Medieval Philosophy (AP9120C)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

Philosophers of the middle ages investigated such ‘modern’ concerns as cosmology and freedom, the question of being, skepticism about truth and immortality, the nature of happiness and ‘the good life’, love and hate, political authority, beauty, faith and reason. This unit explores texts from the fourth to the fourteenth century that address such concerns. It considers the historical milieux, philosophical thought and selected texts of authors who may include Augustine, Boethius, Erigena, Avicenna, Anselm, Abelard, Peter Lombard, Hildegard, Phillip the Chancellor, Albert, Bonaventure, Aquinas, Siger of Brabant, Roger Bacon, Matthew of Aquasparta, Eckhart, Scotus, and Ockham.

Unit code: AP9120C

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Philosophy

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Elucidate the specifically-medieval conceptual framework behind the texts studied in the unit
2.

Expound the fundamental ideas, positions and arguments of the thinkers studied in the unit, and interrelate them as appropriate
3.

Compare ideas, positions and arguments on themes that are found in more than one of the thinkers studied in the unit
4.

Evaluate and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the major arguments of the thinkers considered in the unit
5.

Appraise the conceptual frameworks and arguments of the thinkers studied in the unit – both singularly and in relation to one another where appropriate – in relation to the core themes examined in the unit
6.

Demonstrate the capacity to develop a topic of research in a critically rigorous, sustained and self-directed manner

Unit sequence

One foundational unit of Philosophy

Pedagogy

Lectures, seminars, tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

  • Anselm of Canterbury. The Major Works. Edited and translated by Brian Davies and G. R. Evans. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  • Bosley, Richard, and Martin, M. Tweedale, eds. and trans. Basic Issues in Medieval Philosophy: Selected Readings Presenting the Interactive Discourses Among the Major Figures. Orchard Park: Broadview Press, 1997.
  • Delhaye, Philippe. Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages. London: Burns & Oates, 1960.
  • Klima, Gyula, ed. Medieval Philosophy: Essential Readings with Commentary. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007.
  • Kretzmann, Norman, and Eleonore Stump, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Aquinas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
  • Knowles, David. The Evolution of Medieval Thought. New York: Longman, 1988.
  • Marenbon, John. Medieval Philosophy. New York: Routledge, 1998.
  • McGrade, Arthur, John Kilcullen, and Matthew Kempshall, eds. Ethics and Political Philosophy. Vol. 2, The Cambridge Translations of Medieval Philosophical Texts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
  • Pasnau, Robert, ed. Mind and Knowledge. Vol. 3, The Cambridge Translations of Medieval Philosophical Texts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  • Williams, Thomas, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Duns Scotus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)

Variant 1

Essay

6,000-word essay

 6000 90.0
Skeleton Argument

1,000-word skeleton argument

 1000 10.0

Variant 2

Essay

4,000-word essay

4000 50.0
Skeleton Argument

1,000-word skeleton argument

1000 10.0
Written Examination

2-hour written exam (2,000 words)

2000 40.0

Variant 3

Essay

4,000-word essay

4000 50.0
Skeleton Argument

1000-word skeleton argument

1000 10.0
Essay

2,000-word essay

 2000 40.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 19 Aug, 2022

Unit record last updated: 2022-08-19 14:04:25 +1000