Many of the ideas celebrated during the holidays are the same ones that were on the minds of Medieval Philosophers. There is the role the divine plays in our lives, how we should behave in response, the proper relationship humans should have towards each other, what the soul is, etc. While the holidays are celebrated in different ways now (for instance, Protestantism encourages a more affective practice and commercialism has changed how holiday symbols are shared), we follow the example of Medieval philosophers in many ways when we come together at this time of year.
We’ve learned a lot since the Medieval era, but it is valuable to remember how we are influenced by the philosophers who lived then. Their answers to questions about evil, cognition, and free will, among other topics, must either be reconciled with what we now know, discarded, or understood as a product of their situation. Thus, we consistently come back to the Medieval era to understand how what they said can be best understood in our current context. As we enjoy the company of our loved ones, let’s take some time to remember those past philosophers who helped to shape the ideas we honor during the holiday season.
- Jan Aertsen, Medieval Philosophy as Transcendental Thought: from Philip the Chancellor to Francisco Suárez, Brill, 2012.
- Teodora Artimon, “Medieval Philosophy and Philosophical Medievalism,” Philosophy Today, May 2013.
- Timothy Noone, “Habitual Intellectual Knowledge in Medieval Philosophy: A Complex Theme,” Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 2014.
- Joshua Parens, Leo Strauss and the Recovery of Medieval Political Philosophy, University of Rochester Press, 2016.
- Emmanuel Falque, “The Relevance of Medieval Philosophy: God, the Flesh, and the Other,” Philosophy & Theology, 2018.
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