Medieval Western philosophy Books

Book SynopsisIn the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle suggests that a moral principle ''does not immediately appear to the man who has been corrupted by pleasure or pain''. Phantasia in Aristotle''s Ethics investigates his claim and its reception in ancient and medieval Aristotelian traditions, including Arabic, Greek, Hebrew and Latin.While contemporary commentators on the Ethics have overlooked Aristotle's remark, his ancient and medieval interpreters made substantial contributions towards a clarification of the claim's meaning and relevance. Even when the hazards of transmission have left no explicit comments on this particular passage, as is the case in the Arabic tradition, medieval responders still offer valuable interpretations of phantasia (appearance) and its role in ethical deliberation and action. This volume casts light on these readings, showing how the distant voices from the medieval Arabic, Greek, Hebrew and Latin Aristotelian traditions still contTrade ReviewThe range of material is one of the volume's greatest strengths … Fink deserves praise for bringing together experts on these traditional strands in order to gain new and renewed insights on a lively topic in Aristotle. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *[A] welcome and well-argued enterprise to discuss the fate of a particularly interesting Aristotelian notion through the ages. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction, Jakob Fink (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) and Jessica Moss (New York University, USA) 1. The Ancient Greek Reception of Phantasia in Aristotle’s Ethics, Frans de Haas (Universiteit Leiden, The Netherlands) 2. The Arabic Tradition: With Special Emphasis on Averroes’ Interpretation, Frédérique Woerther (CNRS Paris, France) and Rotraud Hansberger (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany) 3. The Byzantine Tradition on EN 6.5.1140b16—17, Michele Trizio (Università di Bari, Italy) 4. The Latin Tradition: Phronesis, Phantasia and Moral Feelings, Iacopo Costa (CNRS Paris, France) 5. The Hebrew Tradition on EN 6.5.1140b16—17, Chaim Neria (University of Chicago, USA) 6. Epilogue: The Argument of EN 6.5.1140b16–17 from a Contemporary Perspective, Jakob Fink (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) Index

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Book SynopsisThis book presents formalizations of three important medieval logical theories: supposition, consequence and obligations.Table of ContentsSupposition Theory: Algorithmic Hermeneutics.- Buridan's Notion of Consequentia.- Obligationes as Logical Games.- The Philosophy of Formalization.

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Book SynopsisThis interdisciplinary study offers an interpretation of the major logical, philosophical/theological and poetic writings of Boethius, Abelard and Alan of Lille. The author examines their theories of language and the ways in which they explore how words illuminate things, how the mind comprehends God and how the individual reaches beatitude.Trade Review'In this innovative and highly original study, Sweeney offers an integrated reading of Boethius, Abelard, and Alan of Lille showing the connections among their philosophical, theological, and literary works based on their semantic theories. Assessing judiciously the previous approaches to these figures, including other recent interdisciplinary studies of them, she also critiques the readings of modern analytic philosophers, feminist critics, and post-modernists alike, presenting a learned, lucid, theoretically informed, and strongly argued case for her thesis. All medievalists have much to learn from this distinguished contribution to the New Middle Ages series.' Marcia L. Colish, Yale University 'Sweeney, with a specialist's attention and a philosopher's vision, shows how Boethius' logical commentaries, theological tractates and Consolationes set the model for Abelard's logical and theological works, his poetry, autobiography and letters, and Alan of Lille's theological disputations, axioms, dictionary and allegories. Boethius and his twelfth-century imitators take seriously pagan authors and the reality they seek to describe through poetry and philosophy. Sweeney shows how in all their varied genres of writing there is for Boethius, Abelard and Alan of Lille a unified goal, an ultimate project: union with God.' Stephen Brown, Boston College 'Sweeney's approach to medieval philosophy and theology is very illuminating. Medieval logic, theology and poetry are usually studied by experts in different disciplines. Sweeney brings the interconnections and interdependencies of philosophy of language, reflection on theological language and use of narrative language in poetry into focus. She shows convincingly that in the works of Boethius, Abelard and Alain de Lille all three kinds of writing complement each other.' Dr. Klaus Jacobi, Universität Freiburg, GermanyTable of ContentsIntroduction: Words in the Absence of Things Boethius: Translation, Transfer, and Transport Abelard: A Twelfth Century Hermeneutics of Suspicion Alan of Lille: Language and its Peregrinations To and From Divine Unity Bibliography

