Evan Johnson

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English Language

2 August 2013

Middle Ages

            The beginning of the Middle Ages saw a great decline in civilizations and the culture that were a part of them. This being said, the Middle Ages was not without its own advances in philosophy and religious ideas. This makes sense as the majority of people during this time were nothing more than peasants. Since they had no way of becoming more than peasants, they relied on their faith and fear of God to get them into heaven, which would be a much better life. Thanks to great philosophers though, people were able to accept the teachings of philosophy while not fearing that it was against God’s wishes.

            During the Middle Ages, the common man was faithful to his god and did not accept any other teachings. This threatened philosophy because the less people you have looking into new ideas, the less likely it will carry on into later generations and time. So, thanks to philosophers of the Middle Ages such as Aquinas and St. Augustine, philosophical ideas were able to carry on since they combined philosophy and Christianity. Combining these ideas allowed the common man to accept philosophical ideas while not fearing the wrath of God. Two things occurred when these ideas were combined. First off, philosophical ideas were able to survive in a world of heavy scrutiny. Secondly, it redefined ideas about religion and how people perceived it.

            Thanks to philosophers, ideas that were part of past cultures were able to survive in a world 

where God’s word was dominant. These philosophers also changed ideas about religion that have 

even carried on to today. That is why philosophers during this time were so important