Showing papers on "Medieval philosophy published in 2009"

The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy

Abstract: The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy comprises over fifty specially commissioned essays by experts on the philosophy of this period. Starting in the late eighth century, with the renewal of learning some centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, a sequence of chapters takes the reader through developments in many and varied fields, including logic and language, natural philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, and theology. Close attention is paid to the context of medieval philosophy, with discussions of the rise of the universities and developments in the cultural and linguistic spheres. A striking feature is the continuous coverage of Islamic, Jewish, and Christian material. There are useful biographies of the philosophers, and a comprehensive bibliography. The volumes illuminate a rich and remarkable period in the history of philosophy and will be the authoritative source on medieval philosophy for the next generation of scholars and students alike.

The rise of the universities

Abstract: The culture of the learned elite in the Latin world bordering on the Mediterranean and stretching north into Europe underwent a profound transformation between the eleventh and the thirteenth centuries. Although the traditions of the immediately preceding period were never completely submerged, speculative and literary activity from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries on began to generate a kind of work that speaks to us with a philosophical immediacy that almost nothing from the seventh through eleventh centuries can presume to do. As with any cultural process, the roots of the change reached back deep in time, and in its entirety it extended to all areas of society, economic and political as well as literary and intellectual. It is no accident that the twelfth century has been characterized by Western medievalists as a period of “renais-sance,” while the origins of “Europe” as we think of it, and as it has exercised power in the modern world, have increasingly been pushed back to that era. In a guide to medieval philosophy there is no need to engage this historical phenomenon in all its breadth or to speculate very deeply on its causation. Reduced to the scope of medieval intellectual history, our concern is with the emergence of “scholasticism” in its strictest sense – or, as the title of this chapter suggests, with the appearance of a cultural sphere linked to the universities. Despite the fact that either orientation – broadly cultural or narrowly intellectual – must necessarily go seriously astray about the place it assigns the history of Arabic culture or of Byzantine Greek culture (see Chapters 1 and 3), the perspective they both provide gives us an entree to a cultural shift of dramatic proportions.

Long Commentary on the De Anima of Aristotle

Abstract: Born in 1126 to a family of Maliki legal scholars, Ibn Rushd, known as Averroes, enjoyed a long career in religious jurisprudence at Seville and Cordoba while at the same time advancing his philosophical studies of the works of Aristotle. This translation of Averroes' Long Commentary on Aristotle's De Anima brings to English-language readers the complete text of this influential work of medieval philosophy. Richard C. Taylor provides rich notes on the Long Commentary and a generous introduction that discusses Averroes' most mature reflections on Aristotle's teachings as well as Averroes' comprehensive philosophical views on soul and intellect. It is only in the Long Commentary that Averroes finally resolves to his satisfaction the much vexed issue of the nature of intellect, Taylor shows.

Atomism in Late Medieval Philosophy and Theology

Abstract: Preface List of Authors Introduction, Christophe Grellard & Aurelien Robert 1. Beyond Aristotle: Indivisibles and Infinite Divisibility in the Later Middle Ages, John E. Murdoch 2. Indivisibles and Infinities: Richard Rufus on Points, Rega Wood 3. Richard Kilvington on Continuity, Elzbieta Jung & Robert Podkonski 4. The Importance of Atomism in the Philosophy of Gerard of Odo (O.F.M.), Sander W. de Boer 5. Nicholas of Autrecourt's Atomistic Physics, Christophe Grellard 6. William Crathorn's Mereotopological Atomism, Aurelien Robert 7. An Indivisibilist Argumentation at Paris around 1335 : Michel of Montecalerio's Question on Point and the Controversy with John Buridan, Jean Celeyrette 8. John Wyclif's Atomism, Emily Michael 9. Blasius of Parma facing Atomist Assumptions, Joel Biard Bibliography Index

The Social Foundations of the Mechanistic Philosophy and Manufacture

Abstract: Franz Borkenau's book, The Transition from Feudal to Modern Thought (Der Ubergang vom feudalen zum burgerlichen Weltbild [literally: The Transition from the Feudal to the Bourgeois World-Picture]), serves as background for Grossmann's study. The objective of this book was to trace the sociological origins of the mechanistic categories of modern thought as developed in the philosophy of Descartes and his successors. In the beginning of the seventeenth century, according to Borkenau, mechanistic thinking triumphed over medieval philosophy which emphasized qualitative, not quantitative considerations. This transition from medieval and feudal methods of thought to modern principles is the general theme of Borkenau's book, and is traced to the social changes of this time. According to this work, the essential economic change that marked the transition from medieval to modern times was the destruction of the handicraft system and the organization of labor under one roof and under one management. The roots of the change in thought are to be sought here. With the dismemberment of the handicraft system and the division of labor into relatively unskilled, uniform, and therefore comparable activities, the conception of abstract homogeneous social labor arises. The division of the labor process into simple repeated movements permits a comparison of hours of labor. Calculation with such abstract social unities, according to Borkenau, was the source from which modern mechanistic thinking in general derived its origin.Grossmann, although he considers Borkenau's work a valuable and important contribution, does not believe that the author has achieved his purpose. First of all, he contends that the period that Borkenau describes as the period of the triumph of modern thought over medieval should not be placed at the beginning of the seventeenth century, but in the Renaissance, and that not Descartes and Hobbes but Leonardo da Vinci was the initiator of modern thought. Leonardo's theories, evolved from a study of machines, were the source of the mechanistic categories that culminated in modern thought.If Borkenau's conception as to the historical origin of these categories is incorrect in regard to time, Grossmann claims it follows that it is incorrect also in regard to the social sources to which it is ascribed. In the beginning, the factory system did not involve a division of labor into comparable homogeneous processes, but in general only united skilled handicraftsmen under one roof. The development of machinery, not the calculation with abstract hours of labor, is the immediate source of modern scientific mechanics. This goes back to the Renaissance and has relatively little to do with the original factory system that was finally superseded by the Industrial Revolution.While Borkenau, in tracing the social background of the thought of the period, relies chiefly on the conflicts and strife of political parties, Grossmann regards this as one element only in the formation of the general social situation, which in its entirety and in the interaction of its elements explains the development of modern thought.

A History of Skepticism in the Middle Ages

Abstract: This introduction chapter gives a short overview of medieval skepticism. It shows that skepticism arose in the Middle Ages largely without the influence of Ancient sources. Skepticism seems to have occupied the minds of all the best thinkers of the fourteenth century, and it forced Buridan, the foremost thinker of the time, to modify the traditional view of knowledge. When Sextus is rediscovered in the late fifteenth century, skepticism of a much more problematic sort had already been discussed for two hundred years at most European universities. As a phenomenon, skepticism was not new in Europe at this time, but some of the earlier presuppositions had changed. As the chapter shows that Buridans solution was being challenged, infallibililist views of knowledge had crept back into philosophy and the religious controversies of the time had largely changed the cultural context of philosophy. Keywords: medieval philosophy; skepticism

History of the Problem of Universals in the Middle Ages

Abstract: I have collected here all the handouts, as near as I can, from my Fall 2009 course “History of the Problem of Universals in the Middle Ages.” I have adjusted a few things here and there — to hide telephone numbers and email addresses you shouldn’t see, for instance, or to remove something I am not authorized to distribute freely. So you will find an occasional line of “x’s” or a simple blank space. They should not be obtrusive. These handouts come from a number of sources. Most of them have been provided by my friend and former student Curtis Sommerlatte. Others, particularly texts, are public-domain items I have substituted for copyrighted texts we read in class. Several of these handouts are available separately elsewhere on IU Scholarworks.

Two Interpretations of Two Stoic Conditionals

Abstract: Four different conditionals were known to the Stoics. The so-called 'first' (Philonian) conditional has been interpreted fairly uncontroversially as an ancient counterpart to the material conditional of modern logic; the 'fourth' conditional is obscure, and seemingly of little historical interest, as it was probably not held widely by any group in antiquity. The 'second' (Diodorean) and 'third' (Chrysippean) conditionals, on the other hand, pose challenging interpretive questions, raising in the process issues in philosophical logic that are as relevant today as they were then. This paper is a critical survey of some modern answers to four of the most tantalizing of these questions; the issues that I will discuss arise out of interpretations of the Diodorean and Chrysippean conditionals as expressions of natural law, and as strict implications. I will reject these interpretations, concluding with my own proposal for where they should be located on a 'ladder' of logical strength. The following passage from Sextus will form the basis of my discussion (from Outlines of Pyrrhonism [Pyrrhoneae Hypotyposes], as presented by Long and Sedley 1987b, 211). He has just introduced Philo's account of \" a sound conditional \" —by which I understand a true conditional—with the example \" when it is day and I am talking, 'If it is day, I am talking' \". He then continues:

La recepción del pensamiento de Proclo en la obra de Nicolás de Cusa

Abstract: The article analizes the several times of Proclus‘s reception by Nicholas of Cusa’s thought. The direct reading of Proclus can be established because Expositio in Parmenidem Platonis –Cod.Cus. 186– and Elementatio theological –Cod.Cus.195– (Moerbeke’s translation) and De theologia Platonis Libri VI –Cod.Cus.185– (Petrus Balbus’s translation) are in his Library in Bernkastel-Kues with his marginalia. The assimilation of doctrines can be considered assuming that the implicits and explicits references to Plato’s Diadochus, especially in the last works.

Henry Of Ghent And John Duns Scotus On Skepticism And The Possibility Of Naturally Acquired Knowledge

Abstract: This chapter focuses on the discussion of skepticism that is at the heart of the debate between Henry of Ghent and John Duns Scotus. This discussion is interesting for various reasons. On the one hand, it is the first time in later medieval philosophy that (ancient) skeptical positions receive broader attention. On the other hand, it illustrates the methodological role that skeptical arguments have in medieval epistemological accounts. The chapter starts with Henrys central arguments for the need of divine illumination and their alleged failure. Next, it defends Henry from Scotuss accusations by pointing out to what extent Henry himself rejects skeptical arguments. This leads us, thirdly, to ask whether Scotuss criticism is fair or whether it misses its goal. After their respective responses to skeptical challenges are compared, the chapter finally compares the strategies that Henry and Scotus recommend in cases we have to argue with a skeptic. Keywords: divine illumination; Henry of Ghent; John Duns Scotus; medieval epistemological accounts; medieval philosophy; skepticism

Jesus and Philosophy: New Essays

Abstract: Introduction: Jesus and philosophy Paul K. Moser Part I. Jesus in His First-Century Context: 1. Jesus: sources and self-understanding Craig A. Evans 2. Sipping from the cup of wisdom James L. Crenshaw 3. The Jesus of the Gospels and philosophy Luke T. Johnson 4. Paul, the mind of Christ, and philosophy Paul W. Gooch Part II. Jesus in Medieval Philosophy: 5. Jesus and Augustine Gareth B. Matthews 6. Jesus and Aquinas Brian Leftow Part III. Jesus in Contemporary Philosophy: 7. The epistemology of Jesus: an initial investigation William J. Abraham 8. Paul Ricoeur: a biblical philosopher on Jesus David F. Ford 9. Jesus and forgiveness Nicholas Wolterstorff 10. Jesus Christ and the meaning of life Charles Taliaferro.

Chapter Twelve. Manuel Joel And The Neo -Maimonidean Discovery Of Kant

Abstract: In the last few years several publications on Manuel Joel (1826-1890) have appeared which might help revive interest in his life and work among historians of the development of nineteenth-century Jewish thought. This chapter explores Joel's scholarship on Maimonides and Kant, arguing that there is a close relationship between the two. The chapter describes Joel's writings on medieval philosophy, beginning with his discourse on Maimonides. For Joel, Maimonides was a representative of the twelfth-century Jewish zeitgeist. Joel's primary interest was to identify in what way Maimonides was a typical representative of his zeitgeist. The chapter shows two short articles by Joel which are important for understanding Joel's attitude toward Kant's philosophy. The first was a short paper which was published in the Monatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums under the title "Something on the Influence of Jewish Philosophy on Christian Scholasticism. Keywords: Christian scholasticism; Jewish zeitgeist; Kant; Maimonides; Manuel Joel

Skeptical Issues in Commentaries on Aristotle's Posterior Analytics : John Buridan and Albert of Saxony

Abstract: This chapter shows that an upswing in skepticism can be seen in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries driven partly due to criticism of the Aristotelian theory of cognition as it was defended by Aquinas. Given that the Aristotelian theory of scientific method is so dependent on a justifiable theory of cognition, it is no surprise that when the cognitive theories of Aristotle and Aquinas were criticized and the con-formation theory of cognition was rejected, skepticism about the whole method soon appeared. It is the object of the chapter to trace out the consequences of this rejection in John Buridans and Albert of Saxonys commentaries on the Posterior Analytics . Before turning to their discussion, however, it seems necessary to say something about the preceding discussions of Posterior Analytics II.19 in medieval philosophy. Keywords: Albert of Saxony; Aristotelian theory of cognition; John Buridan; medieval philosophy; Posterior Analytics ; skeptical issues

The rise of philosophy in Lithuania

Abstract: The first Lithuanians to be introduced to philosophy were young members of the gentry who studied in European universities at the end of the 14th century The recently christened Lithuania strove to adopt Western culture and to present itself as a Western state At the end of the 14th century, the Vilnius Cathedral School was founded The elements of logic were probably taught there The growth of the political and economic power of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania brought about the need for higher education The need was significantly increased by the growing activity of various religious orders In 1507, the Dominicans started teaching philosophy and theology to their novices in Vilnius They taught late medieval philosophy in its Thomistic interpretation We can regard 1507 as the year Lithuania began to benefit from a new phenomenon, professional philosophy, with the Dominicans as its initiators The Dominicans and later the Jesuits, Franciscans, Benedictines, Carmelites, Trinitarians, and other monastic orders enriched intellectual life in Lithuania by teaching philosophy in their schools The most important event in the development of philosophy in Lithuania was the foundation of Vilnius University in 1579 The disciplines belonging to scholasticism of the second level were taught in its philosophy department

Christlicher Hades und vergilisches Fegefeuer

Abstract: In seinem 1924 erschienenen Roman lässt Thomas Mann den Protagonisten Hans Castorp in ein Sanatorium hoch in den Schweizer Alpen reisen. Gleich an seinem ersten Morgen dort veranschaulicht ihm einer der Patienten, ein gewisser Herr Settembrini, seine Sicht ihrer Lage: Er erkundigt sich, wie viele Monate des Auskurierens die Sanatoriumsärzte, von Settembrini scherzhaft nach den Unterweltrichtern Minos und Radamanth genannt, dem Neuankömmling Castorp verordnet hätten. Auf dessen Erklärung, er sei völlig gesund und besuche nur seinen Vetter, ruft Settembrini aus: „Potztausend, Sie sind nicht von den Unsrigen? Sie sind gesund, Sie hospitieren hier nur, wie Odysseus im Schattenreich? Welche Kühnheit, hinab in die Tiefe zu steigen, wo Tote nichtig und sinnlos wohnen.“1 Hier wird er von Castorp unterbrochen, dem angesichts der Höhenlage des Sanatoriums diese Metaphorik – wahrscheinlich ebenso wie dem Leser – als verfehlt erscheint. Doch weder der Charakter Settembrini, ein hochgebildeter Literat, noch der Autor sind verdächtig, diesen Vergleich mangels besserer Alternativen zu bemühen2. Was den betrifft, so ist dies nur ein dezenter erster Anklang des roten Fadens Unterwelt, die im Verlauf mehrfach als Referenz für das der Realität im Flachland enthobene Sanatorium und seine Gesellschaft dient und auf Hans Castorps Schneetraum als Höhepunkt zusteuert. Was den Schriftsteller Mann angeht, begegnet der Unterwelt-Topos auch in anderen seiner Werke, so z. B. in der Tetralogie , begonnen 1926. Etliche Motive des biblischen Stoffs sind in dieser Bearbeitung explizit als Unterwelt ausgewiesen wie die Grube, in die die Brüder Josef werfen, das untere Land Ägypten und Josefs Gefängnis3. Thomas Manns Oeuvre liefert nur einige von vielen Belegen für die Langlebigkeit des antiken Unterwelt-Motivs. Weitere finden sich beispielsweise bei T. S. Eliot, Derek Walcott, Jorge Luis Borges oder Thomas Pynchon 4; James Joyce gestand der epischen

