Nicholas of Cusa on Learned Ignorance: A Translation and an Appraisal of De Docta Ignorantia [Paperback]

Jasper Hopkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1985 | ISBN-10: 0938060279 | ISBN-13: 978-0938060277 | Edition: 2nd

College text

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Professor of Philosopy University of Minnesota

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: The Arthur J. Banning Press; 2nd edition (June 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0938060279
• ISBN-13: 978-0938060277
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,431,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent translation of brilliant Renaissance philosopher, May 7, 1999

By 

Eugene Ostashevsky ([e-mail]) (Stanford University, 9X9 Industries) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nicholas of Cusa on Learned Ignorance: A Translation and an Appraisal of De Docta Ignorantia (Paperback)

If Shakespeare was the first (and last) person to understand what is a human being, Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464) was the first (and last) person to understand what is God. God -- of course -- is the object of mathematics. Nicholas' most important book _On Learned Ignorance_ (De Docta Ignorantia), inspired by Plotinus and pseudo-Dionysius, uses mathematical models in an attempt to describe God as the Unknowable One; in the process, Nicholas stumbles upon ideas that will later be formalized in calculus, non-Euclidean geometry, and the transfinite numbers of Cantor. Although Nicholas is best read in Latin, Jasper Hopkins' translation is at once very precise and superbly readable; the commentary is intelligent and informed