middle ages

what century was the middle ages in?

5th century to the late 15th century

Jewish philosophy in the middle ages 

Moses or Musa, or Rambam struggled to reconcile faith and reason 

• His guide for the perplexed argued for the use of reason in inquiry 

• Argued against strict literal interpretation of the bible 

• Saw humans as moral agents with free will; advocated moderation as path to health and virtue 

The middle ages were not completely dark 

Progress was slow but set the stage for advances in the next centuries 

• Dominance of religious authority 

• Rise of universities 

• Attempts (usually branded as heretical) to reconcile faith and reason 

Geopolitics in the middle ages

between 711 – 1492 much of Spain was under Moslem control, a succession of rulers,

territories

• Christians and Jews were allowed to practice their religion

• Knowledge of Greek had persisted among Moslems; Aristotle and Plato were

translated into Syriac, Arabic, ultimately Latin

• Logic was known through Boethius

• 1210 and 1215 CE Aristotle’s works were were banned from being taught at theUniversity of Parisby successive Church and university decrees. [1, 2]

Science in the middle ages

Ptolemy’s cosmology

– created by Claudius Ptolemy

Religious persecution in the late middle ages

• 1300 – 1500 Jews faced massacres, forced expulsion; Muslims faced forced

conversion, expulsion

• Waldensians and Cathars were tortured and murdered

• Heretics, accused heretics, were interrogated, tortured and murdered

• Church dogma narrowed