Begräbnis des Herrschers

Abstract: Als Gallus Anonymus in seiner Chronik den Tod von Herzog Władysław Herman von Polen erwähnte, widmete er auch Ereignissen, die sich während des Begräbnisses des am 2. Juni 1102 in Plotzk verstorbenen Herzogs abgespielt hatten, ein wenig Aufmerksamkeit1. Aus der Überlieferung des Chronisten erfahren wir, dass Erzbischof Martin von Gnesen nach Władysławs Tod fünf Tage lang zusammen mit Priestern die Exequien hielt und es nicht wagte, ihn vor der Ankunft von dessen Söhnen, Zbigniew und Bolesław Schiefmund, bestatten zu lassen. Nachdem die beiden Brüder in Plotzk angekommen waren, noch bevor der Leichnam Władysław Hermans begraben wurde, kam es zwischen ihnen zu einem heftigen Streit über, wie es der Chronist formulierte, die Teilung des Schatzes und des Königtums. Dank der Gnade Gottes und der Vermittlung des Erzbischofs gelang es jedoch, diesen Streit rasch beizulegen, und die Brüder erklärten sich in Anwesenheit des verstorbenen Vaters bereit, sich an die von ihm zu Lebzeiten getroffenen Anordnungen zu halten. Nach der erhabenen und prachtvollen Bestattungszeremonie in der Plotzker Kirche wurden der väterliche Schatz und das Königreich unter seinen Söhne aufgeteilt und jeder Sohn erhielt den ihm vom Vater zu Lebzeiten zugesprochenen Teil 2. Die Vermittlung des Erzbischofs Martin führte allerdings nicht zu einer endgültigen Beilegung des Streites und auch nicht zu einer Versöhnung der zerstrittenen Brüder, sondern lediglich zu einem vorübergehenden Stillstand. Die in Plotzk geschlossene Vereinbarung erwies sich als nicht von Dauer, denn bald entflammte der Konflikt zwischen den Söhnen von Władysław Herman erneut und verwandelte sich ein paar Jahre später, wohl im Jahre 1106, in einen offenen Krieg. Der besiegte Zbigniew musste

The Ethics and Culture of New Time (The Ethics’ Role in the Doctrines of Decart and Spinosa)

