ST.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO
Aurelius Augustinus [more commonly St. Augustine of Hippo, often simply Augustine ] (354 430 C.E.): rhetor, Christian Neoplatonist, North African Bishop, Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the decisive developments in the western philosophical tradition was the eventually widespread merging of the Greek philosophical tradition and the Judeo-Christian religious and scriptural traditions. Augustine is one of the main figures through and by whom this merging was accomplished. He is, as well, one of the towering figures of medieval philosophy whose authority and thought came to exert a pervasive and enduring influence well into the modern period (e.g. Descartes and especially Malebranche), and even up to the present day, especially among those sympathetic to the religious tradition which he helped to shape (e.g. Plantinga 1992; Adams 1999). But even for those who do not share this sympathy, there is much in Augustine's thought that is worthy of serious philosophical attention. Augustine is not only one of the major sources whereby classical philosophy in general and Neoplatonism in particular enter into the mainstream of early and subsequent medieval philosophy, but there are significant contributions of his own that emerge from his modification of that Greco-Roman inheritance, e.g., his subtle accounts of belief and authority, his account of knowledge and illumination, his emphasis upon the importance and centrality of the will, and his focus upon a new way of conceptualizing the phenomena of human history, just to cite a few of the more conspicuous examples. 1. Context 2. Reading The Confessions 3. The Mysterious Woman From Northern Africa 4. Ontology and Eudaimonism 5. Philosophical Anthropology 6. Psychology and Epistemology 7. Will 8. History and Eschatology 9. Legacy Bibliography Selected Latin Texts and Critical Editions Selected English Translations Selected General Studies Selected Secondary Works Other Internet Resources Related Entries

ST.ANSELM OF CANTERBURY
Anselm was one of the most important Christian thinkers of the eleventh century. He is most famous in philosophy for having discovered and articulated the so-called ontological argument; and in theology for his doctrine of the atonement. However, his work extends to many other important philosophical and theological matters, among which are: understanding the aspects and the unity of the divine nature; the extent of our possible knowledge and understanding of the divine nature; the complex nature of the will and its involvement in free choice; the interworkings of human willing and action and divine grace; the natures of truth and justice; the natures and origins of virtues and vices; the nature of evil as negation or privation; and the condition and implications of original sin. In the course of his work and thought, unlike most of his contemporaries, Anselm deployed argumentation that was in most respects only indirectly dependent on Sacred Scripture, Christian doctrine, and tradition. Anselm also developed sophisticated analyses of the language used in discussion and investigation of philosophical and theological issues, highlighting the importance of focusing on the meaning of the terms used rather than allowing oneself to be misled by the verbal forms, and examining the adequacy of the language to the objects of investigation, particularly to the divine nature. In addition, in his work he both discussed and exemplified the resolution of apparent contradictions or paradoxes by making appropriate distinctions. For these reasons, one title traditionally accorded him is the Scholastic Doctor, since his approach to philosophical and theological matters both represents and contributed to early medieval Christian Scholasticism. TABLE OF CONTENT Life Influences Methodology: Faith and Reason The Proslogion Gaunilos Reply and Anselms Response The Monologion Cur Deus Homo De Grammatico The De Veritate The De Libertate Arbitrii The De Casu Diaboli

The De Concordia The Fragments Other Writings References and Further Readings Primary Sources Secondary Sources

ST.THOMAS AQUINAS
Thomas Aquinas (1225 1274) lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that had obtained for centuries. This crisis flared up just as universities were being founded. Thomas, after early studies at Montecassino, moved on to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican Order. It was at Naples too that Thomas had his first extended contact with the new learning. When he joined the Dominican Order he went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, which had been formed out of the monastic schools on the Left Bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master Thomas defended the mendicant orders and, of greater historical importance, countered both the Averroistic interpretations of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result was a new modus vivendibetween faith and philosophy which survived until the rise of the new physics. The Catholic Church has over the centuries regularly and consistently reaffirmed the central importance of Thomas's work for understanding its teachings concerning the Christian revelation, and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource which is now receiving increased recognition. The following account concentrates on Thomas the philosopher. 1. Life and Works 1.1 Vita Brevis 1.2 Education 1.3 Writings 2. Philosophy and Theology 3. Christian Philosophy 4. Thomas and Aristotle 5. The Order of Philosophical Inquiry 6. Composition of Physical Objects 6.1 Matter and Form 6.2 Substantial Change 7. Perception and Thought 8. Body and Soul 9. Beyond Physics 10. Philosophical and Scriptural Theology 10.1 God 10.2 Analogous Names 10.3 Essence and Existence 11. Moral Doctrine 11.1 Natural Law 12. Thomism Bibliography Life and Works Primary Literature Introductions Specialized Studies Thomism Electronic Databases Other Internet Resources Related Entries