History of Philosophy IV: Medieval Philosophy (part 1)

Medieval philosophy is often portrayed as nothing more than the history of Catholic Scholasticism, inaugurated through Augustine's passionate fusion of Pagan Neoplatonism, Manichean Gnosticism and Pauline Judeo-Christian elements circa 300 AD, and culminating in Aquinas' hairsplitting scholasticism circa 1300 AD. But this millenium of Christian hegemony is in fact inextricably entangled with several other strands of tradition including the Islamic, the Judaic, the persistently pagan and resolutely mystic. In this course some main features of this intricate tapestry shall be traced, locating the canonical orthodox figures in the context of a diverse range of heretics in reaction to whom Christianity defined itself.