The major controversies of medieval thought in the 12th and 13th centuriesThe 12th and 13th centuries were a time of great controversy for medieval scholars. New systems of thought were being developed and implemented that challenged the accepted teachings of the church. Some fought to preserve the tradition, others fought to destroy it, while still others tried to find common ground between the two. The greatest controversy of the time, one might say, was that between faith and reason. Most of the philosophical debate revolved around these and, to a lesser extent, the opposition of realists and nominalists on the question of universals. The type of philosophy that was taught in the Christian schools of the time was given the name scholasticism. The scholastics shared a common respect for the ideas of Aristotle, Plato, Boethius, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Avicenna. These were called by the scholastics the "authorities". The views of the time were primarily Augustinian and Platonic, although some developments brought radical new ideas into contact with a fixed Christian dogma that was destined to oppose them. It remained to be seen whether a synthesis between them was possible. Perhaps the most important event of the 12th and 13th centuries for medieval thinkers was the introduction of new translations of Aristotle's works. The new translations were the product of work done by Arab scholars. Until that moment Christianity only knew Aristotle's Logic. It had been widely accepted and was widely respected, which meant that new works carried great weight. The new translations provided a coherent view of the world that now challenged traditional views. In addition to the controversies aroused by the works themselves, the......middle sheet......999 ed.."Medieval philosophy: Jewish thought." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "Medieval Skepticism". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "Nominalism". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "The Roots of Scholasticism". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. “Roscelin.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "Scholastic". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "Scholasticism: Nature and Meaning". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "St. Thomas Aquinas". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "Stoicism in medieval and modern philosophy". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "Aristotle's system and its impact on medieval thought". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "Thomas Aquinas". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "Thomas Aquinas and Thomism". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed. "Thomistic Philosophy". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed.