised or rejected. Nevertheless,
divine revelation must be accepted as a touchstone and criterion of truth since human
reasoning must be judged by the word of God and not the other way about.
He went on to give reasons for the trinity of persons in the one Godhead. God must
have a Logos, a word, a reason, as He cannot be less than human, who also has a
Logos, a reason. But the divine Logos has to be eternal, just as it must be living,
unlike the fleeting internal word in human. The Logos is one in nature (Being) with
the Father since there is but one God. The distinction between the Logos and the
Father is a distinction of relation. Similarly, his theory that the word ‘human’ is
primarily applicable to the universal and only secondarily to the individual human
was an attempt render the mystery more intelligible, that the word ‘God’ refers
primarily to the divine essence, which is one, and onlysecondarilyto the three divine
Persons, so that the believers cannot be rightly accused of tritheism.
Under the influence of Platonism, Gregoryalso distinguishes between theideal human
and the earthly human. The ideal human exists only in the divine idea without any
sexual determination; whereas the earthlyhuman is a creature of experience, sexually
determined by his creative act. Moreover, God freely created the world out of
abundance of his goodness and love, in order that the creatures might participate in
the same goodness. God created human free - with a soul that is living, simple,
spiritual and immortal - permitting one to choose evil if one so wills. Evil is the result
of human’s free choice, and God is not responsible for it though God, in his
foreknowledge, permits it. He knew also that he would in the end bring all humans
to himself. He thus accepted the Origenist theory of the ‘restoration of all things’.
Contemplating the sensible objects, the human mind can know something of God
and his attributes. However, the sensible objects are not fully real. They are mirage
and illusion except as symbols or manifestations of immaterial realitytowards which
human is spiritually drawn. The consequent tension in the soul – as the soul is drawn
towards God leaving its natural objects of knowledge behind without being able to
see the God to whom it is drawn by love – leads to a state of despair, which is the
birth of mysticism. It enters into the darkness or the ‘cloud of unknowing.’ There are
two movements in the soul: that of the indwelling of the triune God and that of the
soul’s reaching out beyond itself , culminating in ‘ecstasy’or ecstatic love which is
the summit of the soul’s endeavour.
AMBROSE
Born at Treves (ca. 333-397), Ambrose was the son of the Pretorian Prefect of
Gaul. His father died young. Hewas trained both inrhetoric and in thelegal profession.
About the year 370 he was made Consul of Liguria and Emilia, with his official
residence in Milan. He was consecrated bishop of Milan on December 7, 374, just
a week after his baptism. He was an exemplary bishop both in his public and in his
private life. On a pupular level he is best remembered as the author of several liturgical 11
hymns. Works: Letters; Sermons; Commentaries on Scripture.
Medieval Philosophy St. Ambrose showed an active interest in practical and ethical matters under the
influence of Cicero without much liking for metaphysical speculation. His divisions
and treatment of the virtues are infused with the Christian ethos complemented by
the final ideal of eternal happiness in God.
JOHN DAMASCENE
John Damascene (ca. 645-749), born at Damascus, was educated by a ceratin
Cosmas. With a thorough knowledge of Arabic and Greek and proficient also in
Islam, he served the Caliph’s government for a time. Later he resigned the job on
account of the Caliph’s anti-Christian policies and became a priest. Work (chief
work): Fount of Wisdom. John Damascene’s chief work is the Fount of Wisdom,
in the first part of which he gives a sketch of theAristotelian logic and ontology. In
this part, he opines that philosophy and profane science are the instruments or
handmaids of theology – the view of Clement ofAlexandria, the two Gregories and
Philo ofAlexandria, the originator of this view.
Check Your Progress II
Note: a) Use the space provided for your answer.
b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of the unit.
1) Explain briefly Origen’s concept of God.
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2) What is the difference between ideal human and earthly human according to
Gregory of Nyssa?
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1.3 END OFTHE EARLY MEDIEVAL

PHILOSOPHY
After Christianitybecame a licit religion in the fourth century, philosophical activity
among Christians expanded. The task of theological self-articulation became
increasingly significant as Christianity grew in the fourth and fifth centuries towards
majority status within the Empire, with imperial support. In this later period the
range and sophistication of Christian thought increased significantly, due in part to
the influence of pagan Neo-Platonism, a movement that included a number of the
12 finest philosophers active since the classical period of Plato andAristotle.
Later patristic philosophyhad a defining influence upon medieval Christian thought Early Medieval Philosophers

