Traditionally, the term "Middle Ages" decided to cover the era from V to XV century.However, in the philosophy of the beginning of the Middle Ages it refers to an earlier period - I century, when only began to be created basic tenets of Christianity.This principle of establishing the origins of medieval philosophy can be explained by the fact that the main problems that concern the philosophy of the Middle Ages, have been associated with the approval and the further spread of the Christian religious doctrine, which at this time was conceived in the womb of a philosophical science.
In the philosophical currents of the time there is a tendency to the justification of the divine essence and the resolution of problems such as the existence of God and the Christian theory of concretization.The philosophy of the Middle Ages in the scientific community generally periodiziruetsya respectively, the main stages of the religious teachings of the time.
The first and fundamental step in the development of philosophy of the Middle Ages is traditionally considered patristics (I-VI centuries.).The main directions at this stage of development of philosophical thought were the creation and protection of Christian doctrine, which carried "Church Fathers."The definition of "fathers" in particular refers to the thinkers who contributed to the doctrinal foundation of Christianity.Often, advocates of Christian dogmas were well-known philosophers, for example, such as St. Augustine, Tertullian, Gregory of Nyssa, and many others.
second step on the way of philosophical ideas of the time considered scholasticism - (IX - XV century).At this stage there is a further specification of the Christian theory of using all possibilities of philosophical science.Scholastic philosophy is sometimes called the "school", because, firstly, it is for philosophy studied and developed in the monastic schools, and secondly, in the presentation of Christian scholasticism ever available to virtually all levels.
The problems that agitated the minds of medieval philosophers, different variety, but nevertheless they all agreed on one thing - the direct or indirect reasoning about God.When the consciousness of the believer, God as a problem simply does not exist, because God is perceived by believers as a reality, the philosopher whose mind is free from any kind of belief was, God was an actual problem, and tried to decide which the best minds of the Middle Ages.
main problems of medieval philosophy - questions the reality of God's existence causes a permanent debate between adherents of realism and nominalists on nature of universals.Realists tried to prove that universals (general concepts) really exist, and therefore - is real and the existence of God.Nominalists, in turn, believed that universals its existence to some extent "must" things, because really there are only things and universals arise when comes the need to give their names to certain things.According nominalists God - it's just a name to represent a set of ideals of humanity.
philosophy of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was marked by the fact that the great thinkers of the time repeatedly put forward all sorts of evidence that God really exists.For example, Thomas Aquinas - famous philosopher - scholastic cited five proofs that God does exist.All of this evidence was based on the fact that any phenomenon in the world must be the root cause.
If adherents of realism sought to justify the existence of God by means of proof of the existence of general concepts (universals), the Thomas Aquinas argued that as the presence of the supreme cause of everything.He seemed to be trying to achieve a certain harmony between faith and reason, where priority is given to it faith.
philosophy of the Middle Ages is inherently theocentric.Here it pronounced desire for understanding of God as the only reality that determines all things.Such a solution to the problem of God's existence acceptable to religion in all respects, to objectively determine the place of philosophy in the spiritual and social life of the time.The philosophy of the Middle Ages, eventually gave way to new views of the Renaissance, which was returned to the spiritual life of the once-forgotten ideals of ancient quest for free thinking.
