Medieval Western philosophy Books

Book SynopsisThis book focuses on a comparative reading of tragedy from the Greeks through Shakespeare to postcolonial examples from Africa, India, Ireland, and the African-American tradition. It will appeal to a wide range of both specialists and non-specialists alike.

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Book SynopsisOliver Keenan brings the medieval philosophy of Thomas Aquinas to life.Thomas Aquinas is more than a medieval curiosity. He was a reluctant revolutionary, a scholar, poet and saint whose work unleashed an epoch-defining explosion of philosophical creativity in the thirteenth century. Writing at a time of war, injustice, poverty and alienation, Aquinas'' thought reaches across the ages and speaks to us today.As Oliver Keenan argues, Aquinas matters now not because he was right about everything but because he can teach us a new way of looking at the world. A powerful voice for community, justice, friendship and peace, Aquinas'' profoundly non-violent philosophy shows us how to be human in a deeply dehumanizing world. The era that he knew was defined by conflict and divisive politics, much like our own his unfailing belief in the power of communication to overcome alienation and despair is an important lesson for us all.This book brings Aquinas'' challen

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Book SynopsisWhat Socrates''s greatest failure says about a 2,000-year-old question: is it possible to teach ourselves and others to become better people? Can we make ourselves into better human beings? Can we help others do the same? And can we get the leaders of our society to care that humanity prospers, not just economically, but also spiritually? These questions have been asked for over two millennia and attempting to answer them is crucial if we want to live a better life and build a more just society. How to Be Good uses the story of Socrates and Alcibiades and examples from Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius and Machiavelli, alongside modern interpretations to explore what philosophy can teach us about the quest for virtue today. Whether we are statesmen or ordinary individuals Pigliucci argues that with a little work day by day we all have the power to pursue the timely and timeless art of living well.Trade ReviewPresents a rigorous theoretical foundation for ethical self-improvement with concrete steps-even a step-by-step syllabus!-for how we can become better people, how we can help others to do the same, and how we might influence our leaders and politicians to act virtuously. If only those in power would grab hold of this literary lifeline and take heed of Pigliucci's wisdom, humanity might just have a chance to flourish economically, materially, and spiritually -- Skye Cleary, author of 'How to Be Authentic'Massimo Pigliucci, who has elsewhere taught us to take seriously the precepts of ancient Stoicism, here looks further afield, above all to Plato, for insight into how we become virtuous people - or, too often, fail to. His expert account of ancient ethics will help us save our souls, and thereby, just maybe, save the world -- James Romm, author of 'The Sacred Band'With a deft but magically light hand, Pigliucci turns to case studies from Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca and more to pose the most pressing question of our time: how do we put competent and wise leaders in office? A wonderful raconteur, Pigliucci brings the historical and philosophical texts of Greco-Roman antiquity to life with lessons about good character and leadership, whether we aspire to political office or not -- Nancy Sherman, author of 'Stoic Wisdom'It's not often that a book ostensibly about Socrates also comments knowledgeably on (Roman) Coriolanus and (Florentine) Machiavelli, but such is the breadth of learning of geneticist, biologist and philosopher Massimo Pigliucci (of New York's City College). Truly, as Plato's Socrates boldly declared, the examined life is for us humans the only one -- Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, emeritus, University of Cambridge[An] enlightening study . . . This lucid and accessible tour through ancient philosophy offers valuable lessons for today -- Publishers WeeklyOne of the world's most renowned philosophers has found the secret to living a better life -- The Herald

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Book SynopsisWhat Socrates''s greatest failure says about a 2,000-year-old question: is it possible to teach ourselves and others to become better people? Can we make ourselves into better human beings? Can we help others do the same? Can we get our leaders to care that humanity prospers, not just economically, but also spiritually? These questions have been asked for over two millennia and attempting to answer them is crucial if we want to build a more just society. How to Be Good uses the story of Socrates and Alcibiades and examples from Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius and Machiavelli, alongside modern interpretations to explore what philosophy can teach us about the quest for virtue today. With a little work, day by day, we all have the power to pursue the timely and timeless art of living well.Trade ReviewPresents a rigorous theoretical foundation for ethical self-improvement with concrete steps-even a step-by-step syllabus!-for how we can become better people, how we can help others to do the same, and how we might influence our leaders and politicians to act virtuously. If only those in power would grab hold of this literary lifeline and take heed of Pigliucci's wisdom, humanity might just have a chance to flourish economically, materially, and spiritually -- Skye Cleary, author of 'How to Be Authentic'Massimo Pigliucci, who has elsewhere taught us to take seriously the precepts of ancient Stoicism, here looks further afield, above all to Plato, for insight into how we become virtuous people - or, too often, fail to. His expert account of ancient ethics will help us save our souls, and thereby, just maybe, save the world -- James Romm, author of 'The Sacred Band'With a deft but magically light hand, Pigliucci turns to case studies from Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca and more to pose the most pressing question of our time: how do we put competent and wise leaders in office? A wonderful raconteur, Pigliucci brings the historical and philosophical texts of Greco-Roman antiquity to life with lessons about good character and leadership, whether we aspire to political office or not -- Nancy Sherman, author of 'Stoic Wisdom'It's not often that a book ostensibly about Socrates also comments knowledgeably on (Roman) Coriolanus and (Florentine) Machiavelli, but such is the breadth of learning of geneticist, biologist and philosopher Massimo Pigliucci (of New York's City College). Truly, as Plato's Socrates boldly declared, the examined life is for us humans the only one -- Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, emeritus, University of Cambridge[An] enlightening study . . . This lucid and accessible tour through ancient philosophy offers valuable lessons for today -- Publishers WeeklyOne of the world's most renowned philosophers has found the secret to living a better life -- The Herald

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Book SynopsisDrawing on modern responses to Scotus made by Heidegger, Peirce, Arendt, Leibniz, Hume, Reid, Derrida and Deleuze, John Llewelyn explores Scotus' influence on 19th-century poet and philosopher Gerard Manley Hopkins.