through such figures as Boethius and Dionysius, establishing both the conceptual
foundations and the authoritative warrant for the scholasticism.
ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS BOETHIUS (480–525)
He is an aristocratic Roman noble man, a scholar, Christian philosopher, and
statesman, author of the celebrated De consolatione philosophiae (Consolation of
Philosophy), a largely Neo-Platonism work in which the pursuit of wisdom and the
love of God are described as the true sources of human happiness.
Boethius’ logical works have been the subject of recent studies by scholars, and his
theological treatises on the Trinity contain passages of philosophical interest; but
throughout history he has been best known for a single work, The Consolation of
Philosophy. Boethius’ earlier works have been the preserve of more specialized
readers, especiallyconcerned with the historyof ancient philosophy. His stated original
intention was to educate the West by translating all of Plato andAristotle into Latin
and to supply explanatory commentaries on manyof their writings.
About 520 Boethius put his close study ofAristotle to use in four short treatises in
letter form on the ecclesiastical doctrines of the Trinity and the nature of Christ;
these are basically an attempt to solve disputes that had resulted from the Arian
heresy, which denied the divinityof Christ. Using the terminologyof theAristotelian
categories, Boethius described the unity of God in terms of substance and the three
divine persons in terms of relation. He also tried to solve dilemmas arising from the
traditional description of Christ as both human and divine, by deploying precise
definitions of “substance,” “nature,” and “person.”
Boethius is able to distinguish between random chance and human choice, but he
accepts that free human choice, even if not random, is difficult to reconcile with the
existence of God who foresees everything that is to happen. “If God foresees all and
cannot in any way be mistaken, then that must necessarily happen which in his
providence he foresees will be”. This is called God’s foreknowledge that means
God’s knowing what humans will do or not do. Boethius accepts that a genuinely
free action cannot be certainly foreseen, even by God, and he takes refuge in the
notion of divine timelessness, saying that God’s seeing is not really a foreseeing.
For Boethius, There are two kinds of necessity. a) Plain or straightforward necessity
as ‘Necessarily, all men are mortal’and b) Conditional Necessity as ‘Necessarily, if
you know that I am walking, I am walking.’ The future events which God sees as
present are not straightforwardlynecessary, but onlyconditionallynecessary. Boethius
has been called ‘Last of the Romans, first of the scholastics’. Certainly, in his work
he links classical philosophy with the technical philosophy of the medieval schools,
more even thanAugustine does.
PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS (AD 500)
He is probably a Syrian monk who, known only by his pseudonym, wrote a series
of Greek treatises and letters for the purpose of uniting Neoplatonic philosophy with
Christian theology and mystical experience. These writings established a definite
Neoplatonic trend in a large segment of medieval Christian doctrine and spirituality—
especially in the Western Latin Church—that has determined facets of its religious
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Medieval Philosophy and devotional character to the present time. He presented himself as Dionysius the
Areopagite, an Athenian converted by St Paul. This pretence - or literary device -
was so convincing that Pseudo-Dionysius acquired something close to apostolic
authority, giving his writings tremendous influence throughout the MiddleAges and
into the Renaissance.
Cardinal points of Pseudo-Dionysius’ thought are the transcendence of a first cause
of the universe, the immediacy of divine causality in the world and a hierarchically
ordered cosmos. The treatises “On the Divine Names,” “On Mystical Theology,”
“On the Celestial Hierarchy,” and “On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy” comprise the
bulk of the Dionysian corpus of writings. Their doctrinal content forms a complete
theology, covering the Trinity and angelic world, the incarnation and redemption and
provides a symbolic and mystical explanation of all that is. God’s transcendence
above all rational comprehension and categorical knowledge ultimately reduces any
expression of the divinity to polar pairs of contraries: grace and judgment, freedom
and necessity, being and nonbeing, time and eternity. The incarnation of the Word or
Son of God, in Christ, consequently, was the expression in the universe of the
inexpressible, wherebythe One enters into the world of multiplicity. Still, the human
intellect can apply to God positive, analogous terms or names such as The Good,
Unity, Trinity, Beauty, Love, Being, Life, Wisdom, or Intelligence, assuming that
these are limited forms of communicating the incommunicable.
With regard to the giving names or attributes to God, the Pseudo-Dionysius provided
the classic method of the three ways. There is first the positive way or the way of
affirmation (ViaAffirmationis). It consists of affirming of God all perfections found in
creatures which are compatible with his spiritual nature such as goodness or wisdom.
Some creaturelyperfections which involve materiality, such as height and extension,
are obviouslyincompatible with the spiritual nature of God and so cannot be affirmed
of him according to this way. Next we must make use of the negative way, (Via
Negationis). In this way, we exclude from God all the imperfections that are involved
in creatures. Thus he is not Life in the sense of our vegetative and sensitive life which
involves certain perfection tied up with matter. Finally we must also use the way of
eminence (Via Eminentiae) whereby we add that God does not merely possess life
or wisdom in a superior degree than we, by that it is of a qualitatively superior kind.
Thus we should saythat he is super-essential Life or super-essential Wisdom. Careful
attention to all this would show that ultimately the Pseudo-Dionysius emphasises
what is known as negative theology, that is, he holds that we can more easily say
what God is not, rather than what he is.
The “Divine Names” and “Mystical Theology” treat the nature and effects of
contemplative prayer—the disciplined abandonment of senses and intelligible forms
to prepare for the immediate experience of “light from the divine darkness” and
ecstatic union—in a manner and scope that make them indispensable to the history
of Christian theologyand piety. His treatises on the hierarchies, wherein he theorized
that all that exists—the form of Christian society, the stages of prayer, and the angelic
world—is structured as triads that are the images of the eternal Trinity, introduced a
new meaning for the term hierarchy.At the end of the fifth century, a collection of
writings by Dionysius aroused great interest and exerted a profound influence on
medieval thought.

