Medieval Thought Books - Page 6

Theophany: The Neoplatonic Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite (Suny Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy)

Eric D. Perl

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Theophany: The Neoplatonic Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Along with the valuable work by O'Rourke, 'Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and the Metaphysics of Aquinas', Eric D. Perl's 'Theophany: The Neoplatonic Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite' provides us with a summation of that sacred doctrine which took on the epithet 'Neoplatonism' and the particular contribution of the two sages Plotinus and Pseudo-Dionysius. Perl's work attempts to show how Pseudo-Dionysius and Plotinus set out to articulate that which defies articulation, namely the nature of the One, or God. In the first chapter Perl clears the ground for further doctrinal elaboration by explaining what Plotinus means by the One, the Good, or Pseudo-Dionysius by God, and makes the point that the One isn't simply transcendent and non-delimited, but even beyond non-delimitation, which in turn explains manifestation. In the second chapter Perl moves on to explain, often in the words of Plotinus or Pseudo-Dionysius, how the One seemingly becomes the many. Later chapters go into further detail about the Sovereign Good, or the Beautiful, as representative of the One, or God, in the domain of Being and existence, the nature of evil and the metaphysical explanation for its apparent existence, the hierarchy of Being, epistemological considerations, and so forth.

The work is written in the style of a metaphysical treatise and while sparing no academic quality it doesn't read in the tradition of dry analytic treatment, focusing on where Plotinus lived, or what kind of sandals he might have worn. 'Theophany' is a study of the metaphysical principals which constitute Neoplatonism--which cannot be thought of as a religion, but as a means of understanding religion as such in the domain of ideas--as well as exploring the reception of these principals into one of the three great Abrahamic traditions, Christianity. It is this quality which has made Neoplatonic metaphysics so important and influential not only to medieval Christian philosophy and mysticism, but also to medieval Islamic philosophy and mysticism. I can think of no better work which in a single volume conveys the founding principals of Neoplatonism, outlining its fundamental tenets, and defending it philosophically from the many misrepresentations which inevitably abound, in such a succinct and coherent manner. It is not an entirely easy read, not because the author fails to give adequate expression, but because the ideas conveyed are those of the most subtle and sublime available to men, always skirting on the edge of ineffability. One must approach a work of this nature with the attitude of a contemplative, not the modern academician who seeks to accumulate information so as to analyze and sort according to dubious criteria.

Editorial Review:

Situates Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite as a Neoplatonic philosopher in the tradition of Plotinus and Proclus.

After Aquinas: Versions of Thomism

Fergus Kerr

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A rare gem 5 out of 5 stars.
67 of 70 people found this review helpful.

Kerr, a Dominican, is Regent of Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, Honorary Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh, and editor of "New Blackfriars," the periodical of the English Dominicans. This book is one of the most fascinating and informative books on Thomas to come along in some time. Kerr focuses on the period beginning with Pope Leo XIII's endorsement of Thomism as a bulwark against post-Cartesian modernism and subjectivism, and the division of Thomism into Transcendental (essentially Kantian-informed) and Existential (anti-Kantian and anti-modern) factions. He shows how modern Thomism has been shaped by, and is thus largely a product of, reactions to modern thinkers, such as Descartes, Kant, Heidegger and other thinkers. He successfully destabilizes the conventional view of Thomas as important mainly for his theistic proofs (the "five ways") and natural law theory, not only by arguing that Thomas's arguments are essentially unintelligible apart from his larger theological purposes, but that these purposes change the way we understand even his philosophical importance. The Thomas that emerges in Kerr's account makes an interesting dialogue partner with contemporary thinkers such as Martin Heidegger and Karl Barth. Furthermore, he holds his own against Barth's misguided claims that Thomas's concept of "nature" doesn't take sin seriously, or that his notion of divine "simplicity" is idolatrous, or that his concept of "analogia entis" is the invention of Antichrist! The Thomism that emerges is strikingly at odds with that which we often encounter in the secular or Protestant "textbook traditions," where Thomas's God is a barren "First Cause" or abstract "immutable substance," for example. Once we understand what Thomas means, Kerr argues, we see that his God is so dynamic that He is more accurately defined by verbs than by nouns! Kerr offers chatty, and sometimes wickedly naughty behind-the-scene peeks into controversies that have shaped modern Thomism, such as the very personal controversy between Garrigou-Lagrange and de Lubac. He also apprears to be thoroughly conversant with recent non-Catholic theology (for example, such as the work of the Lutheran theologian, Robert Jensen, or the New Finnish interpretation of Luther's notion of justification as close to the Greek idea of "theosis"-- an idea for which Kerr finds some parallel in Thomas's view of sanctification). He is, of course, intimately familiar with the usual suspects--the Catholic standards (Gilson, Chenu, Maritain, Von Balthasar). Very highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

This guide to the most interesting work that has recently appeared on Aquinas reflects the revival of interest in his work.

