With selections of philosophers from Plotinus to Bruno, this new anthology provides significant learning support and historical context for the readings along with a wide variety of pedagogical assists. Featuring biographical headnotes, reading introductions, study questions, as well as special "Prologues" and "Philosophical Overviews," this anthology offers a unique set of critical thinking promtps to help students understand and appreciate the philosophical concepts under discussion. "Philosophical Bridges" discuss how the work of earlier thinkers would influence philosophers to come and place major movements in a contemporary context, showing students how the schools of philosophy interrelate and how the various philosophies apply to the world today. In addition to this volume of Medieval Philosophy, a comprehensive survey of the whole of Western philosophical history and other individual volumes for each of the major historical eras are also available for specialized courses.

This volume re-examines some of the major themes at the intersection of traditional and contemporary metaphysics. The book uses as a point of departure Francisco Suarez's Metaphysical Disputations published in 1597. Minimalist metaphysics in empiricist/pragmatist clothing have today become mainstream in analytic philosophy. Independently of this development, the progress of scholarship in ancient and medieval philosophy makes clear that traditional forms of metaphysics have affinities with some of the streams in contemporary analytic metaphysics. The book brings together leading contemporary metaphysicians to investigate the viability of a neo-Aristotelian metaphysics.

Italian Renaissance thought has been gaining ever-increasing recognition as seminal to the thought of the whole Renaissance period, affecting in many subtle ways the development and understanding of artistic, literary, scientific, and religious movements. The importance, then, of this detailed and careful survey of Italy's leading Renaissance philosophers and the intricate philosophical problems of the time can scarcely be exaggerated. Based upon the 1961 Arensberg Lectures, given at Stanford University, this collection of essays offers a genuinely unified interpretation of Italian Renaissance thought by describing and evaluating the philosophies of eight pivotal figures: Petrarch, Valla, Ficino, Pico, Pomponazzi, Telesio, Patrizi, and Bruno. The essays not only discuss the life, writings, and main ideas of these eight thinkers, but also establish through a connective text, the place each of them occupies in the general intellectual development of the Italian Renaissance.

The early medieval Scottish philosopher and theologian John Duns Scotus shook traditional doctrines of universality and particularity by arguing for a metaphysics of 'formal distinction'. Why did the nineteenth-century poet and self-styled philosopher Gerard Manley Hopkins find this revolutionary teaching so appealing? John Llewelyn answers this question by casting light on various neologisms introduced by Hopkins and reveals how Hopkins endorses Scotus claim that being and existence are grounded in doing and willing. Drawing on modern responses to Scotus made by Heidegger, Peirce, Arendt, Leibniz, Hume, Reid, Derrida and Deleuze, Llewelyn's own response shows by way of bonus why it would be a pity to suppose that the rewards of reading Scotus and Hopkins are available only to those who share their theological presuppositions.

Moses Maimonides (1138a "1204) supported a concept of the Messiah which was radically new within the Jewish tradition. The author of the present volume examines whether and to what extent this concept can be traced back to Early Medieval Islamic philosophy. She devotes particular attention to the religio-philosophical, philological, historical and political aspects of such an encounter. Starting from Islamic receptions of Platoa (TM)s and Aristotlea (TM)s thinking and from Karaitic theology, she undertakes a detailed analysis of the figure of the Messiah-King, of the notion of the a oeworld to comea and of national and supra-national eschatology regarding the days of the Messiah.

How did people in the early modern period deal with the question of how to lead a good life in order to also experience a good death? This discourse, deeply rooted in antiquity, continued during the Middle Ages, and then grew significantly in intensity in the 16th and 17th centuries, primarily as a result of the impact of the Protestant Reformation and of innovative medical research, especially the work of Theoprastus von Hohenheim, known as Paracelsus. Theological, philosophical, ethical, moral, medical, and hygienic considerations all intersected and, at times, blended with each other.

Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA prasentieren seit ihrer Grundung durch Paul Wilpert im Jahre 1962 Arbeiten des Thomas-Instituts der Universitat zu Koeln. Das Kernstuck der Publikationsreihe bilden die Akten der im zweijahrigen Rhythmus stattfindenden Koelner Mediaevistentagungen, die vor uber 50 Jahren von Josef Koch, dem Grundungsdirektor des Instituts, ins Leben gerufen wurden. Der interdisziplinare Charakter dieser Kongresse pragt auch die Tagungsakten: Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA versammeln Beitrage aus allen mediavistischen Disziplinen - die mittelalterliche Geschichte, die Philosophie, die Theologie sowie die Kunst- und Literaturwissenschaften sind Teile einer Gesamtbetrachtung des Mittelalters.