Abstract: The relation between the doctrines of Decart and Spinosa and the medieval philosophy in particular, can be seen in ethics, to be more precise, in the correlation between metaphysics and ethics. Though the initial intention of Spinosa is the development of method, its terminology used for the method’s characteristics, that is treatment, refinement, definitely indicates the relation between medicine and ethics. Ethical orientation of logics is clearly expressed in the logical treatises that belong to the Cartesian tradition. References Descartes R. Selected works in 2 vol. [in Russian]. – Moscow: Thought. – vol. I. – 1989. – 309 p. Maidanskiy А. D. Spinoza about the subject and the tasks of logic (in press.); Maidanskiy А. D. The Problem of universal logical method in Descartes’ and Spinoza’s works. Doctoral thesis. – Moscow: IFRAN. – 2000. Spinoza B. On the Improvement of the Understanding [in Russian] // Spinoza B. Selected works in 2 vol. – Moscow: Gospolitizdat. – vol. I. – 1957. – P. 274–312. Spinoza B. The Ethics [in Russian] // Spinoza B. Selected works .... P. 313–590. Aalderink M. Spinoza and Geulincx on the Human Condition, Passions, and Love // Studia Spinozana, Wiep van Bunge (ed.), vol. 15: Spinoza and Dutch Cartesianism. – Wuerzburg: Koenigshausen & Neumann. – 2006. – p. 67–87 Ariew R. Descartes and the tree of knowledge // Synthese, . – Vol. 92 (1992) . – p. 102. Ariew R. Descartes, the First Cartesians, and Logic // Garber, D. (ed.) Oxford Studies on Early Modern Philosophy. – Vol. 3 (2006). – p. 241–260. Celano A. J. The end of practical wisdom: ethics as science in the thirteenth century // Journal of the history of philosophy. – 33.2. – 1995. – p. 225–243. Gabbey A. Descartes’ physics and Descarte’ mechanics: chiken and egg? // Voss, S. (ed.) Essays on the philosophy and science of Rene Descartes. – Oxford: Oxford University Press. – p. 311–323. Galileo and his sources. The heritage of the Collegio Romano in Galileo’s science – Princeton: Princeton University Press – 1984. – 392. Israel J.I. Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750. – Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. – 2001. Israel J.I. Enlightenment contested: philosophy, modernity, and the emancipation of man, 1670-1752. – Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. – 2006. Jardine N. Keeping order in the school of Padua: Jacopo Zabarella and Francesco Piccolomini on the offices of philosophy // Method and order in the Renaissance philosophy of nature: The Aristotle commentary tradition, ed. by Daniel Di Liscia, Eckhard Kessler, and Charlotte Methuen. – Aldershot: Ashgate. – 1997. – p. 253–270. Nadler S. Radical Enlightenment [Review article] // British journal for the history of philosophy. – 10.2. – p. 289–194. Rudavsky T. Matter, mind and hylomorphism in Ibn Gabirol and Spinoza // H. Lagerlund (ed.), Forming the Mind. Essays on the Internal Senses and the Mind/Body Problem from Avicenna to the Medical Enlightenment. – Dordrecht: Springer. – 2007. – p. 207–235. Van Bunge W. Spinoza’s Jewish identity and use of context // Studia Spinozana, S. Nadler; M. Walther, E. Yakira (eds.). – 1997. – vol. 13: Spinoza and Jewish Identity. – p. 100–118. Van Ruler H. Geulincx and Spinoza: Books, Backgrounds and Biographies // Studia Spinozana, Wiep van Bunge (ed.)…, p. 89–106. Wallace W. A. Randall Redivivus: Galileo and the Paduan Aristotelians // Journal of the history of ideas. – 1988. – vol. 49.1. – p. 133–149. Wolfson H. A. The philosophy of Spinoza: Unfolding the latent processes of his reasoning. – Cambridge: Harvard university press. – vol. I. – 1934.

Wszechmoc i istnienie

Abstract: Article takes up from a philosophical point of view the problem of omnipotence as an attribute of God in the tradition of so-called classical theism. It first presents the main problems that emerged in the discussion on this subject in the history of philosophy, ranging from medieval philosophy (Augustine, Peter Damian, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus), through modern philosophy (Descartes), until modern times (e.g. J. L. Mackie, P. Geach, G. van den Brink). In the second part, the author proposes his own interpretation of omnipotence, in which omnipotence goes beyond any understanding of existence that we have. Hence, it must be assumed that God is omnipotent in an absolute sense, that is, He is able to do things that are logically impossible. Against this background, the article considers the problem of suffering, evil, and eschatological issues.

Samuel Ibn Tibbon'sPeruš ha-Millot ha-Zarotand al-Fārābī'sEisagogeandCategories

Abstract: Samuel Ibn Tibbon's Perus ha-Millot ha-Zarot was one of the most popular and widely used Jewish philosophical reference works during the Middle Ages and survives in more than 50 manuscripts. It was read both as a glossary to his Hebrew translation of the Guide of the Perplexed and as a general introduction to philosophy. The definitions that Ibn Tibbon provides, which range over the full curriculum of medieval philosophy and science, were not always original. On the contrary, he borrowed freely from Arabic philosophical and scientific texts. Ibn Tibbon's use of al-Fārābī's Eisagoge and Categories , which he often translates word for word, is identified and explained. Drawing on this dependence, it is shown that Ibn Tibbon's text survives in four distinct recensions, each of which represents a different stage in the writing and transmission of this seminal lexicon of Hebrew philosophy and science.

A questão da transcendentalidade da noção de pulchrum na filosofia de tomás de aquino

Abstract: Nowadays, one of the most discussed subjects of Thomas Aquinas’ philosophy is about pulchrum. There is a strong tendency in taking it as a transcendental. Jan Aertsen demonstrates in his book Medieval Philosophy and the transcedentals that pulchrum can not be a transcendental if “transcendental” is taken in the same sense as Aquinas uses it. In this paper, we aim to present Aertsen’s hypothesis concerning the non-transcendental aspect of pulchrum. Key words: Transcendentals. Metaphysics. Thomas Aquinas.