Medieval Philosophy A Multicultural Reader

by Foltz, Bruce

• ISBN13: 9781472580399
• ISBN10: 1472580397
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781472580412
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2017-07-27
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• More Book Details

Summary

Medieval Philosophy: A Multicultural Reader comprises a comparative, multicultural reading of the four main traditions of the medieval period including extensive sections on Jewish, Islamic, Latin and Greco-Roman traditions. The book also includes an initial 'predecessors' section which explains to students how to bridge the intellectual gap between Aristotle to Augustine - a span of nearly 800 years. It presents excerpts from Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus and Proclus from whom all four traditions have drawn. These contextualizing readings provide a firm basis from which to explore medieval thought.

Representative readings from each of the four great traditions are presented chronologically in four different tracks, along with engaging and accessible introductions to:

- the traditions themselves
- the periods within each tradition
- individual thinkers

An appendix provides lists of readings under several problem headings, to assist those who prefer to read and teach medieval philosophy topically rather than chronologically.

This is a culturally inclusive title which seeks to provide students with a rich, varied and comprehensive insight into the entirety of the medieval philosophical tradition.

Author Biography

Bruce Foltz is a Professor of Philosophy at Eckerd College, USA.

Table of Contents

Preface: Bernard McGinn (Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology and of the History of Christianity, University of Chicago, USA)
Introduction: Bruce Foltz (Professor of Philosophy, Eckerd College, USA)

Part 1: The Predecessors (Editor: Eric Perl, Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University,
USA)
1. Plato: selections from Phaedo, Phaedrus, Republic, Symposium, Timaeus
2. Aristotle: selections from Physics, Metaphysics, On the Soul, Nicomachean Ethics
3. Stoics:
Cicero: selections from De Finibus, De Officiis, De Legibus
Seneca: selections from De Beneficiis, De Clementia, Epistulae ad Lucilium
Epictetus: selections from Discourses
4. Plotinus: selections from Enneads
5. Proclus: selections from Elements of Theology, Commentary on Plato's Parmenides

Part 2. The Greek Tradition (Editor: David Bradshaw, Professor of Philosophy, University of Kentucky, USA)
1. Justin Martyr: Dialogue with Trypho 1-8; I Apology; II Apology
2. Clement of Alexandria: Stromata
3. Origen: On First Principles
4. Athanasius: On the Incarnation
5. Basil the Great: Hexaemeron; On the Holy Spirit; Epistle 2; Epistle on Nature
6. Gregory of Nyssa: On Virginity; On the Soul & Resurrection; On Not Three Gods; Life of Moses; Homilies on the Song of Songs
7. Dionysius the Areopagite: Divine Names; Mystical Theology; Celestial Hierarchy
8. Maximus the Confessor: Centuries on Charity; Chapters on Theology and Economy; Mystagogy; Ambigua
9. John of Damascus: Defense of the Holy Images; On the Orthodox Faith
10. Symeon the New Theologian: Catechetical Discourses & Hymns
11. Gregory Palamas: Triads

Part 3. The Latin Christian Tradition (Editor: Peter Casarella, Associate Professor of Theology, Notre Dame University, USA)
1. Augustine: On Christian Doctrine; On the City of God; Confessions; On Free Choice of the Will
2. Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy; On the Trinity
3. Eriugena: On the Division of Nature, Book I
4. Adelard of Bath: On the Same and the Different, Questions on Natural Science
5. Anselm: Proslogion with the Exchange with Gaunilo Bonaventure, The Mind's Journey into God; Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ
6. Thomas Aquinas: On Being and Essence; Summa Theologiae; Commentary on Boethius' De Trinitate
On the Unity of the Intellect according to the Averroists
7. Roger Bacon: On Experimental Science (excerpt from Opus Tertium)
8. Marguerite Porete: The Mirror of Simple Souls
9. Dante Alghieri: Letter to CanGrande; On Monarchy
10. Meister Eckhart: Sermon, “Like a Morning Star” (complete), Parisian Questions and Prologues
11. John Duns Scotus: Questions on the Metaphysics of Aristotle
12. William of Ockham: Summa Logicae
13. Nicholas of Cusa: On Learned Ignorance; On the Vision of God; On the Hunt for Wisdom (selections)

Part 4: The Jewish Tradition (Editor: Sarah Pessin, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Denver, USA)
1. Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation
2. Genesis Rabbah: Midrash Rabbah
3. Zohar: The Zohar: Pritzker Edition
4. Rabbinic Selections
5. Philo: On the Creation; On the Migration of Abraham; On the Contemplative Life; On the Life of Moses; On the Giants
5. Isaac Israeli: Book of Substances; Book of Definitions; Book of Spirit and Soul
6.Saadya: The Book of Doctrines and Beliefs
7.Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki (“Rashi”)
8. Ibn Gabirol
9. Judah HaLev
10. Bahya Ibn Pequda
11. Moses Maimonides
12. Abraham Abulafia
13. Gersonides
14. Isaac Luria

Part 5: The Islamic Tradition (Editor: Mohammad Azadpur, Professor of Philosophy, San Francisco State University, USA)
1. Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya Razi (Alrhazes)
2. Abu Hatim Razi
3. Nasir-i Khusraw
4. Abu Nasr Muhammad Farabi (Alfarabi)
5. Abu 'Ali Hussain ibn Sina (Avicenna)
6. Abu Hamid Muhammad Ghazzali (Alghazel)
7. AbuBakr Muhammad ibn
8. Abu al-Walid ibn Rushd (Averroes)
9. Shihab al-Din Yahya Suhrawardi
10.Muhy al-Din ibn Arabi

Appendix A: Some Characteristic Themes-Brief Discussions with Illustrative Passages
The Rise of Interiority
The Status of Poetic Discourse
Apophatic and Esoteric Language and Writing
Happiness and the "Ends" of Living
Asceticism or Purification of the Soul as a Prerequisite to the Highest Knowledge
Ontological (and Epistemological) Hierarchy
Mystical Ascent
Immanence and Transcendence (with special reference to Nietzsche's critique regarding "otherworldliness")
Cosmos, Nature, Createdness, and Environment
Appendix B: Select Passages from Scripture, Creed, and Foundational Texts
Appendix C: Maps and Timelines

Index