ABSTRACT
The mediaeval philosophers were mainly concerned with matters other than the nature of perception, since philosophy was for them closely entwined with theology. Nevertheless, some philosophers of this period were concerned with perception, chiefly from an epistemological point of view, their aim being to show the relation of our knowledge of the sensible world to other forms of knowledge. Augustine's account of perception is typically Neo-Platonic, and, if anything, the superior position given to the soul or mind over the body is even more obvious in his theory than in NeoPlatonism. Aquinas accepted in its main essentials the Aristotelian view of the soul as the form of the body. Bonaventure was a contemporary of Aquinas, and like him he was influenced by the rediscovery of Aristotle. It may be noted that William of Ockham follows Augustine and anticipates Descartes in the claim that while all experience is simple and direct, it is not all equally clear.
