Modern Renaissance Books - Page 5

Meditations on the Soul: Selected Letters of Marsilio Ficino

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Fascinating Side Glimpse Into the Renaissance 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 21 people found this review helpful.

A book definitely recommended for students of the history of philosophy or students of the history of the Renaissance. Most histories, no matter how deep and well-written, can only scratch the surface of this fascinating period. Original works of creativity, autobiography or letters are necessary in order to fill in the gaps that naturally occur to us tourists of these times.

Ficino makes a wonderful guide for the intellectual explorer. He was a major figure of Renaissance thought, marking the transition from the Aristotelianism of the later Middle Ages to a rediscovery of Plato and Neoplatonism. Ficino translated Plato's dialogues, along with many Neoplatonic works, into Latin, making them accessible to Western scholars for the first time. His masterpiece, "Platonic Theology," was a demonstration of his belief that Platonism, unlike Aristotelianism, was compatible with Christian dogma.

The letters of Ficino give us a rare glimpse into the workings of this great mind during the period he was formulating his magnum opus, as well as a window into the political climate of the times. This was an era when the letter was 'the' form of communication and his letters remain as fresh today as they did when they were written, making the book even more compelling, if possible.

A volume that deserves to be in every scholarly library.

Editorial Review:

The problems that taxed the minds of people during the Renaissance were much the same as those confronting us today. In their perplexity many deep-thinking people sought the advice of Marsilio Ficino, the leader of the Platonic Academy in Florence, and through his letters he advised them, encouraged them, and sometimes reproved them. Ficino was utterly fearless in expressing what he knew to be true. His letters cover the widest range of topics, mixing philosophy and humor, compassion and advice, and offering a profound glimpse into the soul of the Renaissance.

This is the only accessible collection of Ficino's writings available in English. 

Philosophy and Contemporary Issues

John Roy Burr

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Half-hearted 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I used this book in my Philosophy 101 class a few semesters back. Having taken a lot of Philosophy in my private high school education, I was expecting to be re-introduced to Plato, Buber, Kierkegaard, and other dead geniuses. Instead, I get this book and I'm given about 30 or so short essays on various topics by mostly modern authors. "The Apology" is there, but few other classic essays are. This book would make for an interesting read for the already initiated, but it will be a terrible introduction to philosophy for those who are new with it.

Editorial Review:

Timely and very approachable, this book introduces today's readers to philosophy with readings of philosophical significance. It is one of the most successful philosophy books available for the last 20 years. Incorporates 15 new readings by authors such as Kai Nielsen, Jenny Teichman, Jonathan Harrison, and Sextus Empiricus. Features extensively revised Puzzles and Problems sections that offer unusual and provocative views to arouse reader response. Relates traditional philosophical issues to key contemporary problems, and follows the explanation of each issue with related readings and Puzzles and Problems. Challenges conventional thinking and presents opposing viewpoints on topics such as the existence of God and the limitation of immigration. MARKETFor anyone interested in learning more about philosophy and applying its principles to everyday life.

Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta (Guenon, Rene. Works.)

Rene Guenon

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta is Guénon's central exposition of traditional metaphysics, companion to his other two great works in this genre: The Symbolism of the Cross and The Multiple States of the Being. Guénon held that Hinduism embraces the most ancient, profound, and comprehensive expression of traditional metaphysics we possess, which can in some ways function as a key to every other traditional form, and this work has been called the first reliable exposition of Hindu metaphysics in any Western language. Before Guénon, the West's image of Hinduism was a hodge-podge of translated scriptures lacking traditional commentary, fragments of doctrine reported by Jesuits and other missionaries, random impressions of merchants, imperialists, and adventurers, unreliable Eurocentric constructions of the orientalists, and the fantasies of the Theosophical Society and their ilk. To this day, Man and His Becoming remains one of the best (if not the best) expositions of the doctrines of the Vedanta, an exposition entirely free from the modernizing and Westernizing tendencies that first infiltrated the Indian subcontinent under the British Raj, and have not yet abated. This text is a veritable bible of traditional metaphysics and anthropology. In his Studies in Hinduism and Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctines, Guénon treats historical and cosmological aspects of Hinduism in further detail.

From Hegel to Nietzsche: The Revolution in Nineteenth Century Thought

Karl Lowith

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Clear but complex 4 out of 5 stars.
16 of 16 people found this review helpful.

No one can claim that German intellectual history is an easy subject to wade through; this treatise is a good introduction to the important role that Hegel played in the formation of later 19th century German thought. While the translation is a bit balky at points (translating from German to English is no easy task in academic works!) it gives a good introduction to the basic ideas behind some of the more seminal thinkers of the German intellectual milleau through the late 19th century and is a fine basis for moving on to other books on the periods following. It is at times a bit unclear; this is not a book for beginners or the generalist but one for those who are already somewhat familiar with philosophy and the terms of debate. Still recommended reading to understand more fully the foundations of the later German state and history.

Editorial Review:

Beginning with an examination of the relationship between Hegel and Goethe, Löwith discusses how Hegel's students, particularly Marx and Kierkegaard, interpreted----or reinterpreted----their master's thought, and proceeds with an in-depth assessment of the other important philosophers, from Feuerbach, Stirner, and Schelling to Nietzsche.

On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres (Great Minds Series)

Nicolaus Copernicus

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Awesome. 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

OK, first of all, "GangstaLawya" seems to not be taking into account the fine work of Kepler, Newton, and Einstein when he suggests that we "remain agnostic" on the issue of heliocentrism. True, Copernicus himself does not excactly refute Ptolemy here (he actually was more worried about how other astronomers and Protestant theologians would react to his heliocentric system than how the Catholic church would see it... and his model wasn't fully accepted until over a hundred years after his death), but this model was later augmented by Kepler and Newton to the point where it does work better than Ptolemy's. And with all due respect, the Ptolmaic system is extremely convoluted, needlessly complicated, and downright ugly at times... so even if there's a simpler way of looking at things that works just as well, that's still a conceptial improvement. Occam's razor, y'know?

But I digress. As with most of my reviews of books like this, my concern isn't necessarily the actual book (which is usually self-evidently worthwhile), but with the presentation. I must say that it's a little awkward to see Stephen Hawking's name appear on the cover in larger type than Copernicus' and not get anything more than a very short introduction by him that doesn't say very much. In fact, there is not very much of a difference between this edition and the one published by Prometheus Books; the text is exactly the same and contains all the same diagrams. The cover is flashier (and says "Stephen Hawking!") and the type is cleaner. That's it. Those are the only real differences. In fact, the only reason I can see for this edition existing is Running Press (and Stephen Hawking) making a few bucks.

Despite all this, there isn't really anything here that detracts from the work. So basically, you can buy this copy or the Prometheus Books edtion and it won't matter; you'll get pretty much the same thing and pay pretty much the same price either way. I'll leave it up to you whether you want the flashy cover (complete with Stephen Hawking's name on it) or the plain one because that's really about as deep as the choice goes.

Editorial Review:

The Ptolemaic system of the universe, with the earth at the centre, had held sway since antiquity as authoritative in philosophy, science, and church teaching. Following his observations of the heavenly bodies, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) abandoned the geocentric system for a heliocentric model, with the sun at the centre. His remarkable work, "On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres", stands as one of the greatest intellectual revolutions of all time, and profoundly influenced, among others, Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton.

The Survival of the Pagan Gods

Jean Seznec

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The gods of Olympus died with the advent of Christianity--or so we have been taught to believe. But how are we to account for their tremendous popularity during the Renaissance? This illustrated book, now reprinted in a new, larger paperback format, offers the general reader first a discussion of mythology in late antiquity and the Middle Ages, and then a multifaceted look at the far-reaching role played by mythology in Renaissance intellectual and emotional life.

Fallible Man: Philosophy of the Will (Ricur, Paul. Philosophie De La Volonte.)

Paul Ricoeur

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Editorial Review:

Paul Ricoeur's "Fallible Man", the second work in the trilogy known collectively as "The Philosphy of the Will", continues the phenomenological interrogation of human being begun in "Freedom and Nature" and introduces the all-important concept of "fault" first thematized by Jean Nabert. The notions of fault and fallibility initially investigated in this work are treated extensively in "The Symbolism of Evil", and "Fallible Man" is essential to the understanding of Ricoeur's analysis as he moves from his earliest anthropological inquiries through his theory of symbols and, later, to his philosophy of language and metaphor. Clearly the most accessible of Ricoeur"s early texts, "Fallible Man" offers the reader insight into the nature of fallibility, an introduction to phenomenological method and a clear and vivid way into the vaster project.

Syncretism in the West : Pico's 900 Theses (1486) : The Evolution of Traditional Religious and Philosophical Systems : With a Revised Text, English Translation, and Commentary

Stephen A. Farmer, Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Stunningly Original Scholarship 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Syncretism in the West: Pico's 900 Theses (1486): The Evolution of Traditional Religious and Philosophical Systems With a Revised Text, English Translation, and Commentary by Stephen A. Farmer, Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola (MRTS: Medieval and Renaissance Texts & Studies) Born to the noble family of the Counts of Miran¬dola and Concordia near Modena, Pico lived on the edge of two distinct cultural periods, the former rooted in medieval scholasticism, the latter charac¬terized by the humanistic revival of classical thought. Pico's bright intellectualality and strong curiosity led him to study thoroughly both medieval and classical traditions in the most renowned cultural centers of learning of his time.. His multifaceted interests in all kinds of knowl¬edge, his peculiar life, as well as his precocious death constituted the basis for the rapid flourishing of his fame and for the spreading of his legendary biography also beyond Italian borders.
The myth of the "phoenix of his time", as the young Count was designated already by his con¬temporaries, has affected scholarly interpreta¬tions of Pico's intellectual speculation. Throughout the centuries, Pico's system of thought has been viewed as one of the earlier, more faithful, and most complete expressions of humanism. But his true originality actually becomes in Christianizing the Jewish kabbala and beginning a long line of Christian kabbalaistic speculation and magic.
Of scrupulous significance in this regard is the role played by hermetic theosophy in Pico's attempt to create an all-inclusive system of comprehension, deliberate to embrace and merge the most diverse philosophical and theological authorities. His plan of launching a concurrent syncretism (concordia) between a variety of religions and philosophical canons was unquestionably based upon scholarly fundamentals of his day.
Pico realized he had found in Jewish kabbala one of the major links between rational and religious systems of thought.
In 1486, while composing his famous 900 Theses, he resorted for the first time to a wide range of Jewish kabbalistic works, which had been trans¬lated on his request by the Jewish convert Flavius Mithridates (ca. 1450-1489). Pico plan was to submit and discuss all his Theses (which he had printed at the end of 1486) during a conference to be held in Rome early in 1487. A committee appointed by Pope Innocent VIII stopped Pico's plans, declaring that six of the the¬ses were suspect and condemning seven others. Most of the condemned Theses deal with Kabbalah. Pico immediately wrote his Apology in order to declare his innocence, but the result of this further attempt was that the Pope eventually denounced all the theses.
In one of the Conclusions condemned by the Church, Pico affirmed that 'no knowledge gives us more certainty about Christ's divinity than magic and Kabbalah'. In order to defend this ambiguous claim, Pico made an effort in his Apology to distin¬guish a good from an evil form of magic, as well as a positive from a negative Kabbalah. Accord¬ing to this distinction, the term Kabbalah was employed by the Jews to point out two distinct hidden disciplines, one dealing with a method for combining letters of the Hebrew alphabet (such a device, according to Pico, was not dissimilar from Ramon Llull's Ars), the second dealing with an investigation of the celestial beings dwelling above the sphere of the Moon; this second discipline was considered by the humanist as the higher form of natural magic. Thus, if investigation of supernal entities could be carried out by means of natural magic, this sort of kabbalistic magic would cer¬tainly allow the initiate to penetrate the mysteries of the divinity of Christ. In of the many ways his 900 Theses was a work that never received the explication it deserved and was planned, because it was aborted by the church, suspicious of syncretic systems as corrosive to dogma, and hence, to faith.
Farmer has come a long way in reconstructing the probable systems that Pico would have used to synthesize all knowledge as represented by these Theses arranged historically. Besides being the first full and only modern translation of the 900 Theses, using the special numbering system and a computer analysis of the language, Farmer makes a strong case for a much more original synthesis than has been conjectured by other modern scholars who have tended to look at the 900 Theses in a piecemeal fashion.
According to Farmer, `By the time of Pico's proposed the Vatican debate, the cumulative effects of over 2000 years of syncretistic processes had reached their most extreme levels ever. In the 900 Theses scores of earlier correlative principles of the warring subtraditions of Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew scholasticism, of Greek neo-Platonism and Aristotelianism, and of a wide range of esoteric traditions - Neo-pythagorean numerology, "Chaldean" and "Orphic" magic, pseudo-Hermetic mysticism and Pseudo-Mosaic Cabbalism - each a product of the repeated inbreeding of traditions of a still greater antiquity, emerged to give birth to the abstract concept of cosmological correspondents at the center of Pico' "new philosophy." The cumulative pressures of thousands of years of reconciling books in traditions of eventually lead to the elevation of the ultimate syncretic strategy as "the greatest of all" cosmic principles. Exegeses had completed its metamorphosis into cosmology; correspondents now lay at the very essence of reality: "whatever exists in all worlds is contained in each one"!'

The End of Modernity: Nihilism and Hermeneutics in Postmodern Culture (Parallax: Re-visions of Culture and Society)

Gianni Vattimo

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Vattimo's hard to accept tesis about a weak thinking. 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 43 people found this review helpful.

This book is important to understand postmodernism. However, i don't image american readers accepting Vattimo's tesis about weak subjet right to have a place in world. Why modern civilization has impossed to us the obligation of being strong and the first in every action as the only way to be allowed as a member of this society?

Editorial Review:

Gianni Vattimo reexamines the roots of modernism and postmodernism in Nietzsche, Benjamin, and Heidegger. Exploring the links between concepts of nihilism and destiny in nineteenth-century humanism, Vattimo follows these trends in aesthetic and scientific theory from Benjamin to Bloch, Ricoeur, and Kuhn.

On the Meaning of Life (Thinking in Action)

John Cottingham

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The question "What is the meaning of life?" is one of the most fascinating, oldest and most difficult questions human beings have ever posed themselves. Often linked to the religious issue of whether we are part of a larger, divine scheme, even in an increasingly secularized culture it remains a question to which we are ineluctably and powerfully drawn.

In this acute and thoughtful book, John Cottingham asks why the question vexes us so much and assesses some of the most influential attempts to explain it.

John Cottingham examines the view, widely held within science, especially since Darwin, that the cosmos is devoid of value and meaning. He asks what is involved in the "disenchantment" of the natural world by science, and argues that, properly understood, modern cosmology and evolutionary theory need not foreclose the possibility of ultimate meaning. He reflects on the paradox that the very impermanence and fragility of the human condition may lend support to the quest for a "spiritual" dimension of meaning.

Drawing on the history of philosophy, he also ponders the costs of insisting that any path to meaning must be a narrowly rational one, and he argues that our human need for meaning may properly be approached by drawing on shared traditions of practice, such as social ceremonies and rites of passage, whose value cannot be analyzed in purely intellectual terms.