Controversies

Within the limits of this article, it is hardly possible to provide an accurate account of those controversies that were central to the philosophical debates held at medieval universities. Generally, they belonged to the fields of logic (universals, signification, supposition), natural philosophy (motion, time, infinity), metaphysics (substance, being, first cause), and ethics (virtues, happiness, friendship). The bottom line was the correct interpretation of Aristotle, whose writings stood at the centre of the educational programme; yet, this did not in any way prevent original thought. Even Ockham, whose views were rejected by some contemporaries as new inventions, repeatedly stressed that what he said was precisely that which Aristotle expressed in his writings. And although Aristotle himself was sometimes attacked, especially by theologians (some of whom, such as Francis of Meyronnes in his commentary on the Sentences, called him the worst metaphysician) he nonetheless remained the virtually undisputed starting point of philosophical reflection at medieval universities.

Significantly, Aristotle was considered the best example of what human beings are able to achieve through the use of natural reason alone, that is, without the aid of Christian Revelation. This led to repeated conflicts with representatives of the Theology faculty and even the Church, when philosophers underlined in their classes that Aristotle, and thus natural reason, came to conclusions opposed to those of Christian Faith. Landmarks were the Condemnation of 1277, when Bishop Stephen Tempier banned a number of philosophical theses discussed in the Arts faculty at Paris, and the aforementioned late-medieval Wegestreit.