Scholasticism

A system of thought called scholasticism dominated medieval philosophy from about the 1100's to the 1400's. The scholastic method consisted in precise analysis of concepts with subtle distinctions between different senses of these concepts. The scholastics used deductive reasoning from principles established by their method to provide solutions to problems.

Scholasticism was basically generated by the translation of Aristotle's works into Latin, the language of the medieval Christian church. These works presented medieval thinkers with the problem of reconciling Aristotle's great body of philosophic thought with the Bible and Christian doctrine. The most famous scholastic was Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225?-1274). His philosophy combined Aristotle's thought with theology, and it eventually became the official philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church.

Excerpt adapted from the "Philosophy" article, The World Book Encyclopedia, © 1999