2023-02-13

Last updated Aug 15, 2023

#EDUC101i #education #history #philosophy #religion

In this second module, we jump to another era in history - the Medieval times - and although we will continue to immerse in the details of what education was like then, here, we will focus our reflection on ==the fundamental purpose of education== for them. To guide our thinking in this module, we will anchor our discussions on this essential question ==“Who is an educated person?”==

There are 2 themes that describe the backdrop for Medieval education:

1. Moral Degeneracy
   1. Prior to this time, the Early Christian Church was born. However, (and Jesus would not have been happy about this) the church grew much in terms of structure and rituals, but have often fallen short in terms of moral practice.
   2. It was present as an institution but it focused more on the ==ceremonies== than on living a Christlike life.
2. Individualistic Feudalism and Rise of the Classes
   1. Kings, knights, lords, slaves, etc.
   2. This was also a time when several Kingdoms rose to power where ==a hierarchy of social class== was prominent.

This video ( What If You Lived During the Middle Ages?) gives you a bird’s eye view of what life was like during the middle/dark ages.  As you watch the video, take note of the following: the ==social classes== that emerged during this period, and the ==knowledge and skills== that were valued by each social class.

 If you lived during the medieval period, what kind of education would you need not only to survive but to thrive?

As you saw in the video, the Medieval times is a mixed bag, but what’s clear is that it’s given rise to some “personalities” that can clue us into what education was like then: ==the monk, the scholastic, the knight and the craftsman.==

First, we will look into two forms of education that believed in the pursuit of purity and the intellect: Monasticism and Scholasticism.

• These first two characters in medieval education anchored the conception of an educated man on religious piety, giving rise to two forms of education - monasticism and scholasticism.
• If you think about it - ==“the religious person” as the educated person is not really an outdated paradigm.== In the Philippines alone a lot of the first schools were established by religious orders (the Jesuits included), and continues to put front and center the ideal Christian as an ideal person, but how similar or different was their perspective then in comparison to the present?

• When you think of monks, one of the first things that probably come to mind is a ==solitary life. ==
  • Remember that one of the contexts that gave birth to this was the ==un-christlike behaviors of Christians. ==
  • Therefore, one of the big ideas of Monasticism is to ==stay away from things that are “worldly”. ==Thus, the seclusion.
• So, if monasticism suggests a solitary life, away from the affairs of the world,  how could it have influenced education?
• A starting point is to distinguish between two forms of monasticism - anchoritic and the cenobitic. 
  • The anchoritic form called for pure seclusion.
  • The cenobitic form allowed monks to live in small communities and form monasteries. These monasteries were developed into educational institutions.

“The monasteries were the schools, the libraries, the publishing houses, the literary centers, the hospitals, and the workshops of medieval time” (Wilds and Lottich, 1965).

What was monastic life like? Here’s a brief overview: A Mini Guide to Medieval Monks

There were many different religious communities in medieval Britain. Many of English Heritage’s religious sites were once home to one of the four major monastic movements – the Benedictines, Cluniacs, Carthusians and Cistercians. But do you know the difference between these religious orders?

• Benedictines
  • At the core of the Benedictine day was communal prayer; everyday the monks gathered in church to sing eight services
  • Time was also set aside for reading and manual work
  • Monasteries also had an obligation to offer hospitality to travellers and alms to the poor
  • The Rule of St. Benedict was summed up with the motto “Pray and Work”
• Cluniacs
  • The Cluniacs wanted a grander style of worship. So their interpretation of the Rule called for a celebration of God through beautiful art, architecture, and elaborate services.
  • Servants did most of the manual labor
• Cistercians
  • The Cluniac life was too opulent for the Cistercians
  • Monasteries were plain and secluded
  • Services were shorter, and they farmed and carried out their own manual labor
  • Aim: simpler, more austere spiritual life
• Carthusians
  • The most austere out of all the orders
  • Wore hooded robes, only came together for a few services each day, and unlike other orders, lived and prayed in solitary cells
• Henry VIII suddenly dissolved all the moansteries; this forced those who committed to religious communities to step out into an uncertain future

# The 6 Key Features of Monasticism Lecture

• Monasticism comes from the Greek word monos, meaning alone.
  • Sets the context for Monasticism, since this is a form of education born from the experiences of monks who secluded themselves from the rest of society
• 6 Key Features
  • Aim: ==“salvation of individual souls”==
    • Context: this type of education was a response to the degrading quality of Christianity
    • Through… (methods)
      • Bodily mortification
      • World renunciation – chastity, poverty, obedience
        • Described as Cards/Ascetism: the ==disciplining== of all ==bodily desires== and ==all human affections and aspirations== so that the mind and soul might be devoted to the interests of the higher life.
        • This works with the assumption that the higher life cannot mix with the worldly life
  • Type: Moral and Religious education
    • Types of training
      • Literary Training: reading, copying, and writing of manuscripts
      • Manual Training: agriculture (for men), skilled artisanship (wood, metal, leather), embroidery
    • Motivation behind these
      • Rule of Benedict: “==Idleness is the great enemy== of the soul, therefore the monks shall always be occupied either in manual labor or holy reading”
  • Content: Seven Liberal Arts (grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music)
    • Also done in service of the church/religion
      • “The novitates were required to learn to ==read== in order to ==study the sacred books==; to ==write== in order to ==copy manuscripts==; to ==sing== in order to take part in ==religious ceremonies==; and to ==calculate== so that they could ==compute the time of the church festivals==”
  • Agency & Organization: Monastic schools
    • Boys admitted at age 10, and enters the order at 18
    • Later on, “outsiders” were admitted too (interni v.s. externi)
      • Externi: those coming from the external world
      • Interni: those who decided to stay to continue living a religious life
  • Method:
    • Cathethical: question & answer method
    • Dictation: since they had limited copies of the manuscripts
    • Meditation & Contemplation
    • Corporal Punishment (use of the rod)
• Takeaway question: Who was the educated person in Monasticism?
• Finally, to deepen your understanding, read more about Monastic Education, you may do so in this excerpt.