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Book SynopsisBrings St Thomas Aquinas and Martin Heidegger into dialogue and argues for the necessity of Christian philosophy. Through the confrontation of Heideggerian and Thomist thought, this title offers an original and comprehensive rethinking of the nature of temporality and the origins of metaphysical inquiry.Trade Review"I am unaware of any previous successful attempt to confront Heidegger's massive critique of metaphysics at such depth and range. Dr Smith-Gilson's conception of the four-fold intentional presupposition at the heart of metaphysics is an original conception of great merit and her work will be of immense interest to scholars of Heidegger, St Thomas, and well as to epistemologists and metaphysicians across a wide spectrum." (Prof. Juan Andres Mercado, Associate Professor of Modern Philosophy, The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Italy.) "This work gives a needed voice to the still-true and still misunderstood pre-modern understanding of man, world, being, and God. Where the earlier Thomistic revivals confronted modernity by employing scholastic terminology to restate its vision, Dr. Smith-Gilson's work of retrieval confronts, at the highest intellectual level, modernity and especially its phenomenological presentation, with the words of philosophy simpliciter. This work is an apologia for the Thomistic vision of man, God, and being which is not itself apologetic or defensive. This is a profound and difficult work, but one that richly rewards the reader who gives himself to its mediation." (Herb E. Hartmann, Professor of Philosophy, Southern Catholic College, GA, USA) "The confrontation between Classical and Heideggerian understanding of Being shows Smith Gilson's superb capacity to get into the mind of philosophers of different schools of thinking and mastering their philosophical language. With great balance, this book neither merges the two in some facile reconciliation, nor makes Heidegger a straw man with which to beat modernity in favor of a 13th century theology, but highlights the similarities and differences of their conceptual frameworks, without getting stuck in terminological equivocalness. The reader will find in these rich and dense pages a sound and substantial dialog between Heidegger's philosophical standpoint and medieval metaphysics." (Prof. Francisco Fernandez Labastida, Pontificia Universita della Santa Croce, Italy)"Table of ContentsIntroduction; Chapter I Parmenides, Plato & Aristotle - An Ontological Tracing Of Intentional Being-In-The-World; Tracing I How The Deity Entered Philosophy; Tracing II Plato's Parmenides; Tracing III Aristotle's De Anima; Chapter II St. Thomas Aquinas & Classical Intentionality; A. Introduction; B. Aristotle's Critique Of Earlier First Principles; C. An Account Of The Ananke Stenai; D. Concluding Remarks: An Overview Of Aristotle's Intentional Ground And Its Onto-Epistemological Method; Chapter III The Four-Fold Reversals: The Displacement Of Being-In-The-World; A. A Brief Discursus On Heidegger's Husserlian Influence; B. Heidegger's Commentary On The Critique Of Pure Reason; C. Finitude: Nullity Or No-Thing?; D. St. Thomas' Prima Via- A Brief Discursus On The Ananke Stenai; Chapter IV The Four-Fold Intensities; A. The Necessity Of The Causal Structure; B. The Wait And Christian Philosophy; C. Intentional Presence Qua Finitude; D. Summation Of Finitude: Revisiting The Wait; E. The Aeviternal Structure Of The Intentional Presence; F. Conclusion: The Plenitude Of The Ananke Stenai; Chapter V Tragedy In The Christian Philosophic Vision; Brief Conclusive Remarks; Bibliography - Primary Sources; Bibliography - Secondary Sources.

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