What does scholasticism mean?
Scholasticism denotes the tradition of systematic reasoning that dominated medieval European philosophy and theology, especially within universities and other learned institutions. Its practitioners sought to reconcile authoritative religious beliefs with logical argument, employing formal distinctions, careful definitions, and extended disputation. The movement developed distinctive approaches to metaphysics, ethics, logic, and the nature of knowledge, and its influence continued well beyond the Middle Ages. Today, the term is encountered most often in intellectual history, but it can also be used critically to describe pedantic or excessively abstract academic argument. In that sense, calling a discussion “empty scholasticism” suggests that its technical intricacy has obscured rather than clarified the issue. The word is therefore both a precise label for a major historical tradition and a modern criticism of detached or overly formal scholarship.
nounScholasticism is the method of reasoning and the body of doctrines associated with medieval European scholastic philosophy and theology. In modern criticism, the term may also refer to excessively formal, narrow, or pedantic scholarship.
- The method of philosophical or theological inquiry characteristic of the medieval European schools.
- A body of doctrines developed within that tradition.
- Modern critical usage for overly formal, pedantic, or narrowly academic reasoning.
"The university traces its intellectual traditions back to the debates and methods of medieval scholasticism."
"Medieval scholasticism shaped debates over theology, metaphysics, ethics, and the nature of knowledge."
"His reply was dismissed by critics as empty scholasticism rather than a serious argument."
The plural is grammatically possible but rarely needed because the word normally denotes a single broad historical tradition or manner of thought.
"Historians have compared the scholasticisms of different medieval universities."
Scholasticism gave the medieval university its greatest intellectual puzzle: how to reconcile inherited Christian authority with the disciplined use of reason.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does scholasticism come from?
Scholasticism entered English from Medieval Latin scholasticismus, a noun formed from scholasticus, “of schools” or “scholastic.” The Latin adjective was borrowed from Greek scholastikos, which likewise related to schooling and derived from scholē, “school.” Its cognates include scholastic, scholarly, scholarship, and school, reflecting the long intellectual association between organized learning and the university traditions in which scholasticism developed.
Related word forms
How scholasticism is actually used
The word is chiefly used in the history of philosophy and theology. Its modern critical sense is often disparaging, suggesting an obsession with abstract distinctions or formal argument that lacks practical relevance.
Easily confused with scholasticism
Scholastic is an adjective relating to schools, formal education, or scholastic thought, whereas scholasticism is the broader method, tradition, or body of thought itself.