1. What feature of Monastic Education did you find most interesting? Include a brief quote from the text about this.
2. Describe the educated person in monastic education.

What I found most interesting about Monastic Education was the motivation behind keeping the monks constantly busy. This was because they worried that having too much free time could make one vulnerable to “tempation or brooding”. As declared by the Rule of Benedict: “Idleness is the great enemy of the soul.” I can’t help but think of how similar this aim is to modern productivity culture, where people try to optimize their time in order to do as much as possible; workaholics like me are most guilty of this.

The educated person in monastic education is a single-minded devotee. Similar to the Spartans, who dedicated their whole lives to the state, educated monks dedicated their whole lives to God. They sacrificed their bodies (through phsical torment) and relationships (with the home, economy, and state); they believed that this would free them from worldy tempations, which would allow them to fully focus on studying and serving God (which can be seen in the purely religious content of their education).

Let’s start this section with this question: What is the relationship of faith and reason?

• The late middle period (11th to 12th century) was a time of peace and  intellectual activities.  People now began to speculate about Church doctrines, which were previously accepted unquestioningly. This resulted in pursuing theology with more vigor and hence the start of scholasticism as a movement.  Scholasticism aimed to ==support the doctrines of the church using rational argument.==
• Malik Shawal in his article  Scholasticism: Nature, Purpose and Method of Educationprovides an overview of the educational system that developed during this period.
• One of the prominent characters in Scholasticism is St. Anselm of Canterbury, a Christian Philosopher and Theologian. Here’s one of his famous quotes:
  • 
  • As you read the quote above, think about how similar or different this point of view is with the monks of Monastic education. For the scholastics, Faith and reason need not be worlds apart.
• Definition of Scholasticism
  • The word “scholasticism” has its roots in the Latin word “schola” which means school.
  • In Latin medieval universities, the heads of the schools are called “magistris scholarum” (masters of the schools) or simply “scholastici” (scholastics or schoolmen).
  • During the Medieval times, the scholastici were recognized as the bearers of authentic philosophical and theological views
• 6 Key Features of Scholasticism
  • Aim: intellectual discipline (faith seeking understanding)
    • The aim of Scholasticism was mainly to be able to ==defend the faith through reason.== This was a response to ==heretics of the church that questioned belief based on faith alone.==
    • “Scholastic education sought also to develop the ability to ==formulate beliefs into logical systems== and to ==defend these against any intellectual arguments==”
    • Another prominent figure in this time was St. Thomas Aquinas. One of the most famous prayers attributed to him speaks volumes of what the scholastics believed in.
  • Types & Content: Theology and Religious Philosophy (new system of philosophizing about theological beliefs)
    • Mainly influenced by Thomas Aquinas
    • Developed a new understanding of theplace of Reason in human life
    • His monumental contribution was to teach Western European civilization that ==any human being== (not just a Christian) could have ==access to great truths== whenever they made use of God’s greatest gift to human beings: ==reason==
      • He thus universalized intelligence, explaining how one could have both wisdom and no faith in God
    • The modern world, in so far as it insists that good ideas can come from any quarter regardless of creed or background, remains hugely in Aquinas’ debt.
      • This is because he opened the Christian mind to the insights of all of humanity from across the ages and the continents
    • He proposed that the world could be explored through reason, and not just through faith
    • He did this by proposing that the universe and all its dynamics operate according to two kinds of law: ==(secular) natural law== and ==(religious) eternal law.==
      • Related to Philo class?
    • “Do unto others what you would have done to you” belongs to natural law, not eternal law
      • this explains how it was a moral cornerstrone even outside of religion
    • While God can work through eternal law (e.g. miracles), most useful knowledge can be found within the realms of natural law
    • Ensured that radicalization wouldn’t harm intellectual culture (compared to what happened with Islam)
    • Though Aquinas was a man of deep faith, he provided a philosophical framework for open scientific inquiry; he reminds us that knowledge can and should come from multiple sources (i.e. intuition and rationality, science and revelation, pagans and monks)
  • Agencies: cathedral schools, monastic schools, universities
    • Apart from Scholasticism naturally finding its way to Monastic and Cathedral Schools, one of the important contributions of scholastic education is the development of medieval universities.
  • Methods: lecture (dictation), debate, syllogism
    • There were two prominent teaching methods in Scholasticism: The (all too familiar) Lecture - where teachers read text together with students and debates - where a thesis was proposed and objections were raised and refuted.
    • One of the favorite forms of argument was syllogism - a form of reasoning that is composed of 3 propositions - a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion.