Socrates' Children Volume II: Medieval Philosophers

by Peter Kreeft

This is the second of a four-volume history of philosophy . . . on ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary philosophy. After the fourth volume is produced in paper, a one-volume clothbound edition, containing all four paperbound editions, will be published.

Kreeft focuses on the “big ideas” that have influenced present people and present times, and includes relevant biographical data, proportionate to its importance for each thinker. Moreover, the aim of the work is to stimulate philosophizing, controversy, and argument. It uses ordinary language and logic, not jargon and symbolic logic, and it is commonsensical (like Aristotle) and existential in the sense that it sees philosophy as something to be lived and experienced in life. Philosophy, after all, is not about philosophy but reality . . . about wisdom, life and death, good and evil, and God.

Kreeft seeks to be simple and direct and clear. But it is not dumbed down and patronizing. It will stretch the reader, but it is meant for beginnings, not just scholars. It can be used for college classes or do-it-yourselfers. It emphasizes surprises; remember, “philosophy begins in wonder.” And it includes visual aids: charts, cartoons, line drawings, and drawings of each philosopher.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction, Christian, Biography

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2012

About the author

Peter Kreeft is an American philosopher and prolific author of over eighty books on Christian theology, philosophy, and apologetics. A convert from Protestantism to Catholicism, his journey was shaped by his study of Church history, Gothic architecture, and Thomistic thought. He earned his BA from Calvin College, an MA and PhD from Fordham University, and pursued further studies at Yale. Since 1965, he has taught philosophy at Boston College and also at The King’s College. Kreeft is known for formulating “Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God” with Ronald K. Tacelli, featured in their Handbook of Christian Apologetics. A strong advocate for unity among Christians, he emphasizes shared belief in Christ over denominational differences.

Reviews

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fascinating and very clearly written, with just a touch of the trademark Kreeft humor which I enjoyed. It did clarify one thing for me, though. No matter how well written or how sympathetic I am to them, I tend to glaze over when philosophical constructs are explained. Kreeft's book would be a good resource to have on hand as a primer, especially once all four volumes are printed together as a hardback, as the publisher promises.

[Noah Senthil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Peter Kreeft, and this introduction to medieval philosophy bears all the marks of his characteristic clarity, humor, and desire to interact with the breadth and depth of the philosophical tradition.

The layout of each chapter varies a lot (e.g. sometimes he’ll just end a chapter with 20 quotes), which kind of annoys me, but that’s a minor critique. I prefer consistency, but he’s Peter Kreeft, so he can do what he wants.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. Same a previous review of on ancient philosophers

[Joseph R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the regular introduction to philosophy in general and justification for this series in particular, Kreeft covers numbers 34 to 54 of his 100 most important philosophers in the Western tradition. He starts off surprisingly with Saint John the Evangelist, who wrote the fourth gospel in the New Testament. John was a harbinger of things to come, not just theologically, but philosophically. To be more precise, he began the serious union of theology and philosophy that would dominate the Medieval period.

Most of the philosophers in this period were Christians; most of them were theologians who used philosophy to help understand the Christian faith. The texts of Aristotle (except for his works on logic) were lost at the beginning of this period, leading to a dominance of the Platonic tradition. Resolving Platonic and Neo-Platonic theories with Christian teaching proved difficult, though St. Augustine did a masterful job reconciling the two in the late 300s and early 400s. In the 1100s, the texts of Aristotle came back to Europe by way of the Muslims (who had them in translation), creating a new need for a synthesis between the popular philosophy and Christian understanding. Thomas Aquinas stands as the best at uniting the two, taking the good things out of Aristotle to help explain and understand the Christian faith. Some theologians put more emphasis on Aristotle, leading to various dubious ideas like the "two truths" theory where what is known from philosophy sometimes contradicts what is known from Christian faith. To resolve the problem, thinkers posited that both were accurate in their own way, a not very satisfactory solution. The Medieval period wound down with William of Ockham's theory that there are no universals and that everything has its being in God. Moral goodness only comes from the divine fiat, not from the nature of reality, because there is no nature. All things are individuals, generalizations like "cat," "dog," or "human" do not exist in reality, but only Fifi and Fido and Frank. Ockham set up a lot of ideas that would get champions later on (probably in the next volume?).

The book is entertainingly written, with a nice blend of clarity and humor. Kreeft does a good job reviewing various people even when he disagrees with them (he even calls Ockham a villain!). Augustine and Aquinas, the two big thinkers from this period, get much longer descriptions. The others are reviewed in three to five pages. It is easy to ready for amateurs and a great review for those who have already studied philosophy.

Highly recommended.

