Description
Book SynopsisOne of the leading humanists of Quattrocento Italy, Lorenzo Valla (14061457) has been praised as a brilliant debunker of medieval scholastic philosophy. In this book Lodi Nauta seeks a more balanced assessment, presenting us with the first comprehensive analysis of the humanist's attempt at radical reform of Aristotelian scholasticism.
Trade ReviewThis is by far the best book in any language on Valla as a philosopher. It will immediately take its place on graduate reading lists and in courses on Renaissance humanism and philosophy, and bring Valla into the narrative of Western philosophical history as no book has previously succeeded in doing. -- James Hankins * Harvard University *
Tremendously impressive. This is a welcome development in scholarship on Valla. Nauta has written a book that will be consulted for a long time to come. -- Christopher Celenza * Johns Hopkins University *
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction PART ONE: The Attack on Aristotelian-Scholastic Metaphysics 1 The Analysis of Things: Substance, Quality, and the Tree of Porphyry 2 Thing and Word: A Critique of Transcendental Terms 3 From a Grammatical Point of View: The Reduction of the Categories PART TWO: Soul, Nature, Morality, and God 4 Soul and Nature: A Critique of Aristotelian Psychology and Natural Philosophy 5 The Virtues and the Road to Heavenly Pleasure 6 Speaking about the Ineffable: The Trinity PART THREE: Toward a Humanist Dialectic 7 Dialectic I: Propositions, the Square of Contraries, Proof and Argument 8 Dialectic II: Forms of Argumentation Conclusion: Valla and "Ordinary Language Philosophy" List of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography
