The Essence Of Scholasticism

The Essence of Scholasticism is a meditation manual leading to arhatship. It is the central text of the westernmost part of the Gandharan cultural area, e.e. Bactria. Probably composed in the first century BCE, it was commented on and elaborated in several sastras the best known being the Abhidharmakosabhasya of the fifth century. The Essence and the Astagrantha are the basic treatises of the non-Vaibhasika sarvastivadins, i.e. of the sautrantikas of the Gandharan cultural area.

The fourth and fifth volumes of the Global History of Philosophy are designated The Period of Scholasticism in order to stress that the scholastic method with its emphasis on thesis, antithesis, and attempts at synthesis became universal throughout Eurasia. Scholasticism should not be taken in the pejorative sense as the juggling of arguments by straw men, but in the sense of a challenge even in our own era to work for consistent and comprehensive systematic synthesis. All the older traditions need to be reinteerpreted in terms of modern conditions --which, after all, is what the Eurasian scholastics of these centuries were doing for their own time. The major developments of this period are Monism in Many Moods during the ninth century, through Exfoliation and Elaboration of those seminal systems in the tenth and eleventh centuries unitl the time of the Great Summas in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It was during this time that philosophy and theology developed a very highly sophisticated technique of balancing arguments and refutations and counter-arguments and counter-refutations. As is true of the whole series, these volumes are a new way of exploring the accumulative wisdom of mankind, and in the process explode many of the ethnocentric stereotypes which still hinder intercultural communications and world peace through intercultural understanding.

It is not a summary of philosophical problems, which the beginner cannot digest and which may engender in him a spirit of skepticism. For a like reason Cotter does not give an outline of the history of philosophy with the same problems arranged by periods. Instead, he confined himself to a few important data on the principal philosophers of past ages, and the author tried to sketch the intellectual equipment with which the student is supposed to begin philosophy.

Traditionally, Protestant theology between Luther's early reforming career and the dawn of the Enlightenment has been seen in terms of decline and fall into the wastelands of rationalism and scholastic speculation. In this volume a number of scholars question such an interpretation. The editors argue that the development of Post-Reformation Protestantism can only be understood when a proper historical model of doctrinal change is adopted. This historical concern underlies the subsequent studies of theologians such as Calvin, Beza, Olevian, Baxter and the two Turrentini. The result is a significantly different reading of the development of Protestant Orthodoxy, one which both challenges the older scholarly interpretations and clichŽs about the relationship of Protestantism to, among other things, scholasticism and rationalism, and which demonstrates the fruitfulness of the new, historical approach. Contributors: D. V. N. Bagchi, David C. Steinmetz, Richard A. Muller, Frank A. James III, John L. Farthing, Lyle D. Bierma, R. Scott Clark, Donald Sinnema, Paul R. Schaefer, W. Robert Godfrey, Carl R. Trueman, Philip G. Ryken, John E. Platt, Joel R. Beeke, James T. Dennison Jr., Martin I. Klauber, Lowell C. Green, and David P. Scaer.

Leading scholars in the field of religious studies show that scholasticism as a comparative category is useful in the analysis of a variety of religious and philosophical traditions and even in the task of cultural criticism.

"Scholasticism For Beginners" offers a captivating exploration of the intellectual movement that defined medieval philosophy. Delving into the intricate debates and inquiries of scholastic thinkers, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the key concepts and figures of the era. From the dialectical methods of Thomas Aquinas to the influence of Aristotle, readers will uncover the rich tapestry of scholastic thought and its enduring impact on Western intellectual history. Engaging and accessible, this book is an essential guide for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of medieval philosophy and the foundations of modern thought.

Examines the place of individuation in the work of over 25 scholastic writers from when Arabic and Greek thought began to impact Europe, until scholasticism died out. Experts on particular authors contribute chapters that cover all the major figures and a representative few of the lesser. Other chapters survey the problem of individuation, the medieval legacy, Islamic and Jewish thought, and the continuing scholastic influence on modern philosophy. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR