(From fall of Roman Empire to about the 15th century!)

(about 476 -1000A.D.)

- The "Dark age"

--Subdued intellectual inquiry

- Missing works of Aristotle

- Dominance of Church: the rise of Papacy

- The rise of Islam

-- Founded by the Prophet Mohammad (570-632)

~c. 622 C.E.

(about 1000-1300A.D.)

- The gradual recovery of Greek texts

- often from Arabic translations

(e.g., in Toledo, Spain, in 12th cent.)

- The revival of rational inquiry

- The problem of reconciling the

Hellenic world-view (guided by reason)

to the Hebraic one (informed by faith)

- e.g.,Controversy over Universals

Start with PLATO...

BODY - PSYCHE

MATTER - FORM

PARTICULAR - UNIVERSAL

PERISHABLE - PERMANENT

| |

Only particulars Only universals

are Real: are Real:

| |

NOMINALISM REALISM

| |

If this position is If this position is

right, then: right, then:

- Father, Son & - Forms are general;

Holy Spirit are more general forms

all real are more real,

God being the most real.

- There are 3 -So, God is at

Gods, not 1! the pinnacle of a

hierarchy, suggesting

PANTHEISM!

Both nominalism and realism led to

conclusions unacceptable to the Church,

which led to a bitter controversy

over nature of universals

Relevance to psychology of the

Nominalism/Realism distinction:

- Emphasis on particular, concrete,

observable entities

- e.g., S-R, symptoms (not "disease")

vs.

- Emphasis on general, abstract,

unobservable entities

- e.g., "disease", not symptoms; on

"traits," "factors," or "personality" etc.

Note: Today this debate stands between behaviourists and essentialist. Wittgenstien and ordinary lanuguage debate also stand as conceptualist synthetic but offering relative concepts that emerge in time across social worlds.

e.g.: Peter Abelard (1079-1142 A.D.)

- Admires Aristotle ("our prince")

- Position on universals: conceptualism:

universal are CONCEPTS arising in the

process of generalization.

- Authors "Yes and No", demonstrating

for and against a variety of issues

- Uses reason to show how very often

Church fathers contradict the Scriptures

- Convicted of Heresy

2. Faith over reason

e.g.: St. Bernard of Clairvaux

(1091-1153 A.D.)

- Truth is not only revealed, it is

incomprehensible

- Philosophy is not only unnecessary

but also dangerous

Contrast with Plotinus, who was NOT against reason

3. Keep Faith separate from Reason

e.g.: Siger of Babrant (fl. 1260-1277)

- Proposed the "Doctrine of Two Truths":

- One truth of the material world,

another of the supernatural world

Compare: Descartes's two "worlds":

of matter and soul

Note: implied separation of science

and religion, separation of

matter & mind/soul as in Descartes

4. Integrate Faith and Reason, e.g.,

St. Thomas Aquinas's attempt at the

integration of Aristotalian and Christian

world-views

Attempted reconciliation of Faith

& Reason (Theos + logos):

- Suggested reason leads to same

truths as revelation

e.g., God as creator (Bible) and

God as prime-mover (Aristotle)

- "Theo-logy" uses reason like all

sciences, but it is superior to all

sciences due to its superior subject

matter

- Also, faith necessary in all sciences:

the basic assumptions of science

(i.e., axioms) must be accepted

without proof (i.e., "on faith")

- Accepted unity of body & soul

Accepted Aristotle's scala naturae

i.e., the continuity of plants,

animals & humans

- Adopted ibn Sina's elaboration of

Aristotle's concept of:

a. Vegetative soul..........plants (a)

b. Sensitive soul............animals (a+b)

c. Rational soul.............humans (a+b+c)

- While accepting a continuity of animals

and humans, Aquinas emphasized the

difference due to rationality: Humans,

but not animals, can judge between right

and wrong.

Note: Human-animal differences still discussed.

- Aquinas tried to reconcile Faith & Reason by

admitting the use of reason in knowing God

--by rationally understanding His

WORKS (the world), and his

WORDS (the Bible)

(Newton did the same later by discovering

laws that God gave Nature)

- But Aquinas denied direct knowledge of

God through mystical experience.

(14th-16th centuries)

Renaissance - Revival of the Greek tradition

(philosophy, art, & etc.)

- Exploration

- Commerce - The Medici family

- Art: from Byzantine to Renaissance forms

- Nationalism in Europe

Reformation - Response to abuse/decline of Papacy

- Luther (1483-1546)

- no need of Pope to mediate between

individual & God

- "individualism"

- Calvin (1509-1564)

- asceticism & Protestant (work) ethic