One of the strongest moves in contemporary philosophy is the rediscovery of medieval thought. Philosophers of the middle ages investigated such ‘modern’ concerns as cosmology and freedom, happiness and ‘the good life’, love and hate, sex, the body and death, violence and evil, political authority, women, ecology, beauty, faith and reason, and life after death. Students will explore the 1,200 year period in which philosophers from Augustine to More addressed these concerns as they attempted the synthesis of religious faith and classical philosophy. We will consider the historical milieux, philosophical thought and selected texts of authors such as: Augustine, Boethius, Eriugena, Avicenna, Berengar, Anselm, Abelard and Heloise, Bernard, Peter Lombard, Hildegard, Aelred, John of Salisbury, Averroes, Maimonides, Stephen Langton, Philip the Chancellor, Albert, Bonaventure, Aquinas, Siger of Brabant, Eckhart, Scotus, Ockham, Catherine of Siena and Thomas More.

Prerequisites:

• second level: two philosophy units at first level
• third level: two philosophy units at second level

Requirements:
3 hours per week

Assessment:

• second level
  • one 2,000 word essay - 50%
  • one 2 hour written examination - 50%
    
• third level
  • one 3,000 word essay - 50%
  • one 2 hour written examination - 50%

Bibliography:

• Bosley, Richard, and Martin Tweedale, eds. Basic Issues in Medieval Philosophy: Selected Readings Presenting the Interactive Discourses among the Major Figures. Peterborough, ONT: Broadview, 1997.
• Knowles, David. The Evolution of Medieval Thought. 2nd ed. Edited by David E. Luscombe and Christopher N. L. Brooke. London: Longman, 1988.
• Luscombe, David. Medieval Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
• Marenbon, John. Medieval Philosophy. London: Routledge, 1998.
• Martin, C. F. J.  An Introduction to Medieval Philosophy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1996.
• Price, Betsey B. Medieval Thought: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992.
• Schoedinger, Andrew B., ed. Readings in Medieval Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.