Description
Book SynopsisPeter Adamson presents an engaging and wide-ranging introduction to two great intellectual cultures: Byzantium and the Italian Renaissance. First he tells the story of philosophy in the Eastern Christian world, from the 8th century to the 15th century, then he explores the rebirth of philosophy in Italy in the era of Machiavelli and Galileo.
Trade ReviewEach brief chapter immediately captures the interest of the reader in a way that is entertaining, informative, and a genuine pleasure to read. Excellent notes and bibliography of further reading. * P. A. Streveler, CHOICE *
The understanding that philosophy is a purely rational endeavor is a form of presentism that arises out ofmodern rationalism and, more generally... we should be grateful to Adamson for addressing the issue and for providing students of Byzantine and Renaissance philosophy with an accessible overview of the respective material. * Speculum 98/4 *
Table of ContentsPreface Philosophy in Byzantium 1: The Empire Strikes Back: Introduction to Byzantine Philosophy 2: On the Eastern Front: Philosophy in Syriac and Armenian 3: Don't Picture This: Iconoclasm 4: Behind Enemy Lines: John of Damascus 5: Collectors' Items: Photius and Byzantine Compilations 6: Consul of the Philosophers: Michael Psellos 7: Hooked on Classics: Italos and the Debate over Pagan Learning 8: Purple Prose: Byzantine Political Philosophy 9: Elements of Style: Rhetoric in Byzantium 10: Past Masters: Byzantine Historiography 11: Queen of the Sciences: Anna Komnene and her Circle 12: Wiser than Men: Gender in Byzantium 13: Just Measures: Law, Money, and War in Byzantium 14: Made by Hand: Byzantine Manuscripts 15: Georgia on My Mind: Petritsi and the Proclus Revival 16: People of the South: Byzantium and Islam 17: Do the Math: Science in the Palaiologan Renaissance 18: Through His Works You Shall Know Him: Palamas and Hesychasm 19: United We Fall: Latin Philosophy in Byzantium 20: Platonic Love: Gemistos Plethon 21: Istanbul (not Constantinople): the Later Orthodox Tradition The Italian Renaissance 22: Old News: Introduction to the Renaissance 23: Greeks Bearing Gifts: Byzantine Scholars in Italy 24: Republic of Letters: Italian Humanism 25: Literary Criticism: Lorenzo Valla 26: Difficult to be Good: Humanist Ethics 27: Chance Encounters: Reviving Hellenistic philosophy 28: We Built This City: Christine de Pizan 29: More Rare Than the Phoenix: Italian Women Humanists 30: All About Eve: the Defense of Women 31: I'd Like to Thank the Academy: Florentine Platonism 32: Footnotes to Plato: Marsilio Ficino 33: True Romance: Theories of Love 34: As Far as East from West: Jewish Philosophy in Renaissance Italy 35: The Count of Concord: Pico della Mirandola 36: What a Piece of Work is Man: Manetti and Pico on Human Nature 37: Bonfire of the Vanities: Savonarola 38: The Sweet Restraints of Liberty: Republicanism and Civic Humanism 39: No More Mr Nice Guy: Machiavelli 40: Sense of Humors: Machiavelli on Republicanism 41: The Teacher of Our Actions: Renaissance Historiography 42: No Place Like Home: Renaissance Utopias 43: Greed is Good: Renaissance Economics 44: Town and Gown: Italian Universities 45: I'd Like to Thank the Lyceum: Aristotle in Renaissance Italy 46: Of Two Minds: Pomponazzi and Nifo on the Intellect 47: There and Back Again: Zabarella on Scientific Method 48: The Measure of All Things: Mathematics and Art 49: Just What the Doctor Ordered: Renaissance Medicine 50: Man of Discoveries: Girolamo Cardano 51: Spirits in the Material World: Telesio and Campanella on Nature 52: The Men Who Saw Tomorrow: Renaissance Magic and Astrology 53: Boundless Enthusiasm: Giordano Bruno 54: The Harder They Fall: Galileo and the Renaissance
