Christian philosophy includes all

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

carried out by

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, or in relation to the religion of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Christian philosophy emerged with the aim of reconciling science and faith, starting from natural rational explanations with the help of Christian

revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

. Several thinkers such as

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...

believed that there was a harmonious relationship between science and faith, others such as

Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...

claimed that there was contradiction and others tried to differentiate them. There are scholars who question the existence of a Christian philosophy itself. These claim that there is no originality in Christian thought and its concepts and ideas are inherited from

Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empi ...

. Thus, Christian philosophy would protect philosophical thought, which would already be definitively elaborated by Greek philosophy. However, Boehner and Gilson claim that Christian philosophy is not a simple repetition of ancient philosophy, although they owe to Greek science the knowledge developed by

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

and the Neo-Platonists. They even claim that in Christian philosophy, Greek culture survives in organic form.

Historical aspects

Christian philosophy began around the 3rd century. It arises through the movement of the Christian community called

Patristics Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

, which had as main objective the defense of Christianity. From the 11th century onwards, Christian philosophy was manifested through

Scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...

. This is the period of

medieval philosophy Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century until after the Renaissance in the 13th and 14th centuries. Medieval philosophy, ...

that extended until the 15th century, as pointed out by T. Adão Lara. From the 16th century onwards, Christian philosophy, with its theories, started to coexist with independent scientific and philosophical theories. The development of Christian ideas represents a break with the philosophy of the Greeks, bearing in mind that the starting point of Christian philosophy is the Christian religious message. Lara divides Christian philosophy into three eras: * Early philosophy:

(2nd-7th centuries). * Medieval philosophy: Scholastics (9th-13th centuries). * Pre-modern (14th-15th centuries).

Characteristics

Natural demonstration

The philosophical starting point of Christian philosophy is logic, not excluding

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologian ...

. Although there is a relationship between theological doctrines and philosophical reflection in Christian philosophy, its reflections are strictly rational. On this way of seeing the two disciplines, if at least one of the premises of an argument is derived from revelation, the argument falls in the domain of theology; otherwise it falls into philosophy's domain.

Justification of truths of faith

Fundamentally, Christian philosophical ideals are to make religious convictions rationally evident through natural reason. The Christian philosopher's attitude is determined by faith in matters relating to cosmology and everyday life. Unlike the Secular philosopher, the Christian philosopher seeks conditions for the identification of eternal truth, being characterized by religiosity There is criticism of Christian philosophy because the Christian religion is hegemonic at this time and centralizes the elaboration of all values. The coexistence of philosophy and religion is questioned, as philosophy itself is critical and religion founded on revelation and established dogmas. Lara believes that there was questioning and writings with philosophical characteristics in the Middle Ages, although religion and theology predominated. In this way it was established by dogmas, in some aspects, did not prevent significant philosophical constructions.

Tradition

A Christian philosophy developed from predecessor philosophies. Justin is based on Greek philosophy, an academy in Augustine and Patristics. It is in the tradition of Christian philosophical thought or Judaism, from whom it was inherited from the Old Testament and more fundamentally in the Gospel message, which records or at the center of the message advocated by Christianity.

received influence from both

Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcile ...

and

Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...

. This Christian Europe did not remain exclusively influenced by itself, but it suffered strong influences from other cultures.

Systematizing view

There is an attempt to systematically and comprehensively systematize the problems of reality in a harmonic whole. There is a lack of creative spirit, which is compensated by the overall vision. Christian Revelation itself provides the Christian with an overview.Boehner, pág. 12

Citations

References

* Boehner, Philoteus. Gilson, Etienne. ''História da filosofia cristã: desde às origens até Nicolau de Cusa'', 8a edição, Petrópolis, Vozes, 2003. * Lara, Tiago Adão. ''Curso de história da filosofia: A filosofia nos tempos e contratempos da cristandade ocidental'', Petrópolis, Vozes, 1999. * Störig, Hans Joachim. ''História Geral da Filosofia'', Petrópolis, Vozes, 2008.

External links

The Institute for Faithful Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Philosophy