Philosophy in Universities Lives in Various Forms

Diverse Countries – Diverse University and Philosophical Traditions

Various universities emerged to promote Thomism—the philosophical system of Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas’s works, such as the Summa Theologiae, represented a revolutionary approach to the presentation of material: previously, “sums” referred to mere outlines, but now they manifested as expansive treatises filled with arguments and practical tools for all circumstances. Thus, at the behest of John IV of Brabant, the Duke of Burgundy, the University of Leuven (modern-day Leuven in Belgium) was established in 1425, enduring unbroken until the French Revolution. Among its professors was Frisius (1508—1555), a creator of precise globes and astronomical instruments, who taught the renowned English magician and alchemist John Dee. This university became a center for Jansenism, an ascetic movement to which the philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623—1662) belonged.

Some universities were founded amidst revolutionary upheaval, such as Leiden University, established in 1575 by William of Orange, the leader of the Dutch bourgeois revolution. In the seventeenth century, Leiden became a hub for Reformed theology, necessitating the production of defended dissertations—thus the publishing firm Elsevier was born. The Elseviers later relocated to Amsterdam, partly due to the ease of transporting prohibited books to Catholic Europe, from Protestant tracts to comedies. Books intended for France were often published with a false imprint, stating “Cologne. Publisher Pierre Marto,” as though they originated in the Catholic world.

In those European countries where a system of university corporations did not take root—lacking support from urban communities, monastic orders, and the entire ecclesiastical system within the framework of existing canon law, rather than stemming from the personal initiatives of individual bishops—higher education evolved differently. The Orthodox world, ranging from Wallachia to Muscovy and from the Lithuanian-Belarusian lands to the Greek communities of Asia Minor and Georgia, as well as Armenia, Ethiopia, and other countries of the Eastern Christian tradition, created an alternative to universities. For educational institutions in this world, it was less crucial under which legal framework they operated, but rather how they positioned themselves rhetorically, advocating for and thus asserting their right to exist. Rituals of comparison with the ancient educational establishments and the acquisition of favor from rulers and cities substituted for the legal foundations of independence.

In the Greek world under Turkish rule, there were two ways to establish a university: to replicate the Italian model, such as that of the University of Padua, where many Greeks studied, or to create a unique version of an academy as a place for mastering the most intricate courses of philosophy and theology. The latter approach prevailed in the Slavic lands, as it allowed for better control over these institutions, transforming them into expert-administrative services within the state or ecclesiastical apparatus. Meanwhile, Greeks could still aspire to the great church school in Constantinople, whose functions were intertwined with ecclesiastical governance: to study at this school meant to learn how to be an official or a church rhetor, rather than acquiring knowledge applicable in various contexts.

In 1622, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith was established in Rome, one of whose goals was to publish doctrinal texts in all languages, including Eastern ones, as well as to create Uniate churches with their educational institutions. In the Greek world, this Roman project faced significant resistance; it required not only the establishment of an equally compelling intellectual program but also proof of the continuity of Greek philosophy and theology from Plato. The burden of creating new curricula fell upon one individual: Theophilus Coridalleus (1574?—1646), who reformed the patriarchal school and subsequently founded an academy in Bucharest for the children of the Greek diaspora, and is sometimes considered the “father of Romanian philosophy.”

Theophilus Coridalleus, an editor and interpreter of Aristotle, identified the main flaw in the educational program of the Counter-Reformation: it allowed for the independent or guided study of multiple disciplines, from foundational sciences to the heights of philosophy. The Counter-Reformation insisted on the existence of a particular method that would enable students to easily progress through their studies. The Greeks made a strict distinction between “encyclopedia” as a system of secondary education and “philosophy” and “theology” as the arts of debate, drawing conclusions, and substantiating complex propositions that were not entirely comprehensible to those with only a secondary education. Consequently, Coridalleus’s goal became the reform of higher education so that it would resemble secondary education as little as possible. To this end, Aristotle was to be commented upon in a manner that would not merely resolve misunderstandings but would prompt further systematic discussions and refine contemporary usage of terms. The methodical acquisition of wisdom was to be replaced by the invention of a high style of philosophical discourse.

Coridalleus criticized the Jesuits for delivering knowledge in bite-sized portions and urged students to “ascend to the heights of contemplation.” Then they would not only learn to reason rigorously and consistently but also to think clearly and retain what they read vividly, and most importantly, they would be able to out-argue Catholics, demonstrating the paradoxical sharpness of Orthodox dogmas.

Even more radical was George Corresius (c. 1570—1660) from the island of Chios, who, although he could not fully realize his program, contributed significantly to the advancement of knowledge in occupied Greece. He believed that an “encyclopedia” could indeed encompass all philosophical knowledge, including the most exalted, while higher education should be theological, systematizing this knowledge based on the premise that only theological proofs function effectively in both the celestial and earthly realms. Coridalleus's program was realized a century and a half later when Athonite monks, led by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (1749—1809), established a center for education on Mount Athos. During his lifetime, Coridalleus was criticized for excessive intellectualism in theology, seen as a Protestant who valued only formulations and symbols rather than mystical reality.

