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Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Western philosophy, c 500 to c 1600
Reframing Aristotle’s natural philosophy, this wide-ranging
collection of essays reveals the centrality of magic to his
thinking. From late medieval and Renaissance discussions on the
attribution of magical works to Aristotle to the philosophical and
social justifications of magic, international contributors chart
magic as the mother science of natural philosophy. Tracing the
nascent presence of Aristotelianism in early modern Europe, this
volume shows the adaptability and openness of Aristotelianism to
magic. Weaving the paranormal and the scientific together, it pairs
the supposed superstition of the pre-modern era with modern
scientific sensibilities. Essays focus on the work of early modern
scholars and magicians such as Giambattista Della Porta, Wolferd
Senguerd, and Johann Nikolaus Martius. The attribution of the
Secretum secretorum to Aristotle, the role of illusionism, and the
relationship between the technical and magical all provide further
insight into the complex picture of magic, Aristotle and early
modern Europe. Aristotelianism and Magic in Early Modern Europe
proposes an innovative way of approaching the development of
pre-modern science whilst also acknowledging the crucial role that
concepts like magic and illusion played in Aristotle’s time.
In The Metaphysics of the Material World, Tad M. Schmaltz traces a
particular development of the metaphysics of the material world in
early modern thought. The route Schmaltz follows derives from a
critique of Spinoza in the work of Pierre Bayle. Bayle charged in
particular that Spinoza's monistic conception of the material world
founders on the account of extension and its "modes" and parts that
he inherited from Descartes, and that Descartes in turn inherited
from late scholasticism, and ultimately from Aristotle. After an
initial discussion of Bayle's critique of Spinoza and its relation
to Aristotle's distinction between substance and accident, this
study starts with the original re-conceptualization of Aristotle's
metaphysics of the material world that we find in the work of the
early modern scholastic Suarez. What receives particular attention
is Suarez's introduction of the "modal distinction" and his
distinctive account of the Aristotelian accident of "continuous
quantity." This examination of Suarez is followed by a treatment of
the connections of his particular version of the scholastic
conception of the material world to the very different conception
that Descartes offered. Especially important is Descartes's view of
the relation of extended substance both to its modes and to the
parts that compose it. Finally, there is a consideration of what
these developments in Suarez and Descartes have to teach us about
Spinoza's monistic conception of the material world. Of special
concern here is to draw on this historical narrative to provide a
re-assessment of Bayle's critique of Spinoza.
This volume offers a new reading of Maimonides' Guide of the
Perplexed. In particular, it explores how Maimonides' commitment to
integrity led him to a critique of the Kalam, to a complex concept
of immortality, and to insight into the human yearning for
metaphysical knowledge. Maimonides' search for objective truth is
also analyzed in its connection with the scientific writings of his
time, which neither the Kalam nor the Jewish philosophical
tradition that preceded him had endorsed. Through a careful
analysis of these issues, this book seeks to contribute to the
understanding of the modes of thought adopted in The Guide of the
Perplexed, including the "philosophical theologian" model of
Maimonides' own design, and to the knowledge of its sources.
In diesem Band werden die beiden Diskurse zur Zivilisationskritik
von Jean-Jacques Rousseau nah am Text und in einzelnen Schritten
kommentiert. Rousseaus These lautet, dass sich der Mensch durch die
technisch-wissenschaftlichen Fortschritte zunehmend von der eigenen
Natur entfremdet und dadurch pervertiert. Das Beispiel dieses
Autors zeigt, wie bereits wahrend der Epoche der Aufklarung die
kritische Reflexion der modernen Zivilisation beginnt."
All perfections of things pre-exist in the divine essence, yet it
is entirely simple, without components. These seemingly opposed
attributes of God are reconciled in Questions 3–6 of the First
Part of the Summa theologiae, here newly translated and explained
in line-by-line detail. Among topics receiving special attention
are Aquinas’s doctrine of participation, his conception of God as
a subsisting act of being, and the distinction and order of
transcendentals such as being, goodness, and beauty. Intended for
advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and teachers, Aquinas
on God’s Simplicity and Perfection throws light on the order of
Aquinas’s questions, addresses difficulties commonly encountered
by modern readers, and includes an exhaustive glossary of all
technical terms occurring in the Summa’s first six Questions.
This volume examines how the notion of law was transformed and
reformulated during the Middle Ages. It focuses on encounters
between ancient and local legal traditions and the three great
revelation religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each of which
understood the written word of God as law and formulated new
cultures. The work thus furnishes interdisciplinary and
intercultural insight into medieval legal discourse."
Born near Einsiedeln in 1493, Philip Theophrastus von Hohenheim,
who later called himself Paracelsus, was the son of a physician.
His thirst for knowledge led him to study arts in Vienna, then
medicine in Italy, but the instruction left him disillusioned. He
had learned to see nature with his own eyes, undiluted by the
teachings of books. He was a rebellious spirit, hard-headed and
stubborn, who travelled all over Europe and the British Isles to
practice medicine, study local diseases, and learn from any source
he could, humble as it might be. In these years of wanderings,
Paracelsus developed his own system of medicine and a philosophy of
theology all his own. Though he wrote a great many books that
covered a wide range of subjects, only a few of his works were ever
published in his lifetime. When he died in Salzburg in 1541, one of
the most forceful personalities of the Renaissance died with
him.
Here are collected four treatises which illustrate four
different aspects of Paracelsus' work. The first gives a passionate
justification of his character, activities, and views, and gives a
picture of the man and his basic ideas. The second treatise is a
study of the diseases of miners, with whom Paracelsus had spent a
great deal of time. Then follows a treatise on the psychology and
psychiatry of Paracelsus. Written at a time when mental diseases
were beginning to be studied and treated by physicians, this
pioneering essay anticipates a number of modern views. The last
essay, entitled "A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and
Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits," is a fanciful and poetic
treatment of paganism and Greek mythology, as well as a good sample
of Paracelsus' philosophy and theology. Together these essays show
one of the most original minds of the Renaissance at the height of
his powers.
Oxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy showcases the best scholarly
research in this flourishing field. The series covers all aspects
of medieval philosophy, including the Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew
traditions, and runs from the end of antiquity into the
Renaissance. It publishes new work by leading scholars in the
field, and combines historical scholarship with philosophical
acuteness. The papers will address a wide range of topics, from
political philosophy to ethics, and logic to metaphysics. OSMP is
an essential resource for anyone working in the area.
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."
The Legacy of Aristotelian Enthymeme provides a historical-logical
analysis of Aristotle's rhetorical syllogism, the enthymeme,
through its Medieval and Renaissance interpretations. Bringing
together notions of credibility and proof, an international team of
scholars highlight the fierce debates around this form of
argumentation during two key periods for Aristotle's beliefs.
Reflecting on medieval and humanist thinkers, philosophers, poets
and theologians, this volume joins up dialectical and rhetorical
argumentation as key to the enthymeme's interpretation and shows
how the enthymeme was the source of a major interpretive conflict.
As a method for achieving the standards for proof and credibility
that persist across diverse fields of study today including the
law, politics, medicine and morality, this book takes in Latin and
Persian interpretations of the enthymeme and casts contemporary
argumentation in a new historical light.
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