What is the term for the dominant medieval approach that used logic to resolve theological problems?

What is the term for the dominant medieval approach that used logic to resolve theological problems?

• A. Humanism
• B. Scholasticism
• C. Mysticism
• D. Nominalism

Answer: (B)

Scholasticism is the medieval approach that used logic and dialectical reasoning to resolve theological questions. In medieval universities, scholars engaged in rigorous argument, posing questions, presenting objections, and then systematizing answers to show how faith and reason fit together. They drew on Aristotelian logic and aim to construct comprehensive, orderly explanations of theology, such as proofs for the existence of God or explanations of divine attributes, by weighing rival positions and reconciling apparent contradictions. This method produced widely read works like Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae, which exemplifies a step-by-step, question-and-answer style aimed at clarifying theological problems through disciplined reasoning. Other terms don’t capture this methodical, logic-driven approach: humanism centers on Renaissance human-centered learning, mysticism emphasizes direct personal experience of the divine, and nominalism refers to a philosophical stance within those debates rather than the overall method of resolving theological issues.

Scholasticism is the medieval approach that used logic and dialectical reasoning to resolve theological questions. In medieval universities, scholars engaged in rigorous argument, posing questions, presenting objections, and then systematizing answers to show how faith and reason fit together. They drew on Aristotelian logic and aim to construct comprehensive, orderly explanations of theology, such as proofs for the existence of God or explanations of divine attributes, by weighing rival positions and reconciling apparent contradictions. This method produced widely read works like Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae, which exemplifies a step-by-step, question-and-answer style aimed at clarifying theological problems through disciplined reasoning. Other terms don’t capture this methodical, logic-driven approach: humanism centers on Renaissance human-centered learning, mysticism emphasizes direct personal experience of the divine, and nominalism refers to a philosophical stance within those debates rather than the overall method of resolving theological issues.