[Patrick Santino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shorter, not as much to cover. I liked Kreeft’s comparison to the “Philosophy Tree.” Ancients are the disparate roots of the tree, the medievals come together and unite in a narrow trunk because they were relatively uniform in thinking, & then from modernity onwards the branches start spreading into different directions & branching even further from there etc. Interesting how St John the Evangelist with Christ as Logos gets the nod as first initiator of the marriage of Christian theology and philosophy. Quickly though, the most dominate forces in this book come into view. They were of course St Augustine “baptizing” Plato, & St Thomas Aquinas “baptizing” Aristotle. I liked how Augustine & Boethius were a review and synthesis of all the ancients that came before. In Augustine’s case there was of course interesting advancement of philosophy (intertwined with theology). With Boethius, I literally noted “Plato idea, Aristotle idea, stoics idea, etc.” Surprisingly, I’m not in love with any of the British Isles philosophers (including Ireland, excluding Anselm), some even seem harmful. The surprisingly delightful one for me was Pseudo-Dionysus. I found it very interesting that the Muslims didn’t have an Aquinas who Christianized Aristotle. There was no one to Islamify Aristotle, they only had people that could Aristotelianize Islam which only aggravated more faithful Muslims. Is this in the nature of Islam, or is it a shame it never came to fruition? Too early to tell if I align more with Bonaventure or Aquinas thinking. And wow, Kreeft did not like William of Ockham at all, zero charity extended to nominalism views. His most damning comment is his evidence of Ockham’s damaging nominalism’s influence: 400 years of zero novel advancement in philosophy, potentially even a divorce of Christian theology and philosophy. Could have been interesting to holistically track the resurgence and translations of Plato and Aristotle’s work to and from Christian East, Islamic world, and Christian West; not sure I’d suggest adding much else beyond that though. The book does a great job executing its mission. With trepidation, I’ll begin the third volume on modern philosophers.

[Jack Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual Kreeft gives an eminently readable introduction to the subject area. He does not break new ground, however. This is not a scholarly book with citations. This is a book to help students or earnest inquirers to navigate the world of philosophy and point them in the right direction.

It's a slim volume covering 20 philosophers, although not evenly. Over a third of the book is taken up with the two philosophers Kreeft takes to be the most important: Augustine and Aquinas (I would not disagree). It covers a very long period from its roots in late antiquity to the Renaissance.

If you're looking for a more comprehensive history of philosophy then I recommend Copleston's History of Philosophy.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like I said for the first volume, no other intro philosophy book quite like it. While Kreeft is Catholic, you only see his pleasure in discussing ideas and the philosophers responsible for us talking about them. I recommend it to anyone (while being frustrated with the author for reasons you’d never know about if these books were your only interaction with him). This volume challenges many people’s ideas of the medieval era as a benighted time. You’ll see that people continued to advance philosophy when you might have thought it was just a time of barbarism and ignorant religiosity.

[Brandon Mularski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to medieval philosophy. It should be noted that the author does have a bias towards certain philosophers however he admits this and tries his best to remain neutral.
Another reason why I liked this book is because it dispels the myth that the people in the Middle Ages cared nothing for Science and Knowledge. In this book it will show the reader that these thinkers led the way to the renaissance and the modern era, even though this process was long.

[Alessio · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Philosophy is the handmaiden of Theology."
So far this series has been illuminating, while maintaining brevity and readability. I feel I better understand now how the historic Christian church has understood the relationship of philosophy and theology, and how we've abandoned that as moderns beginning with Ockham in the late medieval period. Must-read if you're a Christian looking to engage with pre-20th cen. theology.

[Fr. Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find this to be an excellent bird's eye view of the philosophical development during the middle ages, an area that I felt weakest at. I can now say that I have a bigger picture of the time in between the socratic and modern philosophers. Kreeft even gave comments on how a philosopher's thought affected future developments, which is a great way to contextualize and see this history in relationship with each other.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kreeft has done it again! This is a wonderful summary of Medieval philosophy from the good to the bad to the ugly. With his characteristic good humor and wit, Kreeft is a suitable guide through the supposed "Dark Ages" of philosophy. His section of Aquinas is particularly enjoyable.

I highly recommend this volume to anymore interested in philosophy, the middle ages, or Aquinas.

[Paul Parkinson]

Moving on to III

[Diana Kullman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to philosophers. I will start Vol 3 after I read the author's suggestions to read Augustine's Confessions.

[Charles Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it every page

[Nick Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the more important and in detail philosophers took me a while to understand, but the author presents them in a digestible way.

[sch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dec 2024. Very excited about this volume. Finished - several short chapters left me confused, but 90% of the book is just excellent.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are using this series to introduce older kids into philosophy and while it is not exactly suited for that purpose it is still an excellent introduction into medieval philosophy. Aquinas looms large in this introduction to medieval philosophy but many others are covered well in introductory manner. The authors Thomist disposition shows up frequently and that's the only reason I drop a star. I understand this to be as much a history book as an intro to philosophical ideas and the author inserts himself regularly to opine for and against a thinker always referencing the superiority of Aquinas to the current person and ideas in focus. Other than that it's a great intro.