The Medieval Ages, with the absence of knowledge, were in stark contrast to the Classical era. The main force behind this shift was the Catholic Church. Although the Catholic Church preserved and spread knowledge and patronized the arts, the Vatican edited knowledge to meet its doctrine, oppressed intellectuals and created religious fervor, and its policy shift towards knowledge will lead directly into the Renaissance.
The two main facets to the Church’s positive impact on knowledge were preserving Classical knowledge through monasteries, and patronizing the arts. The Vatican mandated for libraries to be in all monasteries. Monasteries also housed artifacts from Greece and Rome, and monks were the philosophers and teachers of the era. Benedictine …show more content…
On the border between the 11th and 12th centuries, a large debate flared up. The “Head versus Heart” debate revolved around serving God. Both sides agreed that if man was made by God, then whatever gifts man was given should serve God. “Head” believed that man’s intellect, superior to all other beings, was clearly meant to learn and serve God, while “Heart” believed that man’s devout faith to God was the gift that should serve God. Although the debate eventually cooled down, it is quite clear that knowledge was not compatible with religion in the Middle Ages; Christians believed that all scientists were non-believers. “The ignorant was closer to the truth,” to Healing this divide was nearly impossible, and that is why Thomas Aquinas was canonized in 1323. He was a Dominican friar, originally from Italy, who was tasked to approve knowledge for the Church. The result was the Summa Theologica, published posthumously in 1485. This treatise outlines the Church’s view on a wide range of scholastic topics. In the Summa, Thomas states that the “goal of life is acquisition of truth.” He also uses Aristotle’s principle of cause and effect to conclude that God is the First Cause. Although Thomas did adapt knowledge, and manipulate it to an extent, his treatise proved that science and the Church could coexist. This policy shift of accepting knowledge directly correlates to the European continent being swept up in the Renaissance in the
The two main facets to the Church’s positive impact on knowledge were preserving Classical knowledge through monasteries, and patronizing the arts. The Vatican mandated for libraries to be in all monasteries. Monasteries also housed artifacts from Greece and Rome, and monks were the philosophers and teachers of the era. Benedictine …show more content…
On the border between the 11th and 12th centuries, a large debate flared up. The “Head versus Heart” debate revolved around serving God. Both sides agreed that if man was made by God, then whatever gifts man was given should serve God. “Head” believed that man’s intellect, superior to all other beings, was clearly meant to learn and serve God, while “Heart” believed that man’s devout faith to God was the gift that should serve God. Although the debate eventually cooled down, it is quite clear that knowledge was not compatible with religion in the Middle Ages; Christians believed that all scientists were non-believers. “The ignorant was closer to the truth,” to Healing this divide was nearly impossible, and that is why Thomas Aquinas was canonized in 1323. He was a Dominican friar, originally from Italy, who was tasked to approve knowledge for the Church. The result was the Summa Theologica, published posthumously in 1485. This treatise outlines the Church’s view on a wide range of scholastic topics. In the Summa, Thomas states that the “goal of life is acquisition of truth.” He also uses Aristotle’s principle of cause and effect to conclude that God is the First Cause. Although Thomas did adapt knowledge, and manipulate it to an extent, his treatise proved that science and the Church could coexist. This policy shift of accepting knowledge directly correlates to the European continent being swept up in the Renaissance in the