From medieval theology

Section: Political Books

Number of pages: 280 pages

From Medieval Theology ..... This summary places the Arab contribution among the most important sources that shaped modern thought. This position is not merely a distorted interpretation of Gilson's writings, but rather a direct and explicit acknowledgment in many of his fundamental works. There is no doubt that it is a position that breaks the "iron curtains" that some Orientalists have placed, and that Ernest Renan has established, in order to conceal the "epistemological revolution" that Arab-Islamic thought brought about in medieval Europe. It is known that Neoplatonism was dominant in European thought during the advanced Middle Ages, and Europeans did not become acquainted with Aristotelianism except through the Arabs. Therefore, Gilson's emphasis on the importance of Arab philosophy stems from his conviction that there is no vacuum in history; Descartes, Pascal, Leibniz, Bacon, etc. are not more important than Thomas Aquinas, Ibn Rushd, Albert the Great, Ibn Sina, etc.