Western Intellectual Tradition (1. Origins)
This is just a quick rundown. Hopefully I have time to elaborate more later on.
If the whole tradition of western thoughts is a human body, then the body stands on two legs. The right leg is the scriptural tradition, originated in the Near East, preserved by Jews for hundreds of years BC, expanded by (and survive of) the Christian Roman Empire (the West and then Byzantium), and strengthened using power and organizations by the Church. The Jews held on to their society and identity, while Paul spreads Christianity to the masses.
The left leg is the philosophical tradition, started in Greece before Socrates, argued (literally) by Plato’s dialogues, analyzed and classified by Aristotle’s logic and methodology, lived by Epicurus, doubted by the skeptics, and practiced by the Roman stoics. Plato points upward to the divine soul, while Aristotle points to the worldly and human nature.
Augustine might be the first part of the torso which joined the two legs. He had a neoplatonist view before he formulated doctrines on soul and freewill. But, there was no major development in the west after him (I’m hesitant to use the term ‘Dark Ages’ here).
On the other hand, Muslim thinkers from Al Kindi, Al Farabi, to Ibnu Sina and Ibnu Rusdh, flourished during this time. In fact, without them the torso wouldn’t be fully formed as we know now. Their scriptural traditions were not those of Augustine’s but the philosophical traditions had the same origins. In fact, they got from the West more than Islam ever did and the West got more from them than Islam did.
Finally, Aquinas completes the top part of the torso. He studied Aristotle using Ibnu Rushd’s commentary. He disagreed with Ibnu Rushd’s double-truth that philosophy and theology might have different sets of truth, and tried to unify them. By and large, Aquinas was an Aristotelian, with his Natural Law built firmly in this tradition.
The next part will deal with the other part of the body, ie. arms, neck and heads which correspond to the more modern tradition.
