Historische Wechselbeziehungen religiöser Kulturen und Vernunftkritik

It is generally assumed that, from the twelfth century onwards, concepts of philosophical rationality played an increasing role in Christian apologetics vis-à-vis Jews and Muslims. Suchadevelopment fits well alongside the established account of ageneral rationalization process, involving significant changes in almost every area of social and intellectual life, during the twelfth century. However, it would be a misunderstanding to see the importance of philosophical concepts of rationality in interreligious controversies only as the result of an externally induced rationalization of Christian apologetics, in the sense of a compliant reception of the evolving philosophical standards of rationality. Rather, as this article intends to show, controversies and interactions between the various religious cultures of the Middle Ages themselves made significant contributions to the elaboration, specification and indeed the criticism of distinct concepts of philosophical rationality.