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 Early Medieval Philosophers
Check Your Progress III
Note: a) Use the space provided for your answer.
b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of the unit.
1) Explain the two kinds of necessitytaught by Boethius.
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1.4 LET US SUM UP

In establishing the fundamental doctrines and the triumph of religious doctrines, there
began a period of philosophical construction devoted to the elaboration of a
philosophy in which the subject-matter and guiding principles were determined by
religious perspectives. This religious outlook – which constitutes the largest part of
thephilosophyoftheearlymiddleages – had for its aim theexposition,systematization,
and demonstration of the religious dogmas and the construction of a theory of the
world and of life on that basis. The thinkers who ventured this service were called
patristic thinkers, early medieval philosophers. Scholastic philosophy derived its
doctrinal commitments from these early medieval philosophers who also in some
way inspired the religious thinkers of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, but cast these
in a philosophical mould of dialogue which bore the stamp of the methods and
concepts of Greek philosophy.

1.5 KEY WORDS

Evil : Evil is the privation of perfection due to a being.
Apology : An apology is a justification or defense of an act
or idea.

1.6 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

Copleston, Fredrick. A History of Philosophy. Vol.1. New York: Image Books,
1962.
Kenny, Anthony. A Brief History of Western Philosophy. United Kingdom:
Blackwell Publishers, 1998.
Martin, Walsh. A History of Philosophy. London: Geoffrey Champion, 1985.
Masih, Y. A Critical History of Western Philosophy. New Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass, 1994.
Mondin, Battista. A History of Medieval Philosophy. Bangalore: Theological
Publications in India, 2005.
Panthanmackel, George. In Struggle and Dialogue With: A Concise History of
Western Medieval Philosophy. Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2002.
Russell, Bertrand. History of Western Philosophy. London: Routledge, 1999. 15
Medieval Philosophy
1.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Check Your Progress I
1) Of the works bearing Justin’s authorship and still deemed genuine are two
Apologies. In the first part of the FirstApology, he defends his fellow Christians
against the charges of atheism and hostility to the Roman state. He then goes
on to express the core of his Christian philosophy: the highest aspiration of
both Christianity and Platonic philosophy is a transcendent and unchangeable
God; consequently, an intellectual articulation of the Christian faith would
demonstrate its harmony with reason. Such a convergence is rooted in the
relationship between human reason and the divine mind, both identified by the
same term, logos (Greek: “intellect,” “word”), which enables man to understand
basic truths regarding the world, time, creation, freedom, the human soul’s
affinity with the divine spirit, and the recognition of good and evil.
2) Gnosticism professed to substitute knowledge (gnosis) for faith, offered a
doctrine of God, creation, the origin of evil, salvation, to those who liked to
look upon themselves as superior persons in comparison with the ordinary
Christians. Irenaeus, writing against the Gnostics in his Adversus Hereticorum,
affirms that there is one God, the Creator of heaven and earth. He appeals to
the arguments from design and universal consent. God freely created the world
out of nothing without anypreviouslyexisting matter. Though the human mind
can know God through reason and revelation, it cannot comprehend God who
transcends the human intelligence. To pretend to know the ineffable mysteries
of God and to go beyond humble faith and love is mere conceit and pride.
Check Your Progress II
1) Origen asserted the rational argument that God, as pure spiritual essence (in
perfect unityand absolute changelessness), is not only above everything else in
the universe (and all beings) but also the eternal creator of all things. Matter is
changeable and perishable, but the unchangeable God is everlasting. Although
human reason cannot encompass or truly comprehend God’s attributes, it can
discern certain divine characteristics such as the absolute causality of God’s
will, or, in other words, God’s eternal creativity. God’s creativity must be
regarded as eternal because as the eternal God he has forever been (and will
continue forever to be) ceaselessly active. He disagreed sharplywith the Greek
philosophers (for example, Plato and Aristotle) who claimed that God is the
architect that formed the world out of eternally existing matter. Origen insisted
that God created matter itself, that he willed the universe into being and pre-
determined its nature.
2) Under the influence of Platonism, Gregoryalso distinguishes between the ideal
human and the earthly human. The ideal human exists only in the divine idea
without any sexual determination; whereas the earthly human is a creature of
experience, sexually determined by his creative act.
Check Your Progress III
1) For Boethius, There are two kinds of necessity: a) Plain or straightforward
necessity as ‘Necessarily, all men are mortal’and b) Conditional Necessity as
‘Necessarily, if you know that I am walking, I am walking.’The future events
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which God sees as present are not straightforwardly necessary, but only
conditionallynecessary.