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In late medieval philosophy ethics became a more important subject and questions like ‘What is the good way to live’ were widely discussed. In the very godly orientated world back then we can distinguish two types of ethical philosophers: the ones fiercely critical of Aristotle and the ones praising his theories. Central in Aristotle’s theoryContinue reading “Medieval philosophy lecture 12”

In this blog I will discuss a seemingly contradiction in the Christian religion. The bible is made up out of the old and the new testament. The old testament is the same as the Jewish Tenach and thus an authoritative scripture in multiple religions. However, the old- and new testament seem to completely contradict onContinue reading “Medieval philosophy lecture 11”

At first you might think that faith is the opposite of rational thought, or with other words religion is the opposite of philosophy. Today I will introduce Thomas Aquinas to demonstrate that this contrast is not as obvious as it seems. Aquinas was the most famous thinker of the late Middle Ages, born in 1224.Continue reading “Medieval philosophy lecture 10”

Today I will introduce one of the greatest thinkers in the Jewish philosophical tradition: Moses Maimonides. He was also a rabbi, what made him a high authority in the Jewish community. He lived in the 12th century AD and spent his whole life in societies with Islamic dominance. However, he contributed to the flourishing ofContinue reading “Medieval Philosophy lecture 9”

By many Al-Ghazali is seen as the bad guy who ended the beautiful tradition of Arabic philosophy. He is considered to be an irrational thinker, who blindly followed the truth of Islamic religion and brutally refuted great thinkers such as Aristotle and Avicenna. Al-Ghazali indeed was recognized as an authoritative figure in the Seljuk empire.Continue reading “Medieval philosophy lecture 7”

In last weeks lecture we discussed the famous philosopher Al-Farabi. He was the founder of Islamic Neoplatonism and one of the first man during his time to call himself a philosopher. He was very aware of his cultural background while doing and writing about philosophy. By many he is seen as the second master, AristotleContinue reading “Medieval philosophy lecture 5”

Journalism is in my opinion one of the most important professions today, because it makes information and so knowledge available to the public. It broadens our view and for me equality also means an equal possibility to access knowledge between people. However, many might argue that some of this information is not meant for theContinue reading “Medieval philosophy lecture 4”

In last week’s lecture we talked about Boethius, who was born in 475 A.D. in Rome and died only 49 years later. He was a famous philosopher, although he would have called himself just a religious man and he was eventually even executed for his thoughts. Although Boethius is still read today and literally offeredContinue reading “Medieval philosophy lecture 3”

Does serving one year in prison make you a criminal for the rest of your life? Does one racist tweet you posted about ten years ago, still make you a racist today? With other words, does your past have a big influence on whether you are a good or bad person, or is it okayContinue reading “Medieval philosophy lecture 2”

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about medieval philosophy is often God. Although this is not the only thing that man used to write about, Dod does play a huge part in medieval philosophy. The early middle ages ended over five centuries ago and back then the whole society was still breathingContinue reading “Medieval philosophy lecture 1”