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(a late fourth century philosopher); Euclid's
Elements
; and Porphyry's
Introduction to Aristotle's Logic
, translated by Anicius Manlius Severinus
Boëthius (480-c. 524 CE). In addition, Boëthius wrote handbooks based
on Roman and Greek sources covering logic (
In Ciceronis Topica
), music
(
De institutione musica
), and arithmetic (
De institutione arithmetica
)
.
By
524, the year of Boëthius's death, it remained to be seen whether any of
these works, other than the Bible, would be extensively studied [4, chap.
3].
Medieval scholarship faced manifold problems. The gradual dissolution
of the Roman Empire brought degradation in education and an increase in
illiteracy. Early medieval monasteries concentrated on studying the Bible,
not pagan works such as those created by natural scientists and
philosophers. Copying manuscripts was not a priority. Performed with
little oversight, usually at the whim of a literate religious, the crude
artisanal character of these works mitigated any formal effort at wide
dissemination.
One important thing that needed to occur was a reorientation of
thought towards the kind of knowledge that was acceptable for study
within a monastic community. This conceptual change would derive from
the writings of Augustine of Hippo (St. Augustine, 354-430), North
African Bishop of the Christian Church, who merged the Greek
philosophical tradition with the Judeo-Christian religious and scriptural
traditions [5].
1
Augustine's message for early medieval scholars was that
the Bible was not the only source of truth; truth could be discovered
anywhere. Since the universe was God's creation, any truth would
naturally stem from Him.
2
The implications for medieval scholarship were
two-fold. First, history, philosophy, dialectic, and rhetoric - the core of the
Hellenic scholarly tradition - were neither secular nor human, they came
from God. So these works could be employed as part of monastic practice.
Second, since truth was “discovered,” not created [6], Augustine's
philosophy endowed the search for truth with an epistemic dimension that
would eventually lead to the development of proto-scientific research
practice by early scholars, such as Venerable Bede (c. 672-735) [7].
Literacy was addressed during the reign of Charlemagne (c. 742-814).
As the lands under his dominion continued to grow during the eighth
1. Augustine was not only a major influence on medieval philosophy, but also
influenced the writings of a long line of philosophers including Martin Luther,
Emanuel Kant, Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Bertrand Russell.
2.
De Doctrina Christiana
, II, cap. 17: “Quisquis bonus verusque Christianus est,
Domini sui esse intelligat, bicumque inveneritv eritatem” (let every good and true
Christian know that Truth is the truth of his Lord, wherever found).
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