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Book SynopsisIn this volume, noted philosopher Lenn E. Goodman shares the insights gained over a lifetime of pondering the meaning and purpose of Maimonides'' celebrated Guide to the Perplexed. Written in the late twelfth century, Maimonides'' Guide aims to help religiously committed readers who are alive to the challenges posed by reason and the natural sciences to biblical and rabbinic tradition. Keyed to the new translation and commentary by Lenn E. Goodman and Phillip I. Lieberman, this volume follows Maimonides'' life and learning and delves into the text of the Guide, clearly explaining just what Maimonides means by identifying the Talmudic Ma''aseh Bereshit and Ma''aseh Merkavah with physics and metaphysics (to Maimonides, biblical cosmology and theology). Exploring Maimonides'' treatments of revelation, religious practice and experience, law and ritual, the problem of evil, and the rational purposes of the commandments, this guide to the Guide explains the tac

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Book Synopsis'Machiavellian' can signify duplicity and amorality in politics, but Machiavelli himself is far more complex than this cliche. A high-ranking Florentine government official and prolific writer of hugely influential political, military and historical works, Machiavelli was also a vernacular poet, first-rank dramatist and religious radical, rejecting not only the contemporary Catholic Church but Christianity itself. From champion of Florentine popular republicanism to political radical to conservative, Robert Black explores the many faces of the man described as the father of modern political philosophy and political science.

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Book SynopsisThis volume contains a translation into English of Averroes's Middle Commentary on Aristotle's Poetics, an introduction to the translation in which the arguments of both Averroes and Aristotle are sketch out and their differences from Plato and other important thinkers explored, an outline analysis of the order of Averroes's commentary, annotations to the text, a bibliography, and a glossary of important terms with their English translations. Heretofore, non-Arabic readers have had to depend upon Hermannus Alemannus's Latin translation of Averroes's Middle Commentary or on its English version. Both are inadequate. They incorrectly render Averroes's various arguments and make his beautiful poetic citations read like doggerel. Moreover, they provide inaccurate and incomplete information about the sources of those citations and consequently portray Averroes's text as a curious compilation of relics from some exotic but not very learned horde. The present translation is based on a sound, critical Arabic edition prepared by the translator. Not only is it the first English translation from the Arabic original, but also the first translation of the Arabic text into any language other than medieval Hebrew or Latin. The translation is literal and eloquent, albeit more literal when eloquent when sense demands such a sacrifice. Throughout the commentary, the same English word is used for the same Arabic word unless an exception is noted. The renditions of the poetic citations are somewhat freer without reaching to unwarranted innovations.

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Book SynopsisA translation into modern English of Aquinas unfinished commentary on Aristotle's Politics, this title follows the Leonine text of Aquinas and reproduces in English those passages of William of Moerbeke's famously accurate yet elliptical translation of the "Politics" from which Aquinas worked.

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Book SynopsisThis volume contains new translations of the essential philosophical writings of Thomas Aquinas from the Summa Theologiae and The Principles of Nature. The included texts represent the breadth of Aquinas’s thought, addressing: the fundamental principles of nature; causality; the existence of God; how God can be known; how language can be used to describe God; human nature (including the nature of the soul, free will, and epistemology); happiness; ethics; and natural law. The goal of these translations is twofold: to allow Aquinas to speak for himself, but also to make his thought accessible to the contemporary reader without the burden of unnecessary adherence to convention. A thorough yet accessible introduction is included, as are a series of useful appendices connecting Aquinas’s arguments to those of Anselm, Scotus, and others.Trade Review“Steven Baldner has put together an excellent introduction to the philosophical thought of Thomas Aquinas. He succeeds both in helping first-time readers past the challenges of Thomas’s technical language and in providing a substantial offering of his thought. With a very readable and informative introduction to Thomas’s life and works, Baldner prepares the way for a presentation of key philosophical writings. To aid the first-time reader, Baldner has provided a lively translation (free but accurate) and a student-friendly editing of the texts to assure maximum ease and accuracy of comprehension. This book will do a lot to bring the brilliance of Thomas Aquinas to a new generation of readers. Well done!” — Montague Brown, St. Anselm College“The need for a new volume of selections from the works of Aquinas could easily be doubted, but reviewing Steven Baldner’s Basic Philosophical Writing quiets one’s skepticism in this regard. This judgment is owing to a number of student-friendly features, most importantly the very readable biography and the introduction, which pulls together the various texts into a manageable whole. Other notable properties of this volume are the brief lexicon of technical terms used by Aquinas; a ‘cast of characters,’ namely, short entries on the philosophers and theologians whose work Aquinas refers to; and a selection of ‘contrasting texts,’ for example, both Descartes and Anselm on proving God’s existence.” — Mary Catherine Sommers, University of St. Thomas“Baldner’s volume is a worthy addition to the already burgeoning market of edited collections of Aquinas’s writings. The fluency of Baldner’s translation, the accessible formatting of the selections from the Summa Theologiae, his excellent introductory material, and useful appendices make this volume an invaluable resource for those encountering the thought of St. Thomas for the first time.” — Fr. Justin Gable, Teaching PhilosophyTable of Contents Introduction Thomas Aquinas: A Brief Chronology Part 1: The Principles of Nature Chapter 1: The Three Principles Chapter 2: Privation and Matter Chapter 3: The Four Causes Chapter 4: Relations among the Four Causes Chapter 5: The Modes of the Causes Chapter 6: The Predication of Terms Part 2: God (Texts from Summa theologiae I) A. Theology and Philosophy B. The Existence of God C. Properties of God D. Analogy: Language about God Part 3: Human Nature (Texts from Summa theologiae I) A. Soul and Body B. Will and Choice C. Knowledge Part 4: Ethics (Texts from Summa theologiae I-II) A. The Goal: Happiness B. Voluntary Actions C. The Moral Goodness of Human Acts D. Habits and Virtues E. Law and Natural Law Appendix 1: Anselm's Argument Appendix 2: Bonaventure on God Appendix 3: Scotus' Proof of God Appendix 4: Ockham on God Appendix 5: Descartes's Ontological Argument Appendix 6: Scotus on Immortality Appendix 7: Ockham on Soul Appendix 8: Scotus on Will Appendix 9: Ockham on Will Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe fifth volume of The Hackett Aquinas, a series of central philosophical treatises of Aquinas in new, state-of-the-art translations accompanied by a thorough commentary on the text.Acclaim for previous volumes in the series:The Treatise on Human Nature Translated, with Commentary, by Robert Pasnau "This very readable and accurate translation of the so-called Treatise on Human Nature strikes the right balance between literal rendition of Aquinas' Latin and naturalness of English expression, and thus will be of use both to new students of Aquinas and to those familiar with the original Latin. The commentary on the text should make the translation especially suitable for use in courses on Aquinas' philosophy of human nature and theory of knowledge." —Deborah Black, University of TorontoThe Treatise on the Divine Nature Translated, with Commentary, by Brian J. Shanley, O.P. "That Shanley's translation-cum-commentary can open students to such a rich appropriation of Aquinas explains why I call it 'superb.'" —David Burrell, The ThomistDisputed Questions on Virtue Translated by Jeffrey Hause and Claudia Eisen Murphy; Commentary by Jeffrey Hause "Hause and Murphy are to be congratulated. [Their volume's] strong points are numerous and important. The translation is clear and faithful. . . . Hause offers an extended commentary which is solid and helpful for beginning readers. . . . A gem." —R. E. Houser, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

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Book SynopsisR. Saadia Gaon (882-942) was unquestionably one of the most important if not the most important medieval Jewish thinker. He dealt with biblical exegesis, philosophy, grammar, poetry, prayer, and Halakha, and in many of these fields he is considered an innovator and a trailblazer, paving new paths for his followers. Many of the sages who lived after him cited from his writings. He served as head of the Academy of Sūra, Babylon, but the impact of his works was felt in all generations who lived and followed. This study seeks to describe and analyze R. Saadia Gaon's life, his public enterprise, his works, and his influence on the generations after him.Trade Review“This book describes and analyzes Rabbi Saadia Gaon’s quest for the religious leadership of the Jewish world in the first half of the tenth century, which he pursued. Through his comprehensive literary work in the fields of interpretation, philosophy, language, poetry, and Halacha. This book discusses elegantly key areas in the work of Saadia Gaon, such as his interpretation of the books of the Bible and his dealings with the Arabic language and Muslim culture, beginning with borrowing of literary models, principles, and terms, and ending with a poignant religious polemic. In addition, Schlossberg deals with the practical ways in which Saadia sought to lead the Jewish people, using educational methods. Saadia emphasizes, according to Schlossberg, the challenges arising from life in exile while cultivating the constant expectation of imminent redemption. This is an extremely important book—a must for anybody interested in Jewish life in the Islamic world, including the Judeo-Arabic-rich culture.” — Professor Benjamin Hary, New York University“Eliezer Schlossberg's R. Saadia Gaon: A Leader of Generations is the first English monograph on this eminent and influential medieval thinker, since Henry Malter's Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works (Philadelphia, 1921). In this learned and graceful work, Schlossberg offers a significant call of attention to the intellectual breakthroughs and ingenious erudition of this founding medieval figure (born el-Fayyum, Egypt, 882, died Baghdad 942). Schlossberg achieves a fresh outlook on Saadia's enduring cultural imprint and sophistication, through six insightful thematic chapters relating to communal leadership, inter-religious polemic, education, scriptural translation, rhetoric, and history. Interwoven with a discerning overview of a century of modern scholarship, Schlossberg's captivating illustration of Saadia's innovations in an array of fields, written and published (to this very day!) in Hebrew, Arabic, and Judeo-Arabic, opens a window to a creative and revolutionary period of intellectual change and interchange, at the unique crossroad of medieval Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.”— Meira Polliack, Professor of Bible, Joseph and Ceil Mazer Chair in Jewish Culture in Muslim Lands and Cairo Geniza Studies, Tel Aviv University“Saadia Gaon is acknowledged as one of the leading Jewish thinkers in the premodern world. While his contributions to biblical exegesis and translation, legal hermeneutics and linguistic thought are largely known, Eliezer Schlossberg lays the main emphasis on Saadia’s public leadership as a ‘leader of generations.’ He begins with a biography of the Gaon and addresses in the following chapters key aspects of his thought. The monograph, which is a welcome addition to recent scholarship, succeeds convincingly to explain why Saadiah and his works continue to hold such fascination until today.”— Ronny Vollandt, Ludwig-Maximilians-UniversitätTable of ContentsIntroductionChapter One: The Leadership of R. Saadia Gaon Chapter Two: Polemic in the Writings of R. Saadia Gaon Chapter Three: Education in the Writings of R. Saadia Gaon Chapter Four: R. Saadia’s Translation of the PentateuchChapter Five: Arabic, Islam, and Rhetoric in R. Saadia’s WorkChapter Six: History, Consolation, and Messianic Future Bibliography General Index

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Book SynopsisWe turn to Machiavelli at every tumultuous period in history - he is the one who knows how to philosophize in dark times. In fact, since his death in 1527, we have never stopped reading him, always to pull ourselves out of a torpor. But what do we really know about this man? Is there more to his work than that term for political evil, Machiavellianism? It was Machiavelli's luck to be disappointed by every statesman he encountered - that was why he had to create his paper Prince. Today, the question that remains is not why he wrote, but for whom - for princes or for those who want to resist them? What is the art of governing? Is it to take power, or to keep it? In this timely book, Patrick Boucheron undoes many of our assumptions about Machiavelli, showing how his rich, complex thought is key to understanding his time, and may be crucial to interrogating our own.

