The Conflict Between Aristotelian and Augustinian Thought in 13th-Century Scholasticism

During the mid-13th century, Albertus Magnus and his student Thomas Aquinas sought to synthesize Aristotle’s philosophy with Augustinian theology, establishing a rational framework for Christian thought. Their position maintained that:

• Aristotle was correct in matters within the grasp of reason (e.g., logic, natural sciences, ethics).
• What is beyond reason—divine mysteries such as the Trinity and the Incarnation—could only be known through faith.

This Aristotelian synthesis profoundly influenced Scholastic theology, but it also provoked controversy within the Church. More extreme Aristotelian schools emerged, some interpreting Aristotle in a way that seemed to undermine Christian doctrine. The resulting tensions led to Church condemnations of certain Aristotelian positions, as well as aspects of Aquinas’s and Albertus’s teachings.

Bonaventure’s Augustinian Mysticism and Opposition to Aristotelianism

At the same time, Bonaventure, a Franciscan contemporary of Aquinas, defended a more mystical, Augustinian approach to Christian knowledge.

• While he was well acquainted with Aristotelian philosophy, Bonaventure feared its use in Christian theology, believing it could diminish divine revelation’s primacy.
• Instead, he favored Saint Augustine’s more traditional, introspective philosophy, which often stood in opposition to the rational synthesis developed by Aquinas.

Bonaventure’s Defense of the Mendicants and His Theological Works

• During his years at the University of Paris, Bonaventure successfully defended the Mendicant orders’ right to teach, responding to criticism from secular clergy and university authorities.
• Between 1255 and 1256, he set forth his mystical, essentially Augustinian view of Christian knowledge in Retracing the Arts to Theology (De Reductione Artium ad Theologiam).
  • This treatise proposed that all human knowledge—including philosophy, science, and the liberal arts—should ultimately be oriented toward theology and divine truth.
• On February 2, 1257, Bonaventure was elected Minister General of the Franciscan Order, leading him to retire from university teaching to focus on reforming and guiding the Franciscan movement.
• In 1259, he expanded his Augustinian mystical theories in The Itinerary of the Mind into God (Itinerarium Mentis in Deum), a spiritual guide to divine union that became a cornerstone of Franciscan theology.

Aquinas in Rome: Service to the Papal Court (1259)

While Bonaventure continued to shape Franciscan thought, Thomas Aquinas left Paris for Rome in 1259, where he was appointed as an attaché to the papal court of Pope Alexander IV.

• During this period, Aquinas engaged in theological and administrative work for the Papacy, further refining his systematic approach to faith and reason.
• His time in Rome allowed him to develop his most influential works, including sections of the Summa Theologica, in which he continued his integration of Aristotelian thought into Christian doctrine.

Long-Term Impact of the Aristotelian-Augustinian Divide

The intellectual divide between Aquinas’s Aristotelian synthesis and Bonaventure’s Augustinian mysticismpersisted throughout the Middle Ages, shaping the Dominican and Franciscan schools of theology.

• The Dominicans, led by Aquinas, defended the use of reason and Aristotle in theology.
• The Franciscans, influenced by Bonaventure, emphasized mystical experience and divine illumination.

This theological tension would later influence medieval and Renaissance philosophy, as well as Church teachings on faith, reason, and divine knowledge.