Irish Philosophy
A short history of philosophy in Ireland.
Location: Ireland
The Philosopher-Poets of Early Ireland
The first philosophers of Ireland were the druids. Priests and educators, they served in royal courts as historians, diviners, and spiritual warriors. Every druid studied for a decade or more in private schools, memorizing the extensive oral literature of Irish society. Their teachings are now mostly lost. But their students and the schools they founded would form the basis of the monastic system and brehon laws that followed.[1]
Irish Philosophy During the Middle Ages
Monastic philosophy believed that worldly affairs contaminated the soul and its connection to God. The first monks lived alone in the deserts of Africa and the Middle East. Their isolated homes attracted religious communities over time. The Irish had no deserts, but they did have islands. They built their first monasteries on rocky outcroppings like Iona and Skellig Michael. There, they spent their days focused on prayer, education, and the preservation of knowledge.[2][3]
Although Ireland was a center of learning during the early Middle Ages, its monks and poets did not devote themselves to new philosophy. For the most part, they transcribed religious and medical texts and the works of foreign philosophers. Irish scholars may have been some of the most highly educated men of their day, but they would not contribute much to the body of European philosophy until the Renaissance.[4][5]
Modern Irish Philosophy and the Gaelic Revival
Irish Philosophy gained greater recognition in Europe after Tudor-era education reforms connected the island to continental academics. Irish and Anglo-Irish philosophers like George Berkeley, Frances Hutcheson, Peter Browne, and Robert Clayton considered the nature of perception and the senses. Edmund Burke developed the principles of modern political conservatism.[5]
In the 19th and 20th centuries, Irish philosophy turned its attention to issues of nationalism and self-determination. The Gaelic Revival called for the preservation of the Irish language, sports, and culture. In the modern era, the Republic of Ireland has gained its independence and survived decades of internal strife. Philosophical questions of religious divisions, political loyalties, and Irish identity in the wake of the diaspora continue to this day.[5][6]
Bibliography
Patrick W. Joyce, A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland (London, NY, and Bombay: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1906), 93-100.
Charles B. McClendon, The Origins of Medieval Architecture: Building in Europe, A.D 600-900 (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press New Haven, 2005), 149-152.
Thomas O'Loughlin, "Island Monasteries" in Encyclopedia of Monasticism, ed. William M. Johnston and Christopher Kleinhenz (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000), 669-673.
Seán Duffy, Ailbhe MacShamhráin, and James Moynes, eds., Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia (New York: Routledge, 2005), 255.
David Berman, Berkeley and Irish Philosophy (London: Continuum, 2011), 75-98.
Sara O'Sullivan, Contemporary Ireland: A Sociological Map (Dublin: University College Dublin Press, 2007).
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