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Book SynopsisTreatise on Divine Predestination is one of the early writings of the author of the great philosophical work Periphyseon (On the Division of Nature), Johannes Scottus (the Irishman), known as Eriugena (died c. 877 A.D.). It contributes to the age-old debate on the question of human destiny in the present world and in the afterlife.The work survives in a single manuscript of which editions were published in 1650 and 1853. It has been most recently edited in 1978. The present translation was made from that edition. Modern scholars are able to discern in this early work strong intimations of Eriugena''s later major writings.Trade Review“The De divina praedestinatione liber was written in 850-51 at the request of two prelates while John the Scot resided at the court of Charles II, grandson of Charlemagne. It is his earliest attested work, a refutation of the heretical teaching of Gottschalk on double predestination. Both John and Gottschalk claimed to base their interpretation on St. Augustine, and both continued to be subjects of controversy during the decade between 850 and 860.” —Theology Digest“Mary Brennan’s translation is as helpful as her foreword. The rendition into English of Madec’s text from the Corpus Christianorum is careful. The book is elegantly produced and a delight to read.” —The Medieval Review

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Book SynopsisNicholas of Cusa (14011464), a student of canon law who became a Catholic cardinal, was widely considered the most important original philosopher of the Renaissance. He wrote principally on theology, philosophy, and church politics. This volume makes most of Nicholas's other writings on Church and reform available in English for the first time.

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Book SynopsisScholars have often been quick to acknowledge Thomas Aquinas's distinctive retrieval of Aristotle's Greek philosophical heritage. Often lagging, however, has been a proper appreciation of both his originality and indebtedness in appropriating the great theological insights of the Greek Fathers of the Church. In a similar way to his integration of the Aristotelian philosophical corpus, Aquinas successfully interwove the often newly received and translated Greek patristic sources into a thirteenth-century theological framework, one dominated by the Latin Fathers. His use of the Greek Fathers definitively shaped his exposition of sacra doctrina in the fundamental areas of God and creation, Trinitarian theology, the moral life, and Christ and the Sacraments.For the sake of filling this lacuna and of piquing scholarly interest in Aquinas's relation to the Fathers of the Christian East, the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal at Ave Maria University and the Thomistic Institute of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies co-sponsored an international gathering of scholars that took place at Ave Maria University under the title Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers. Sensitive to the commonalities and the differences between Aquinas and the Greek Fathers, the essays in this volume have sprung from the theme of this conference and offer a harvest of some of the conference's fruits. At long last, scholars have a rich volume of diverse, penetrating essays that both underscore Aquinas's unique standing among the Latin scholastics in relationship to the Greek Fathers and point the way toward avenues of further study.

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Book SynopsisPeter Adamson presents an engaging and wide-ranging introduction to the thinkers and movements of two great intellectual cultures: Byzantium and the Italian Renaissance. First, he traces the development of philosophy in the Eastern Christian world, from such early figures as John of Damascus in the eighth century to the late Byzantine scholars of the fifteenth century. Adamson introduces major figures like Michael Psellos, Anna Komnene, and Gregory Palamas, and examines the philosophical significance of such cultural phenomena as iconoclasm and conceptions of gender. We discover the little-known traditions of philosophy in Syriac, Armenian, and Georgian. These chapters also explore the scientific, political, and historical literature of Byzantium. There is a close connection to the second half of the book, since thinkers of the Greek East helped to spark the humanist movement in Italy. Adamson tells the story of the rebirth of philosophy in Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centurie

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Book SynopsisMarsilio Ficino (1433–1499), the Florentine scholar-philosopher-magus, was largely responsible for the Renaissance revival of Plato. This volume contains Ficino’s extended analysis and commentary on the Phaedrus.Trade ReviewOccasionally, a book arrives on my desk that makes me absurdly happy. And in this miasmal winter of our fiscal discontent, I am grateful for such small serendipities… The first is Volume 1 of Commentaries on Plato by 15th-century Florentine scholar and magus Marsilio Ficino. -- Martin Levin * Globe and Mail *

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Book SynopsisPlatonic Theology is the visionary and philosophical masterpiece of Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499), the Florentine scholar-philosopher-magus largely responsible for the Renaissance revival of Plato. This work, translated into English for the first time, is a key to understanding the art, thought, culture, and spirituality of the Renaissance.Trade ReviewAn aristocratic devotion to our culture continues to manifest itself even today in the most prestigious centers of study and thought. One has merely to look at the very recent (begun in 2001), rigorous and elegant humanistic series of Harvard University, with the original Latin text, English translation, introduction and notes. -- Vittore Branca * Il Sole 24 Ore *The editing and translation of Ficino's text has been done superbly well. Allen and Hankins have begun a work of scholarship of the highest calibre, whose continuation is eagerly awaited. * British Journal for the History of Philosophy *The Loeb Classical Library...has been of incalculable benefit to generations of scholars...It seems certain that the I Tatti Renaissance Library will serve a similar purpose for Renaissance Latin texts, and that, in addition to its obvious academic value, it will facilitate a broadening base of participation in Renaissance Studies...These books are to be lauded not only for their principles of inclusivity and accessibility, and for their rigorous scholarship, but also for their look and feel. Everything about them is attractive: the blue of their dust jackets and cloth covers, the restrained and elegant design, the clarity of the typesetting, the quality of the paper, and not least the sensible price. This is a new set of texts well worth collecting. -- Kate Lowe * Times Literary Supplement *Ficino set out to show that the ancient Neoplatonic philosophy embodied a "gentile theological tradition," one that complemented the Mosaic revelation to the Jews and prepared its devotees for the final truths of Christianity. Ficino worked in full knowledge of the internal complications of Neoplatonism. He wrote and argued in styles that ranged from the logical and synthetic to the poetic and evocative, as he struggled to find ways to prove that the universe was orderly and governed by a Creator and to lay out the place within it of the immortal human soul. -- Anthony T. Grafton * New York Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisFrancesco Filelfo's On Exile depicts noblemen and humanists, driven from Florence by Cosimo de' Medici, discussing the sufferings of exilepoverty and loss of reputationand the best way to endure and profit from them. This volume contains the first complete edition of the Latin text and the first complete translation into any modern language.

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Book SynopsisA classic work of the European Enlightenment--and one of the most popular, if scandalous, in its day--the Persian Letters captures, in an engaging epistolary format, the transformational spirit of the era. Amid an ongoing tale rife with sex, violence, and wit, the work addresses a diverse range of topics from human nature and the origins of society, to the nature and role of religious belief, the role of women, statecraft, justice, morality, and human identity. With skill and artistry, Raymond MacKenzie's stunning new translation accurately reflects the mood and character of the work. In his richly conceived Introduction, MacKenzie seamlessly weaves together an overview of the period with details of Montesquieu's life, including the influences that inspired the Persian Letters , the character and power of the book, and its reception. This edition also includes a Calendar of the Persian Letters , a Bibliography of Works in English, and a Bibliography of Works in French. Related texts provide insight into the legacy of the Persian Letters . They include selections from works by George Lyttelton, Voltaire, Oliver Goldsmith, and Maria Edgeworth.

