What was the Medieval Times in philosophy?

Answer 1

Philosophy was valued differently by people at different times, different place, and different cultures, within the middle ages. The middle ages lasted 1000 years, and happened across a continent. Even within a single city, there could be people of three or even four cultural backgrounds, and this is especially true of Spain, where the study of philosophy was revived in western medieval Europe.

During the period of the first half of the Early Middle Ages (5th to 8th centuries), there was not a lot of progress in philosophy. Then Muslims brought Arab copies of the works of Greek philosophers with them when they invaded Spain, and the local Jewish people had philosophers of their own. These groups translated the works of the ancient Greeks and more recent Arabs and Jews into Latin, and they were distributed across Europe. The rise of Universities in the High Middle Ages made philosophy even more important. The University of Bologna was opened in 1088, and by the end of the Middle Ages, another 70 universities opened in Europe.

Answer 2

The Middle Ages were exciting times, from the point of view of philosophy. There was a lot of development in the subject as the ideas of the great thinkers of Greece and Rome were compared, contrasted, and integrated with the new ideas brought in from Arabia and Persia by Islamic peoples. With the opening of universities in Western Europe, activity increased. And with the Condemnations of 1210 to 1277, the Church freed philosophers from the requirements of scholastic which had begun to stymie them.

This issue is complicated and really requires a much lengthier treatment than can be given here. There is a link below to an article on medieval philosophy.