Die Bettelorden der Franziskaner und Dominikaner sahen sich ab 1250 gezwungen, ihre Existenz und ihre Aktivitaten in Predigt und Theologie zu rechtfertigen. In diesen auf hohem intellektuellen Niveau ausgefochtenen Kontroversen spielte der 1252 von Koln nach Paris berufene Thomas von Aquin eine herausragende Rolle, die in der hier vorgestellten Studie im einzelnen untersucht wird. Das zentrale Dokument ist die vom Autor analysierte Schrift des Aquinaten Contra impugnantes (1255), die zugleich Apologie und Programm ist, in dem sich das Selbstverstandnis einer neuen Elite mit neuen Aufgaben in der Kirche artikuliert. Das Buch ist zunachst ein Beitrag zu einem wichtigen Thema der Frommigkeitsgeschichte, dann aber auch eine Untersuchung zu den Fundamenten der uberaus folgenreichen Armuts- und Bettelordensbewegung. Entstanden ist eine genetische Darstellung aller mit der Existenz und der Funktion des Dominikanerordens verbundenen Themen, wie es sie bisher noch nicht gab."

Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA prasentieren seit ihrer Grundung durch Paul Wilpert im Jahre 1962 Arbeiten des Thomas-Instituts der Universitat zu Koeln. Das Kernstuck der Publikationsreihe bilden die Akten der im zweijahrigen Rhythmus stattfindenden Koelner Mediaevistentagungen, die vor uber 50 Jahren von Josef Koch, dem Grundungsdirektor des Instituts, ins Leben gerufen wurden. Der interdisziplinare Charakter dieser Kongresse pragt auch die Tagungsakten: Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA versammeln Beitrage aus allen mediavistischen Disziplinen - die mittelalterliche Geschichte, die Philosophie, die Theologie sowie die Kunst- und Literaturwissenschaften sind Teile einer Gesamtbetrachtung des Mittelalters.

"Codices Boethiani" is a catalogue of all the Latin manuscripts of the works of Boethius, including his translations of Aristotle and Porphyry. When completed, it is expected to comprise seven volumes arranged geographically, and a general index (although each volume will also be indexed separately). The conspectus includes fragmentary texts, as witnesses to once-complete versions, but not excerpts, abbreviations and vernacular translations. Each entry comprises a short physical description of the manuscript, a complete list of contents, a note of any glosses present, a brief summary of any decoration, the provenance of the manuscript and a select bibliography. Particular attention is paid to the use of the manuscripts. Since Boethius was a pillar of artes teaching, these manuscripts give a particularly interesting insight into who was taught what, where, to what level, and in what way. The three volumes published so far are: "I Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland (WI Surveys & Texts 25)"; "II Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland (WI Surveys & Texts 27)"; and, "III Italy and the Vatican City (WI Surveys & Texts 28)". The number of Boethian manuscripts in the Iberian Peninsula is modest compared with those in the British Isles and Italy, partly, perhaps, because of the Arab domination there; the oldest manuscripts come from Ripoll in Catalonia, which was always under Christian control. The Portuguese manuscripts contain 5 Boethian items, the Spanish, 153, of which the De Consolatione Philosophiae occurs most often. Some of these manuscripts are of exceptional quality, and many of them include extensive glosses.

Die Frage nach der Eigenstandigkeit des AEsthetischen ist ein Schlusselproblem in der aktuellen Debatte. Ein wichtiger Referenzpunkt bleibt dabei die "Kritik der Urteilskraft", gilt doch Kant bis heute als einer der entschiedensten Gegner einer Vereinnahmung des AEsthetischen durch Theorie. Mit dem Bild eines freien Spiels der Erkenntnisvermoegen macht er einen Vorschlag, der durch seine intuitive Plausibilitat besticht. Dieses Buch fragt nach der argumentativen Berechtigung fur den Spielbegriff und unternimmt eine Auseinandersetzung mit Kant, die uber die Bruche seines Texts nicht hinweggeht. Was das Spiel in der AEsthetik soll, so die These der Interpretation, kann sich erst in einem groesseren systematischen Rahmen, unter voller Berucksichtigung der praktizistischen Tendenz in Kants Ansatz klaren.

Thomas Aquinas is one of the most important figures in the history of philosophy and philosophical theology. Relying on a deep understanding of Aristotle, Aquinas developed a metaphysical framework that is comprehensive, detailed, and flexible. Within that framework, he formulated a range of strikingly original and carefully explicated views in areas including natural theology, philosophy of mind, philosophical psychology, and ethics. In this book, Christopher Hughes focuses on Aquinas's thought from an analytic philosophical perspective. After an overview of Aquinas's life and works, Hughes discusses Aquinas's metaphysics, including his conception of substance, matter, and form, and his account of essence and existence; and his theory of the nature of human beings, including his critique of a substance dualism that Aquinas attributes to Plato, but is usually associated with Descartes. In the final chapters, Hughes discusses Aquinas's account of the existence and nature of God, and his treatment of the problem of evil, as well as his ideas about the relation of goodness to being, choice, and happiness. Aquinas on Being, Goodness, and God is essential reading for students and scholars of Aquinas, and anyone interested in philosophy of religion or the history of medieval philosophy.

Fur Meister Eckhart (um 1260 - um 1328) ist der Mensch als Ebenbild Gottes ein denkendes Wesen, wobei das Denken fur ihn epistemologische und ontologische Relevanz hat. Diese Arbeit behandelt wesentliche Aspekte von Eckharts Denken, so seine Intellekttheorie, die theoontologische Wertung der Ichs, die Armut, die Liebe, die Zeit, das Nichts, das Gluck und den Frieden.

Augustinus' "Bekenntnisse" erschlossen der Antike einen fremden seelischen Bezirk: das Reich der Innerlichkeit. Nie zuvor hatte ein Mensch seinen Lebensweg so eindringlich als ein Taumeln zwischen Himmel und Erde, dem heissen Sehnen nach wahrem Gluck und den verwirrenden Leidenschaften geschildert. Ohne das Vorbild der "Confessiones" waren weder Luthers Glaubenslehre noch die autobiographischen Werke Rousseaus und Goethes vorstellbar. Ubersetzt von Wilhelm Timme."

Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA prasentieren seit ihrer Grundung durch Paul Wilpert im Jahre 1962 Arbeiten des Thomas-Instituts der Universitat zu Koeln. Das Kernstuck der Publikationsreihe bilden die Akten der im zweijahrigen Rhythmus stattfindenden Koelner Mediaevistentagungen, die vor uber 50 Jahren von Josef Koch, dem Grundungsdirektor des Instituts, ins Leben gerufen wurden. Der interdisziplinare Charakter dieser Kongresse pragt auch die Tagungsakten: Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA versammeln Beitrage aus allen mediavistischen Disziplinen - die mittelalterliche Geschichte, die Philosophie, die Theologie sowie die Kunst- und Literaturwissenschaften sind Teile einer Gesamtbetrachtung des Mittelalters.

Thomas More remains one of the most enigmatic thinkers in history, due in large part to the enduring mysteries surrounding his best-known work, Utopia. He has been variously thought of as a reformer and a conservative, a civic humanist and a devout Christian, a proto-communist and a monarchical absolutist. His work spans contemporary disciplines from history to politics to literature, and his ideas have variously been taken up by seventeenth-century reformers and nineteenth-century communists. Through a comprehensive treatment of More's writing, from his earliest poetry to his reflections on suffering in the Tower of London, Joanne Paul engages with both the rich variety and some of the fundamental consistencies that run throughout More's works. In particular, Paul highlights More's concern with the destruction of what is held 'in common', whether it be in the commonwealth or in the body of the church. In so doing, she re-establishes More's place in the history of political thought, tracing the reception of his ideas to the present day. Paul's book serves as an essential foundation for any student encountering More's writing for the first time, as well as providing an innovative reconsideration of the place of his works in the history of ideas.

Fifteen of these essays by one of the leading authorities on Renaissance Platonism explore the complex philosophical, hermeneutical, and mythological issues addressed by the Florentine, Marsilio Ficino (1433-99). Ficino was the pre-eminent Platonist of his time and a distinguished philosopher, scholar and magus who had an enormous influence on the intellectual and cultural life of two and a half centuries, and who is one of the most important witnesses to the preoccupations of his age, above all to its fascination with ancient poetry and philosophy and their uneasy accommodation as an ancient "theology" with Christianity. Two further essays treat of cognate themes taken up by Ficino's younger friend and rival, the dazzling prince of Concordia, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-94), who was fascinated by Platonism in his youth but also by other philosophical legacies from the past, including Cabala and the Scholastic Aristotelianism of the Middle Ages. This volume's initial essay serves as an introduction to the comprehensive phenomenon of Renaissance Platonism.

Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA prasentieren seit ihrer Grundung durch Paul Wilpert im Jahre 1962 Arbeiten des Thomas-Instituts der Universitat zu Koeln. Das Kernstuck der Publikationsreihe bilden die Akten der im zweijahrigen Rhythmus stattfindenden Koelner Mediaevistentagungen, die vor uber 50 Jahren von Josef Koch, dem Grundungsdirektor des Instituts, ins Leben gerufen wurden. Der interdisziplinare Charakter dieser Kongresse pragt auch die Tagungsakten: Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA versammeln Beitrage aus allen mediavistischen Disziplinen - die mittelalterliche Geschichte, die Philosophie, die Theologie sowie die Kunst- und Literaturwissenschaften sind Teile einer Gesamtbetrachtung des Mittelalters.

Nicolas of Cusa s notion of God as not-other is one of the most spectacular ideas in the history of metaphysics the negative self-reference of the Absolute. In this study, Max Rohstock examines this concept historically and systematically. For the first time, he shows Johannes Scotus Eriugena was the true progenitor of the concept."