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Book SynopsisNever-before-published writing from a key twentieth-century philosopher. In 1962, Reiner Schürmann began studying at the Dominican school of theology Le Saulchoir, outside Paris. That experience radically shaped his life and work, enabling him to begin to develop many of the ideas for which he would later be known: letting be, life without why, ontological anarchy, and the tragic double bind. Ways of Releasement contains never-before-published material from Schürmann's early period as well as a report Schürmann wrote about his encounter with Heidegger; a précis of his autobiographical novel, Origins; and translations and new editions of later groundbreaking essays. Ways of Releasement concludes with an extensive afterword setting Schürmann's writings in the context of his thinking and life.

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Book SynopsisOxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy showcases the best new scholarly work on philosophy from the end of antiquity into the Renaissance. OSMP combines historical scholarship with philosophical acuteness, and will be an essential resource for anyone working in the area.Table of ContentsArticles Christina Van Dyke: 'Lewd, Feeble, and Frail': Humility Formulae, Medieval Women, and Authority Daniel Davies and Alexander Lamprakis: Al-FārābĪ's Commentary on the Eighth Book of Aristotle's Topics in Ṭodros Ṭodrosi's Philosophical Anthology (Introduction, Edition of the Text, and Annotated Translation) Reginald Mary Chua: Aquinas, Analogy and the Trinity Can Laurens Löwe: Super-Causes, Super-Grounds, and the Flow of Powers: Three Medieval Views on Natural Kinds and Kind-Specific Powers John Morrison: Three Medieval Aristotelians on Numerical Identity and Time Boaz Faraday Schuman: Multiple Generality in Scholastic Logic Critical Notices Nicolas Faucher: A Review of David Piché, Épistémologie et psychologie de la foi dans la pensée scolastique (1250-1350) Sonja Schierbaum: A Dance with the Rebel Angels: Tobias Hoffmann's View on the Free Will Debate Briefly Noted

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Book SynopsisHistories you can trust.The Renaissance is one of the most celebrated periods in European history. But when did it begin? When did it end? And what did it include?Traditionally regarded as a revival of classical art and learning, centred upon fifteenth-century Italy, views of the Renaissance have changed considerably in recent decades. The glories of Florence and the art of Raphael and Michelangelo remain an important element of the Renaissance story, but they are now only a part of a much wider story which looks beyond an exclusive focus on high culture, beyond the Italian peninsula, and beyond the fifteenth century.The Oxford History of the Renaissance tells the cultural history of this broader and longer Renaissance: from seminal figures such as Dante and Giotto in thirteenth-century Italy, to the waning of Spain''s ''golden age'' in the 1630s, and the closure of the English theatres in 1642, the date generally taken to mark the end of the English literary Renaissance.Geographically, the story ranges from Spanish America to Renaissance Europe''s encounter with the Ottomansand far beyond, to the more distant cultures of China and Japan. And thematically, under Gordon Campbell''s expert editorial guidance, the volume covers the whole gamut of Renaissance civilization, with chapters on humanism and the classical tradition; war and the state; religion; art and architecture; the performing arts; literature; craft and technology; science and medicine; and travel and cultural exchange.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition [This] is a book that will not disappoint. Whether readers are well-versed in the field of Renaissance studies or simply have a casual interest in this fascinating subject, they will find much to enjoy. Though the concepts discussed are far from simplistic, the tone is highly readable. This book will be a welcome addition to any library on the subject. * All About History *Based on the latest historical research but aimed at the general reader, the Oxford "Histories" have maintained a very high standard over the years. This volume, edited by the great Renaissance scholar, Gordon Campbell, certainly maintains the Oxford University Press reputation for excellence. * Ed Voves, Art Eyewitness *Table of ContentsIntroduction Gordon Campbell: The Renaissance 1: Peter Mack: Humanism and the Classical Tradition 2: David Parrott: War and the State: c. 1400-1650 3: Stella Fletcher: Religion 4: Paula Nuttall and Richard Williams: The Civilisation of the Renaissance 5: Francis Ames-Lewis: Art and Architecture: Italy and Beyond 6: Paula Nuttall and Richard Williams: Art and Architecture: Flanders and Beyond 7: Margaret McGowan: The Performing Arts: Festival, Music, Drama, Dance 8: Warren Boutcher: Vernacular Literature 9: Pamela Long, Andrew Morrall: Craft and Technology in Renaissance Europe 10: Paula Findlen: The Renaissance of Science 11: Peter Burke and Felipe Fernández-Armesto: The Global Renaissance Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisOxford 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.Table of ContentsCRITICAL NOTICE ; DISCUSSION

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Book SynopsisOxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy showcases the best new scholarly work on philosophy from the end of antiquity into the Renaissance. OSMP combines historical scholarship with philosophical acuteness, and will be an essential resource for anyone working in the area.Table of ContentsARTICLES; CRITICAL NOTICE; DISCUSSION

