Saints and Skeptics: The Migration of Greek Philosophy from East to West in the Middle Ages

This paper examines the westward movement of Greek natural philosophy in the Middle Ages, assessing the documentation of many Greek philosophers in Islamic schools and their proliferation throughout the Islamic world. The paper will examine the transfer of Greek philosophy from Islam to Christendom via major thinkers from both cultures, such as Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Thomas Aquinas. The paper heavily engages with the reception of Greek philosophy from Islamic and Christian Religious leaders. Particularly, the focus will be upon the problems that natural philosophy presented for Islam’s and Christianity’s respective medieval religious worldviews and whether those ideological problems were resolved or remained.