scholasticism

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The dominant form of theological and philosophical study in Western Christianity in the Middle Ages, based on the authority of the Latin Fathers and of Aristotle and his commentators.
• noun Close adherence to traditional methods or teachings.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The Aristotelian teaching of the medieval schools and universities, and similar teaching in Roman Catholic institutions in modern times, characterized by acknowledgment of the authority of the church, by being largely, if not wholly, based upon the authority of the church fathers, of Aristotle, and of Arabian commentators, and by its stiff and formal method of discussion.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The method or subtilties of the schools of philosophy; scholastic formality; scholastic doctrines or philosophy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun a tradition or school of philosophy, originating in the Middle Ages, that combines classical philosophy with Catholic theology

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun orthodoxy of a scholastic variety
• noun the system of philosophy dominant in medieval Europe; based on Aristotle and the Church Fathers