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Book SynopsisLeo Strauss argued that the most visible fact about Machiavelli's doctrine is also the most useful one: Machiavelli seems to be a teacher of wickedness. In his critical appreciation of "The Prince" and the "Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy", Strauss explains his thoughts.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction I: The Twofold Character of Machiavelli's Teaching II: Machiavelli's Intention: The Prince III: Machiavelli's Intention: The Discourses IV: Machiavelli's Teaching Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“The Whole Mystery of Christ offers a brilliant interpretation . . . and both its novelty and its audacity will make for an intense and hopefully fruitful theological discussion in the years ahead. This book offers a new paradigm for Maximus scholarship and does it superbly well.” —Hans Boersma, author of Embodiment and Virtue in Gregory of Nyssa"Wood’s contribution lies not simply in his own speculative audacity, but also in an unremitting willingness to take Maximus at his word without lazily assigning the most challenging formulations to hyperbole. Consequently, this book provides endlessly rich material for reflection and argument. Wood’s ingeniously original interpretation demonstrates that Maximus is still as revolutionary and enigmatic a Christian thinker now as he ever was, and that the real Maximus needs to be rescued from the sort of scholarship that has too often sought to tame his exorbitant genius." —David Bentley Hart, author of You Are Gods"Jordan Wood makes a compelling case that creation is itself 'incarnation,' the radical identification of the Creator not just 'in' the creation or 'with' the creation but 'as' the creation. Wood skillfully analyzes key texts in drawing out the ramifications of this thesis for Maximus’s Christology, cosmology, and other aspects of his doctrine. The Whole Mystery of Christ will certainly engage important new discussion of one of the most prolific thinkers of the Eastern Christian tradition." —Paul Blowers, author of Maximus the Confessor"Jordan Daniel Wood’s The Whole Mystery of Christ: Creation as Incarnation in Maximus the Confessor sets out to free Maximus the Confessor from the captivity of scholarly discourses that have misperceived him." —Reading Religion"Wood's tour de force asks the very valuable and interesting systematic questions so often missing in historical theology." —Modern Theology"Wood's Maximian vision should enrich contemporary constructive discussions about the relationship of God to a fallen world that has yet to become creation in its fullness." —Christian Century"Wood engages vigorously with much recent Maximian scholarship and offers a lively and distinctive contribution of his own."—The Heythrop JournalTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Abbreviations Preface Introduction: The God-World Relation in Modern Maximus Scholarship 1. The Middle: Christo-Logic 2. The Beginning: Word becomes World 3. The End: World becomes Trinity 4. The Whole: Creation as Christ Conclusion: The Whole Mystery of Christ An Analytic Appendix of Key Concepts Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe interpretive literature in the history of political thought is now vast, complex and esoteric, posing as much a barrier to the understanding of the undergraduate student as it offers assistance. This unique and innovative text provides the student with a guide through this maze of argument. Each chapter sets out the major positions and debates that surround the texts of key thinkers, analyzes major problems of interpreting them, examines the sources of disagreement, and evaluates the different interpretations in terms of their strengths, weaknesses and contributions to scholarship.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisOffers notes on philosophical, theological, historical, and liturgical issues raised by the "Confessions", as well as paragraph numbers of the Latin critical edition, and an index.Trade Review"To my ears, Sheed’s translation is the most beautiful English translation available. The same electric current that runs through Augustine’s original can be felt in this translation, which combines a slightly elevated style (more elevated in direct prayers) combined with the immediacy and transparency of a street preacher (not that different from Augustine’s own style). The latest edition includes an introduction by Peter Brown, the best biographer of Augustine, and notes and commentary by Michael Foley, a truly excellent reader of Augustine." —Jared Ortiz, Hope College, in Catholic World Report"This translation is already a classic. It is the translation that has guided three generations of students and readers into a renewed appreciation of the beauty and urgency of a masterpiece of Christian autobiography. This is largely because the translator has caught not only the meaning of Augustine’s Confessions, but a large measure of its poetry. It makes the Latin sing in English as it did when it came from the pen of Augustine, some sixteen hundred years ago. Deeply rooted in the tradition of which Augustine was himself a principal founder, this translation is not only modern: it is a faithful echo, in a language that has carried throughout the ages, of its author’s original passion and disquiet." —Peter BrownTable of ContentsBook One: The First Fifteen Years; Book Two: The Sixteenth Year; Book Three: From Sixteen to Eighteen; Book Four: From Eighteen to Twenty-Seven; Book Five: Aged Twenty-Eight; Book Six: Aged Twenty-Nine; Book Seven: Aged Thirty; Book Eight: Aged Thirty-One; Book Nine: Aged Thirty-Two; Book Ten: Augustine's Confession of His Present; Book Eleven: In the Beginning God Created (Genesis 1:1); Book Twelve: Heaven and Earth; Book Thirteen: The Days of Creation; Index.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisSaint Bonaventure''s Journey of the Soul into God is one of the most important works in the Christian mystical tradition. Highly regarded for it clarity, rational organization, and subtle insights, it is also one of the key theological treatises of the high Middle Ages. In this volume, Randall Smith provides the first comprehensive commentary in English of Bonaventure''s classic text. He situates the work within its historical, intellectual, and cultural contexts, showing how a consideration of Bonaventure''s sources helps us appreciate his text. Smith also provides an extended analysis not only of the intellectual content of the Journey of the Soul into God, but also its structure and creative use of imagery. Analyzing how Bonaventure employed and adapted the methods of thirteenth century sermo modernus-style of preaching to produce a deftly condensed work, he demonstrates how his text is at once a profound work of mysticism as well as a sophisticated and thoughtful work of medieval theology.

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Book SynopsisHegel's Encyclopaedia Logic contains the most explicit formulation of his enduringly influential dialectical method and of the categorical system underlying his thought. This volume presents it in a new translation with a helpful introduction and notes.Trade Review"....Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences in Basic Outline is an outstanding and inspiring guide through Hegel’s work. This book is a very valuable resource and will spark an industry of debate and elaboration." --George Lazaroiu, PhD, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities and Social SciencesTable of ContentsIntroduction: Hegel's Encyclopaedia Logic; Translators' note; Encyclopaedia of Philosophical Sciences in Basic Outline: Volume 1: Logic by G. W. F. Hegel: Preface to the first edition; Preface to the second edition; Foreword to the third edition; Introduction; Preliminary conception; First subdivision of the logic: the doctrine of being; Second subdivision of the logic: the doctrine of essence; Third subdivision of the logic: the doctrine of the concept; Glossary.

