scholasticism

American  

[skuh-las-tuh-siz-uhm] / skəˈlæs təˌsɪz əm /

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) the system of theological and philosophical teaching predominant in the Middle Ages, based chiefly upon the authority of the church fathers and of Aristotle and his commentators.

2. narrow adherence to traditional teachings, doctrines, or methods.

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scholasticism British  

/ skəˈlæstɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) the system of philosophy, theology, and teaching that dominated medieval western Europe and was based on the writings of the Church Fathers and (from the 12th century) Aristotle

2. strict adherence to traditional doctrines

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scholasticism Cultural  

1. The philosophy and theology, marked by careful argumentation, that flourished among Christian thinkers in Europe during the Middle Ages.

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Discover More

Central to scholastic thought is the idea that reason and faith are compatible. Scholastic thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas tried to show that ancient philosophy, especially that of Aristotle, supported and illuminated Christian faith.

Other Word Forms

• antischolasticism noun
• proscholasticism noun

Etymology

Origin of scholasticism

First recorded in 1750–60; scholastic + -ism

Explanation

Scholasticism is a habit of sticking stubbornly to one specific method of teaching or learning. Your teacher's scholasticism might mean she teaches you math the exact same way she was taught. In medieval times, scholasticism was a popular way of teaching philosophy in universities. It focused on both philosophical reasoning, often using ancient Greek texts and Christian theology. Though scholasticism was a logical and valid method of study, it was also dogmatic, sticking to one specific set of rules and ideas, no matter what. Scholasticism derives from the Greek word skholastikos, "a scholar."

Example Sentences

By roughly 1100 CE, a new form of formal education based on scholasticism was the method of instruction in cathedral schools.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

The importance to scholasticism of what was called at the time “disputation” — the debating technique described above — cannot be overstated.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2019

For thousands of years, monks in medieval monasteries built a vast corpus of scholarship doing just that, using a method perfected by Thomas Aquinas known as scholasticism.

From The Guardian • Jul. 11, 2017

Instead of solving these problems, Rorty thought we could ditch them, just as Descartes had ditched the problems of thirteenth-century scholasticism, and at a similarly low cost to the progress of human knowledge.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 10, 2017

The old philosophy is, by the end of the seventeenth century, scholasticism; modern science is the science of Descartes and Newton.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton