哲学第六讲.ppt

Thomas Aquinas, Other Medieval contending schools It is incomprehensible that God should exist, and it is incomprehensible that He should not exist. It is the heart which experiences God, and not the reason. --- Blaise Pascal Focus of the philosophy in the Middle Ages: Universals Proofs for God’s existence The relation between faith and reason sources: Greek, Christianity, Jewish, Muslim thought Boethius (ca. 480-524波爱修)： has been called by the first of the scholastic philosophers. Despite the use of his mathematical texts in the early universities, it is his final work, the Consolation of Philosophy, that assured his legacy in the Middle Ages and beyond. This work is cast as a dialogue between Boethius himself, at first bitter and despairing over his imprisonment, and a personification of philosophy. Topics: God, fortune, freedom and evil. Alternately composed in prose and verse, the Consolation teaches acceptance of hardship in a spirit of philosophical detachment from misfortune. Parts of the work are reminiscent of the Socratic method of Platos dialogues, as the spirit of philosophy questions Boethius and challenges his emotional reactions to adversity. Consolation of Philosophy was written during Boethius one year imprisonment while awaiting trial, and eventual horrific execution, for the crime of treason by Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great. Boethius was at the very heights of power in Rome and was brought down by treachery. This experience inspired the text, which reflects on how evil can exist in a world governed by God, and how happiness can be attainable amidst fickle fortune, while also considering the nature of happiness and God. It has been described as by far the most interesting example of prison literature the world has ever seen. His influence Boethius engages questions such as the nature of predestination and free will, why evi