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Book SynopsisThis rich and comprehensive volume surveys and illuminates the numerous and complicated interconnections between philosophical and scientific thought as both were radically transformed in the period from the late sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth century.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines tragedy and tragic philosophy from the Greeks through Shakespeare to the present day. It explores key themes in the links between suffering and ethics through postcolonial literature. Ato Quayson reconceives how we think of World literature under the singular and fertile rubric of tragedy. He draws from many key works Oedipus Rex, Philoctetes, Medea, Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear to establish the main contours of tragedy. Quayson uses Shakespeare''s Othello, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Tayeb Salih, Arundhati Roy, Toni Morrison, Samuel Beckett and J.M. Coetzee to qualify and expand the purview and terms by which Western tragedy has long been understood. Drawing on key texts such as The Poetics and The Nicomachean Ethics, and augmenting them with Frantz Fanon and the Akan concept of musuo (taboo), Quayson formulates a supple, insightful new theory of ethical choice and the impediments against it. This is a major book from a leading critic in literary studies.Trade Review'… [This book] is a powerful insight, suggestive enough, one would have thought, to fuel a book-length inquiry into the distinctiveness of postcolonial tragedy.' Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, Modern Philology'The book's connections to the fields of literature, philosophy, and history are apparent, as is its layered, meticulously crafted thesis. Relevant and applicable to a variety of critical reassessments in various fields within the humanities. Recommended.' J. Neal, Choice'The contribution of Ato Quayson's book is undoubtedly found in the dialogue and the pooling of plural knowledge, reporting on the suffering and ethnic discriminations of which colonized populations have been victims.' Jean Zaganiaris, Anabases (translated from French)JeanTable of Contents1. Introduction. Tragedy and the maze of moments; 2. Shakespeare: Ethical cosmopolitanism and Shakespeare's Othello; 3. Chinua Achebe: History and the conscription to colonial modernity in Chinua Achebe's rural novels; 4. Wole Soyinka: Ritual dramaturgy and the social imaginary in Wole Soyinka's tragic theatre; 5. Tayeb Salih: Archetypes, self-authorship, and melancholia: Tayeb Salih's Seasons of Migration to the North; 6. Toni Morrison: Form, freedom and ethical choice in Toni Morrison's Beloved; 7. J. M. Coetzee: On moral residue and the affliction of second thoughts: J.M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians; 8. Arundhati Roy: Enigmatic variations, language games and the arrested bildungsroman: Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things; 9. Samuel Beckett: Distressed embodiment and the burdens of boredom: Samuel Beckett's Postcolonialism; 10. Conclusion: Postcolonial tragedy and the question of method.

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Book SynopsisWhat is ''truth''? The question that Pilate put to Jesus was laced with dramatic irony. But at a time when what is true and what is untrue have acquired a new currency, the question remains of crucial significance. Is truth a matter of the representation of things which lack truth in themselves? Or of mere coherence? Or is truth a convenient if redundant way of indicating how one''s language refers to things outside oneself? In her ambitious new book, Catherine Pickstock addresses these profound questions, arguing that epistemological approaches to truth either fail argumentatively or else offer only vacuity. She advances instead a bold metaphysical and realist appraisal which overcomes the Kantian impasse of ''subjective knowing'' and ban on reaching beyond supposedly finite limits. Her book contends that in the end truth cannot be separated from the transcendent reality of the thinking soul.Trade Review'This is emphatically an important book – one of the most innovative and wide-ranging essays in philosophical theology to appear in recent years – from a scholar quite capable of tackling the most sophisticated minds of secular academic philosophy on their own ground, and showing that theology has a serious contribution to make to our thinking about thinking. This seriously original work – which addresses the fundamental question of what we think we are doing/claiming when we say we are speaking truthfully – has the capacity to make a major difference in its field.' Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge; formerly Archbishop of Canterbury'Aspects of Truth is an original, serious and demanding work that seeks to come to a novel metaphysical perspective on the nature of truth, a perspective both adequate to and informed by Christian liturgy. Over the course of ten chapters, it draws upon the insights and reflects upon the inadequacies it finds in the writings of a great pantheon of philosophical and theological figures. It crosses and re-crosses boundaries between analytic philosophy, continental philosophy and theology. It's an exciting journey to take, in Pickstock's company. Aspects of Truth is provocative and challenging, written in a style that crosses boundaries as much as its arguments. I can think of no other book quite like it.' Fraser McBride, University of Manchester'Readers of Pickstock's work will recognize some of her perennial themes of liturgy, repetition and Platonism, but she utilizes them with a freshness that is only exceeded by the grand scope of her vision.' Tyler Holley, International Journal of Systematic Theology'Many Christians, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI included, will doubtless welcome Pickstock's robust and philosophically rigorous defence of object truth. While sceptics are unlikely to warm to her insistence on the centrality of Christ, others will see a volume of this kind as exactly what the modern secular world needs.' Jonathan W. Chappell, The FurrowTable of Contents1. Receiving; 2. Exchanging; 3. Mattering; 4. Sensing; 5. Minding; 6. Realising; 7. Thinging; 8. Emptying; 9. Spiriting; 10. Conforming; Post-script.

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Book Synopsis''There are no substantive rights for subjects in Hobbes''s political theory, only bare freedoms without correlated duties to protect them''. Curran challenges this orthodoxy of Hobbes scholarship, and argues that Hobbes''s theory is not a theory of natural rights but rather, a modern, secular theory of rights, with relevance to modern rights theory.Trade Review'In this ambitious and lucid book, Eleanor Curran sets out to challenge some of the main orthodoxies of Hobbesian scholarship...Curran's book performs a great service and deserves to be read by all serious Hobbes scholars. It represents a significant departure from existing treatments, and is richly thought-provoking both in its advocacy of a 'strong' theory of rights, and in its criticism of the existing scholarship. This engaging and lively book may thus itself hope to form a starting point for argument, controversy and debate.' British Journal for the History of Philosophy '...detailed [and] sophisticated...' - Hobbes StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction PART I: THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF HOBBES'S POLITICAL THEORY Examining the Orthodoxy - Hobbes and Royalism The Political Context - Taking Sides PART II: HOBBES'S THEORY OF RIGHTS: THE TEXTUAL ARGUMENT Liberties and Claims - Rights and Duties The Full Right to Self Preservation and Sovereign Duties PART III: HOBBES AND THEORIES OF NATURAL LAW AND NATURAL RIGHTS The Natural Rights Tradition - With or Without Hobbes? PART IV: HOBBES'S THEORY OF RIGHTS: A MODERN SECULAR THEORY Current Discussions of Hobbesian Rights - The Distorting Lens of Hohfeld Conclusion: Towards a Hobbesian Theory of Rights Index

