Humanism and Scholasticism

To appreciate the differences between scholasticism and humanism, it is useful to explore the genesis of the scholastic method as derived from classical models. According to Kirchner, the eleventh century marked the beginning of a revival of interest in classical or ancient models, which appears to have prefigured the later Renaissance. He refers to the growth of liberal arts, particularly in medieval literature and the new study of law. The model for this revival was Roman rather than Greek during the Middle Ages, and Kirchner says that the study of Roman law led to the development of universities, "regular meeting place for outstanding teachers and mature students, who organized themselves into a closely knit community" (Kirchner, 1960, p. 184). This provided an intellectual forum for speculative philosophy and theology.

Herlihy says that the classical contribution to the intellectua

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m an embrace of paradox on Henry's part. In any case, as Hexter notes, More "was not the man to avert his eyes from a moral paradox or double back and take the expedient way around it. He was a moral athlete and when he found himself faced with an ethical dilemma he had to wrestle with it. It was precisely his unwillingness to take the easy way around such a dilemma that twenty years later was to lead to his martyrdom" (Hexter, 1952, p. 114; emphasis added). Scholars disagree about the emphasis of More's work. Artz says that "More's thinking went back to the medieval world" and was not really suited to the task of contemporary social criticism (p. 78). Taylor (1959) agrees, citing More's official policy of persecution of Lutheran heretics in the early part of his chancellorship of England. Kenny asserts that it is tinged with liberalism and that the main problem of analysis is reconciling this with "the conservative Catholicism of More's life and theological writings" (Kenny, 1983, p. 190, et passim). Sargent asserts that Utopia presents an authoritarian, patriarchal and hierarchical society modeled on the monastery and produces a society of economic security, little liberty and equality between mental and physical labor (Sargent
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Catholicism More's, Middle Ages, Northern Humanism, Thompson CR, Pantheon Books, Praise Folly, Indeed Folly, William Ockham, Row Publishers, Black Death, middle ages, erasmus 1980, herlihy 1968, taylor 1959, northern humanism, kirchner 1960, praise folly, renaissance humanism, ii classics western, greer 4 vols, classics western, th greer 4, western third, western third edition, classics western third,
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