• Written by one of the foremost Roman Catholic theologians currently writing in English.
  
• Offers a guide to the most interesting work that has recently appeared on Aquinas, reflecting the revival of interest in his work.
  
• Brings together in one volume, a range of views that have previously only been accessible through different books, articles, and periodicals.
  
• Represents a major revisionist treatment of Thomism and its significance, combining useful exposition with original, creative thinking.
  
• Offers students, in one volume, all the material necessary for a rounded understanding of Aquinas.

Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior

Elliott Sober, David Sloan Wilson

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Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

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No matter what we do, however kind or generous our deeds may seem, a hidden motive of selfishness lurks--or so science has claimed for years. This book, whose publication promises to be a major scientific event, tells us differently. In Unto Others philosopher Elliott Sober and biologist David Sloan Wilson demonstrate once and for all that unselfish behavior is in fact an important feature of both biological and human nature. Their book provides a panoramic view of altruism throughout the animal kingdom--from self-sacrificing parasites to insects that subsume themselves in the superorganism of a colony to the human capacity for selflessness--even as it explains the evolutionary sense of such behavior.

Explaining how altruistic behavior can evolve by natural selection, this book finally gives credence to the idea of group selection that was originally proposed by Darwin but denounced as heretical in the 1960s. With their account of this controversy, Sober and Wilson offer a detailed case study of scientific change as well as an indisputable argument for group selection as a legitimate theory in evolutionary biology.

Unto Others also takes a novel evolutionary approach in explaining the ultimate psychological motives behind unselfish human behavior. Developing a theory of the proximate mechanisms that most likely evolved to motivate adaptive helping behavior, Sober and Wilson show how people and perhaps other species evolved the capacity to care for others as a goal in itself.

A truly interdisciplinary work that blends biology, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology, this book will permanently change not just our view of selfless behavior but also our understanding of many issues in evolutionary biology and the social sciences.

The Cosmographia of Bernardus Silvestris

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Ian Myles Slater on: A Difficult Book, But Worth Attention 5 out of 5 stars.
39 of 40 people found this review helpful.

Like many of the relatively few who will recognize the name, I first encountered Bernardus Silvestris in the final pages of C.S. Lewis' 1938 science fiction novel "Out of the Silent Planet." He is mentioned there as a twelfth-century Platonist who, in addition to writing difficult Latin, used the Malacandrian (Martian) word "Oyarsa" for a class of superior spirits. At the time (the middle 1960s), if I paid any attention at all, I probably assumed that "Bernard of the Forest" was Lewis's version of Lovecraft's Abdul Alhazred, celebrated author of the "Necronomicon" -- an impressive-sounding but non-existent reference. (L. Sprague de Camp's "Science Fiction Handbook," which had sent me to Lewis's books, referred vaguely, but on the whole correctly, to Lewis' use of Neo-Platonic and Gnostic ideas, which would not have clued me in.)

If I thought so, I was corrected by the discussion of Bernardus (in English, often simply Bernard) and the "School of Chartres" (a disputed concept, although now apparently back in favor) when I went on to read Lewis' "Allegory of Love" (1936), a study of medieval literature. Bernardus' "De Mundi Universitate," also known as the "Cosmographia," described with proper bibliographic information, there comes in for some attention as a Latin precursor to later allegorical works in vernacular languages. Bernardus appeared in my reading again, providing examples of medieval concepts and terms, in Lewis' late work, "The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature" (1964).

Still later, as an undergraduate at UCLA, my curiosity aroused by Lewis' quotations, but with no translation in existence, I tried the available Latin text; and I was hardly the only academically-inclined Lewis fan with access to a copy to make the attempt. I soon discovered that (a) Lewis was right about the difficult Latin (and what was difficult for a character in his novel was pretty much impossible for me!), and that (b) the existing edition (Barach and Wrobel, 1876) didn't seem to be very well-edited, which could hardly help matters.

Both feelings about the Latin text were confirmed when, not so very long after that sobering experience, Winthrop Wetherbee's translation appeared in 1973, as "The *Cosmographia* of Bernardus Silvestris." The slender volume included a useful introduction, with textual notes explaining departures from the printed text, and a separate set of explanatory notes following the translation.

The latter were definitely necessary. Reading the book, even in English, proved to be a difficult experience. It did have rewards, beyond finding out what Lewis had been talking about. It offered a look at the unexpected intellectual equipment of a medieval Christian philosopher *before* the Aristotelian revolution, and a Platonism unconnected to the Italian Renaissance, and any Greek texts. (I specify because of the intermittent controversy over a "Renaissance of the Twelfth Century," in which Bernardus and his possible associates can serve as an exhibit.)

It was also, in places, quite charming. Lewis was right about that (although some of his preferred readings of the Latin, and his graceful translations, have had to be dropped in favor of other manuscript evidence.)

I eventually acquired a copy of my own (used; the price asked for the hardcover in the 1970s then seemed extortionate), and have re-read it several times. Still not easy, but always interesting. Eventually, while a graduate student in English literature, I began to feel that I sort of understood it.

The "Cosmographia" is a description of the creation and form of the Universe, using ideas from the rather obscure writer Chalcidius (or, as now preferred, Calcidius), whose Latin commentary on a portion of Plato's dialogue "Timaeus" included the only genuine Platonic text available in Latin Christendom for centuries. "Cosmographia" itself was a sort of dialogue, but in a mixture of verse and prose, as used in the "Consolation of Philosophy" of Boethius (one of the key works of the Middle Ages). Wetherbee identifies allusions to the Pseudo-Dionysius, to Macrobius, and to the Latin translation of the Hermetic *Asclepius* attributed to Apuleius, among others. At times it seems to be expressing Christian ideas in pagan terms, at others dressing up pagan philosophy for Christian readers. It bears little resemblance to Scholastic texts, although Lewis was certainly correct to compare it, in terms of genre if not traceable connections, to the "Romance of the Rose."

I'm going to say STOP RIGHT HERE. If these names and terms mean absolutely NOTHING to you, you will be wasting your time trying to read Bernardus, in any language. If they are a little familiar to you, you will probably need to read a lot more about the literature of medieval Europe before trying it. Better still, add to your readings translations of at least some of the works I have mentioned (Plato instead of Calcidius, although he is, slowly, appearing in English), and some accounts of a number of others I haven't included (Alanus Insulis, for example). If you haven't read Lewis' "The Discarded Image," it would probably be a good place to start.

This may sound like snobbery, but Bernardus was esoteric in his own time, and I am not going to advise anyone to read it without some proper preparation. As I said, it would be a waste of time -- think of running a Marathon without training. I have given it five stars because Wetherbee did a difficult job remarkably well, not because I expect a lot of people to like it.

Of course, if you are motivated enough, you can always try it.

Personally, I had already done of lot of this reading at my first attempt at Wetherbee's volume, and eventually got around to filling in some of the rest. But I also took advantage of a shortcut. Brian Stock's "Myth and Science in the Twelfth Century: A Study of Bernard Silvester" (Princeton University Press) had appeared the previous year, and I raced through a library copy before it could be recalled.

Although not in total agreement with Wetherbee about Bernardus by any means, Stock proved an invaluable guide to the material, and the existing secondary literature. He also provided useful suggestions on how to read such a text, which doesn't quite correspond to anything in modern literature. I still needed to do a lot of catching up, but this was a real boost.

Unfortunately, Stock's book is out of print (and perhaps somewhat more out of date than the translation, due in part to the author's own later work). The current asking price for used copies of it seems to me unreasonably steep, except as a tribute to the book's intellectual value. If you are interested, by all means try a library! If you are the sort of person to really want to understand this branch of medieval literature, you will find yourself using his bibliography as a reading guide.

Wetherbee's translation, on the other hand, has achieved a trade paperback incarnation (1990), and in this form, as university press books with a limited market go, is not too expensive. (The hardcover -- apparently reprinted at the same time, with a much more attractive cover than my old copy -- is still high-priced, and probably aimed at libraries with a generous budget.) I find it easier to imagine it as a text in a graduate seminar than in any but the most rarefied undergraduate course, but I hope that it will continue to find readers, and continue to open eyes to a neglected corner of European thought.

Note: The truly dedicated may want to look into another work by (or "Commonly Attributed to") Bernardus: the "Commentary on the First Six Books of Virgil's Aeneid," translated with introduction and notes by Earl G. Schreiber and Thomas E. Maresca (1977). There was also a text edition the same year, edited by J.W. Jones and E.F. Jones (from which I take the "commonly attributed" description). [I have been prompted to add mention of Peter Dronke's 1978 edition of the Latin text of the "Cosmographia," published by Brill, a great improvement on Barach and Wrobel. It is sometimes available through Amazon, where it is currently listed as "Cosmographia (Textus minores ; v. 53)" by Bernard Silvestris.]

The secondary literature continues to grow, although mainly in journals, and unpublished papers presented at conferences; an on-line search shows that there have been some interesting-looking contributions in the last decade, several, including one specifically on Lewis and Bernardus, by Robert M. Ziomkowski.

Converts, Heretics, and Lepers: Maimonides and the Outsider

James A. Diamond

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Editorial Review:

James Diamond's new book consists of a series of studies addressing Moses Maimonides' (1138-1204) appropriation of marginal figures - lepers, converts, heretics, and others - normally considered on the fringes of society and religion. Each chapter focuses on a type or character that, in Maimonides' hands, becomes a metaphor for a larger, more substantive theological and philosophical issue. Diamond offers a close reading of key texts, such as the "Guide of the Perplexed" and the "Mishneh Torah", demonstrating the importance of integrating Maimonides' legal and philosophical writings. Converts, Heretics, and Lepers fills an important void in Jewish studies by focusing on matters of exegesis and hermeneutics as well as philosophical concerns. Diamond's alternative reading of central topics in Maimonides suggests that literary appreciation is a key to deciphering Maimonides' writings in particular and Jewish exegetical texts in general.

Summa Contra Gentiles: Book Four: Salvation

St. Thomas Aquinas

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Editorial Review:

The Summa Contra Gentiles is not merely the only complete summary of Christian doctrine that St. Thomas has written, but also a creative and even revolutionary work of Christian apologetics composed at the precise moment when Christian thought needed to be intellectually creative in order to master and assimilate the intelligence and wisdom of the Greeks and the Arabs. In the Summa, Aquinas works to save and purify the thought of the Greeks and the Arabs in the higher light of Christian Revelation, confident than all that had been rational in the ancient philosophers and their followers would become more rational within Christianity. This exposition and defense of divine truth has two main parts: the consideration of that truth which faith professes and reason investigates, and the consideration of the truth which faith professes and reason is not competent to investigate. The exposition of truths accessible to natural reason occupies Aquinas in the first three books of the Summa. His method is to bring forward demonstrative and probable arguments, some of which are drawn from the philosophers to convince skeptics. In the fourth book Aquinas appeals to the authority of Sacred Scripture for those divine truths which surpass the capacity of reason.

Evolution of Medieval Thought

David Knowles

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Best. 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 16 people found this review helpful.

This book is essential for the student of Medieval Philosophy. It is the best, I prefer it even over E. Gilson's introductory Medieval works. It is not superficial, it is rigorous and yet not boring. The serious undergraduate's thirst will be quenched. His history is accurate. This is the standard by which the rest of the Medieval texts for undergraduates will be judged.

Medieval Thought 101 4 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is a concise introduction to the development of medival thought. Specifically it discusses the thinkers themselves and the institutions that birthed them. The main word to keep in mind here is that this an overview of medieval thought.

Still, making your way through it requires considerable intellectual work. Knowles gives you a page or two of biographical summary (easy going) followed by three or four pages of text about the particular thinkers' attempt to square neo-platonism with christian aristotlianism. I can't say that I got all the finer points in the text-- far from it.

That aside, the basic evolution is clear, with the high point coming in the thirteenth century as the complete works of Aristotle were rediscovered and absorbed by various thinkers, leading up to the work of Thomas Aquinas. Thereafter, there was a retreat from the project of synthesizing theology with philosophy.

I can't say that I enjoyed reading this book. Truth be told, it was a bit of a chore. I did learn about the subject matter.

The Life and Legends of Saint Francis of Assisi

Candide Chalippe

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Editorial Review:

REVISED AND RE-EDITED BY FATHER HILARION DUERK O.F.M.

God and Reason in the Middle Ages

Edward Grant

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god and reason in the middle ages 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Excellent to investigate about the debates between philosophers and theologicians during the late middle ages.

Editorial Review:

The Age of Reason associated with the names of Descartes, Newton, Hobbes, and the French philosophers, actually began in the universities that first emerged in the late Middle Ages (1100 to 1600) when the first large scale institutionalization of reason in the history of civilization occurred. This study shows how reason was used in the university subjects of logic, natural philosophy, and theology, and to a much lesser extent in medicine and law. The final chapter describes how the Middle Ages acquired an undeserved reputation as an age of superstition, barbarism, and unreason.

Introduction To Saint Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, Anton C. Pegis

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Not too much to bite off, enough to chew on 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Good introduction. Lays out the context for Aquinas and his times and the Medieval university milieu. Gives enough of his writing to get a good grasp of it, without overload.

Good collection, but the physical quality could be better. 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

It it a good overview of Aquinas and contains good selections, but the physical book kind of bothers me. It is very 'compact', meaning that there is the spacing between lines is too small for notes and almost too small for underlining; The margins are small , so you can't write in those. Also when reading, I tend to 'get lost' and skip or reread a line because they are so compacted.

Editorial Review:

Edited, with an Introduction, by Anton C. Pegis with selections from SUMMA THEOLOGICA and SUMMA CONTRA GENTILES