Indeed, many of Coridalleus’s students, such as John Cariofilis, applying the method of studying “entelechies”—completed existences—to resolve canonical cases (such as the validity of sacraments performed by self-styled priests) often found themselves in quandaries. Yet his reform proved successful in Venice, where a grammar school associated with the Greek Church of St. George gained recognition from local authorities. Coridalleus’s student, Gerasimos Vlachos (1607—1685), transformed this school by enhancing the teaching of rhetoric so that its graduates would feel as confident as those from any university.

Gerasimos Vlachos determined that the Venetian authorities would befriend the Greeks and refrain from converting them to Catholicism if the Greeks learned to praise not only the prudence of their actions but also the external achievements of the Venetian state. He instructed his students to extol Venice, all its surroundings and territories, and to deliver such speeches before the entire Greek community with the participation of representatives of the Venetian Senate. Only after such a speech could one receive holy orders and permission to preach, which made the Greek clergy appear very loyal in the eyes of the Venetians.

Grammar schools on the Greek islands, strongly influenced by Italy, strove to keep pace, teaching not only rhetoric but also poetics. The ability to compose school dramas, poetic panegyrics, and other works in honor of solemn events, such as the jubilee of an archbishop, distinguished Eastern Christian education. Such presentations could attract patrons, who were to pay attention not only to Italian culture but also to the achievements of their own youth.

Just as the Western Counter-Reformation, exemplified by figures such as Suárez, so too did Eastern Christian scholarship of the seventeenth century pay particular attention to the ethical and political writings of Aristotle, interpreting and reworking them in light of contemporary political circumstances while simultaneously educating students to engage with original sources. By the early eighteenth century, the situation in the Greek world had shifted dramatically: inspired by the successes of Peter the Great and anticipating their incorporation into an Orthodox state, the Greeks, led by the Athenian Bishop Meletius (1661—1714), determined that geography and astronomy would become particularly relevant, given the emergence of a formidable maritime power. Meletius urged his students to embark on pilgrimages to Jerusalem, advising them to create maps, believing that such endeavors would aid in establishing the future empire as a center of well-studied sanctuaries. Accordingly, school poems and plays began to be dedicated to the illustrious figures of the past who had resided in these cities, such as Dionysius the Areopagite, who hailed from Athens.

Only in the latter half of the eighteenth century did universities of a new, non-political type emerge, designed primarily to prepare enlightened educators: the Athonite Academy (Afoniyada) and the Ionian Academy. At Athos, students were required to compose their own treatises, while on the Ionian Islands, they were tasked with creating their own textbooks and teaching materials.

In the Slavic lands, the first educational institutions in Ostrog, Przemyśl, Zamość, Lviv, and Kyiv were established by local voivodes, on the one hand, to safeguard Orthodoxy against the union with Catholicism and, on the other, to combat Protestantism and Arianism (radical sects that denied the divinity of Jesus). Most importantly, the voivodes sought to reinforce these cities as centers of legally grounded decision-making. They consulted with educated individuals, which allowed the preservation of administrative structures even in the event of military defeat. To some extent, they were replicating the experience of Polish Catholic universities, which had obtained royal privileges allowing them to collect funds and acquire buildings. In other words, Polish kings regarded themselves as the principal patrons of education, aiming to strengthen their influence on the international stage and garner support from scholars across various nations.

Yet, even prior to the Reformation, there were academies in this part of Europe. For instance, the humanist Philip Callimachus Buonacorso (1437—1496), having fled to Poland after a quarrel with the Roman Pope, established an academy in the home of the local archbishop, where they engaged in discussions of Plato and contemporary science. The Polish Diet, at the Pope’s behest, demanded Philip’s extradition, but the archbishop asserted that his house was part of the temple and, therefore, all its residents were inviolable. In gratitude, Philip Callimachus wrote a biography of his patron. During the Reformation, Stanisław Orichowski, a friend of Luther who lived in his house, also received the patronage of Catholic bishops; upon moving to Przemyśl, he founded an academy aimed at asserting the Slavs' right to their own liturgy, while the local bishops were keen to learn about the antiquity of their sees and supported him in these endeavors. Students flocked to him, not only aristocrats but also enthusiastic learners who later established elementary schools for the poor and public libraries. This Lutheran demonstrated his loyalty to Catholicism in a peculiar manner: he claimed that Luther was merely testing the fidelity of Catholic doctrine in discussions and had never opposed scholasticism. This assertion was patently false; the Augustinian Luther could hardly tolerate Thomas Aquinas. However, if one were to broadly define "scholasticism" as any procedures of argumentation and teaching based on sources, then indeed, Luther could be considered a scholastic and a Catholic!