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Book SynopsisThis book charts the evolution of Islamic dialectical theory (jadal) over a four-hundred year period. It includes an extensive study of the development of methods of disputation in Islamic theology (kalām) and jurisprudence (uṣūl al-fiqh) from the tenth through the fourteenth centuries. The author uses the theoretical writings of Islamic theologians, jurists, and philosophers to describe the conceptOverall, this investigation looks at the extent to which the development of Islamic modes of disputation is rooted in Aristotle and the classical tradition. The author reconstructs the contents of the earliest systematic treatment of the subject by b. al-Rīwandī. He then contrasts the theological understanding of dialectic with the teachings of the Arab Aristotelians–al-Fārābī, Avicenna, and Averroes. Next, the monograph shows how jurists took over the theological method of dialectic and applied it to problems peculiar to jurisprudence. Although the earliest writings on dialectic are fairly free of direct Aristotelian influence, there are coincidences of themes and treatment. But after jurisprudence had assimilated the techniques of theological dialectic, its own theory became increasingly influenced by logical terminology and techniques. At the end of the thirteenth century there arose a new discipline, the ādāb al-baḥth. While the theoretical underpinnings of the new system are Aristotelian, the terminology and order of debate place it firmly in the Islamic tradition of disputation.Trade Review“Very few unpublished PhD dissertations have had a formative influence on a field. One of the precious few is Larry Miller’s Princeton dissertation from 1984 on Islamic disputation theory. It proposed an original and compelling account of the development of the discipline, from the earliest extant Arabic works … to the composition of classic madrasa handbooks … . It … has served as the starting point for all later studies of Arabic/Islamic dialectics in European languages.” (Khaled El-Rouayheb, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Vol. 61 (3), July, 2023)Table of Contents1. Theological Dialectic (Jadal).- 2. Dialectic and Arabic Philosophy.- 3. Dialectic (Jadal) in Jurisprudence.- 4. The Ādāb Al-Baḥth.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a comparative study of emotion in Arabic Islamic and English Christian contemplative texts, c. 1110-1250, contributing to the emerging interest in ‘globalization’ in medieval studies. A.S.Lazikani argues for the necessity of placing medieval English devotional texts in a more global context and seeks to modify influential narratives on the ‘history of emotions’ to enable this more wide-ranging critical outlook. Across eight chapters, the book examines the dialogic encounters generated by comparative readings of Muhyddin Ibn ‘Arabi (1165-1240), ‘Umar Ibn al-Fārid (1181-1235), Abu al-Hasan al-Shushtarī (d. 1269), Ancrene Wisse (c. 1225), and the Wooing Group (c. 1225). Investigating the two-fold ‘paradigms of love’ in the figure of Jesus and in the image of the heart, the (dis)embodied language of affect, and the affective semiotics of absence and secrecy, Lazikani demonstrates an interconnection between the religious traditions of early Christianity and Islam. Table of Contents

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Book SynopsisEnglish Women’s Spiritual Utopias, 1400-1700: New Kingdoms of Womanhood uncovers a tradition of women’s utopianism that extends back to medieval women’s monasticism, overturning accounts of utopia that trace its origins solely to Thomas More. As enclosed spaces in which women wielded authority that was unavailable to them in the outside world, medieval and early modern convents were self-consciously engaged in reworking pre-existing cultural heritage to project desired proto-feminist futures. The utopianism developed within the English convent percolated outwards to unenclosed women's spiritual communities such as Mary Ward's Institute of the Blessed Virgin and the Ferrar family at Little Gidding. Convent-based utopianism further acted as an unrecognized influence on the first English women’s literary utopias by authors such as Margaret Cavendish and Mary Astell. Collectively, these female communities forged a mode of utopia that drew on the past to imagine new possibilities for themselves as well as for their larger religious and political communities. Tracking utopianism from the convent to the literary page over a period of 300 years, New Kingdoms writes a new history of medieval and early modern women’s intellectual work and expands the concept of utopia itself.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Mirrors of our Lady: Utopia in the Medieval Convent.- Chapter 2: These Most Afflicted Sisters: Old and New Futures in Exiled English Convents.- Chapter 3: Not Yet: Aspirational Women’s Communities Beyond the Convent.- Chapter 4: Convents of Pleasure: English Women’s Literary Utopias.

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Book Synopsis​Authors, Factions, and Courts in Angevin England: A Literature of Personal Ambition (12th-13th Century) advances a model for historical study of courtly literature by foregrounding the personal aims, networks, and careers as the impetus for much of the period’s literature. The book takes two authors as case studies – Gerald of Wales and Walter Map – to show how authors not only built their own stories but also used popular narratives and the tools of propaganda to achieve their own, personal goals. The purpose of this study is to overturn the top-down model of political patronage, in which patrons – and particularly royal patrons – set the cultural agenda and dictate literary tastes. Rather, Fabrizio De Falco argues that authors were often representative of many different interests expressed by local groups. To pursue those interests, they targeted specific political factions in the changeable political scenario of Angevin England. Their texts reveal a polycentric view of cultural production and its reception. The study aims to model a heuristic process which is applicable to other courtly texts besides the chosen case-studies.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction. But What is the Point of Courtly Writing?Part 1 The Hydra: The Court’s Body and Its Wandering HeadsChapter 2 Re-thinking Literature at the English Royal Court, Its Protagonists and ContextsChapter 3 Starting at the Bottom: The Authors Part 2 The Messages Between the Lines. A Political Reading of Courtly TextsChapter 4 An Accurate Curriculum: Walter Map’s De Nugis CurialiumChapter 5 A Family Business: Gerald of Wales’ Topographia HibernicaPart 3 The Real World is Here. The Role of Courtly Literature between Factions and CrisisChapter 6 Surviving in the Upside-Down. Henry II’s Courtiers under Richard I’s Reign (1189-1199)Chapter 7 Moving Text into Action. Local Careerism and International CrisisConclusion: Contingently Situated Literature and Courts Dynamics

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