Christian Aristotle's philosophy from albertus magnus
Albertus Magnus, or Albert the Great in English, was a theologian and philosopher who spent most of his life studying Aristotle. Albertus was born around 1200 in Lauingen an der Donau, Germany and studied mainly in Padua, Italy. He had an experience connected with the Virgin Mary which prompted him to join the Dominican Order in 1223. After completing his degree in theology at the University of Paris in 1245 he began teaching at the university, and it was at this time Thomas Aquinas became his student.
Albertus had a strong bias for Neo-Platonism, but his first love was Aristotle. He paraphrased most of the writings of Aristotle that were available to him and adopted the Aristotelian philosophical and scientific program completely. He was the greatest naturalist of his time. He also wrote commentaries on the Bible and wanted to prove that science and theology are can coexist without contradiction. He created a field of medieval Christian intellectual culture where he states that science and theology are two separate domains and both can be appreciated.
Albertus and Thomas Aquinas firmly believed that the natural philosophy that Aristotle represented was in no way an obstacle to a Christian philosophical ideal of the natural order. He painstakingly examined Aristotle's methods of explaining natural philosophy and concluded the method is experientially based and uses both inductive and deductive logic to draw conclusions. Christianity, as taught in Western Europe at that time, was solely based on Sacred Scripture and the Church Fathers. Because science and theology are separate and distinct in their methodology, he reasoned, they pose no threat to each other. Philosophy had a value of its own, not just in relation to theology.
Albertus' writings are based on Aristotle's work, and when Aristotle differs from Christian theology, Albertus doesn't hesitate to bring him in line. He considered the highest authority in science and philosophy to be Aristotle and in theology St. Augustine. His discourses were poorly organized and never became a consistent system of thought. He defends a doctrine in one place and attacks it in another, sometimes in the same discourse. He was so prolific that he often didn't take the time to resolve these contradictions.
He gathered a vast volume of knowledge from pagan, Arabic, Jewish and Christian sources, and he explained Aristotle to the Latins. He also wrote a number of treatises in which his own philosophical, scientific and theological vision was developed. All of this knowledge was given a clearer and more organized presentation by his famous pupil Thomas Aquinas. The great influence St. Thomas Aquinas had in Western European Christianity would not have been possible without Albert the Great. He died in 1280 and in 1931 was declared a saint and a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI.
Albertus had a strong bias for Neo-Platonism, but his first love was Aristotle. He paraphrased most of the writings of Aristotle that were available to him and adopted the Aristotelian philosophical and scientific program completely. He was the greatest naturalist of his time. He also wrote commentaries on the Bible and wanted to prove that science and theology are can coexist without contradiction. He created a field of medieval Christian intellectual culture where he states that science and theology are two separate domains and both can be appreciated.
Albertus and Thomas Aquinas firmly believed that the natural philosophy that Aristotle represented was in no way an obstacle to a Christian philosophical ideal of the natural order. He painstakingly examined Aristotle's methods of explaining natural philosophy and concluded the method is experientially based and uses both inductive and deductive logic to draw conclusions. Christianity, as taught in Western Europe at that time, was solely based on Sacred Scripture and the Church Fathers. Because science and theology are separate and distinct in their methodology, he reasoned, they pose no threat to each other. Philosophy had a value of its own, not just in relation to theology.
Albertus' writings are based on Aristotle's work, and when Aristotle differs from Christian theology, Albertus doesn't hesitate to bring him in line. He considered the highest authority in science and philosophy to be Aristotle and in theology St. Augustine. His discourses were poorly organized and never became a consistent system of thought. He defends a doctrine in one place and attacks it in another, sometimes in the same discourse. He was so prolific that he often didn't take the time to resolve these contradictions.
He gathered a vast volume of knowledge from pagan, Arabic, Jewish and Christian sources, and he explained Aristotle to the Latins. He also wrote a number of treatises in which his own philosophical, scientific and theological vision was developed. All of this knowledge was given a clearer and more organized presentation by his famous pupil Thomas Aquinas. The great influence St. Thomas Aquinas had in Western European Christianity would not have been possible without Albert the Great. He died in 1280 and in 1931 was declared a saint and a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI.