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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting text of a lesser-known time, July 8, 2004
Copleston's `History of Medieval Philosophy' has gone through several revisions, the first of which was in 1952 as part of Methuen's Home Study Books series. This is a text I used in a second-year philosophy course at my university. So often the study of philosophy jumps from the classical period of ancient Greece, with a bit of expansion in Rome and early Christian times, to the Renaissance, Enlightenment and more modern periods. The so-called `Dark Ages' are often ignored, but as Copleston's book will attest, there was plenty of activity, many prominent figures, and quite a significant development of philosophy through this period - as a link between the classical Greek/Roman period to the Renaissance, it could not help but to be of importance.Copleston takes in the wide range of philosophical development. This does not focus exclusively on the Western philosophical tradition, although that is the primary subject matter. Copleston brings in material from the Islamic and Jewish philosophical traditions contemporary with the Western development - at the time, the Islamic culture was more advanced than that of Western Europe, and many significant advances in various disciplines were made in this civilisation. Three chapters on ancient Christian thought (religious and philosophical) set the stage for the era; Neoplatonism was a dominant philosophical school, embrace by Augustine. Other notable figures of the period include Origen, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Boethius (although Copleston describes him as being `not of much originality'). After this examination of the ancient Christian times, he proceeds to the early Middle Ages, looking at the developments around the time of Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance (an often overlooked historical period). John Scotus Erigena appears here, as the first eminent philosopher of the Middle Ages, according to Copleston. From Scotus to Anselm and Abelard is a relatively `dry' period, which some activity, but not much development. However, in St. Anselm and Peter Abelard are first-rate philosophical minds, in very different casts. Anselm was much more the theologian; Abelard was more concerned with philosophical development that at certain periods might earn him the label of heretic. Copleston devotes individual chapters each to the Twelfth Century Schools of philosophy, the Philosophy of Islam, and Jewish Philosophy of the time. In the twelfth century, there were many centres of learning - Oxford, Paris, Bologna, which developed as significant academic hubs (Oxford and Paris have continued with world reputations begun at this time). Islamic philosophy looks at figures such as Al-kindi of Baghdad (d. 870) and Al-Farabi (d. 950), who dealt with the religious/philosophical divide in different ways. Abu Ibn-Sina (Avicenna, in Christian writings) was possibly the most significant of Islamic philosophers, and much of his writing as survived. A Persian by birth, he was a Renaissance man with interests in sciences, philosophy, history, medicine and religion. Most famous to Christians of the time was probably Ibn-Rushd (Averroes), who was born in Islamic Spain, and through whom many of the Aristotle works were transmitted into the West. Jewish thinkers of the time looked back to the figure of Philo, a great Jewish philosopher/historian from the time before the destruction of the Temple. Jewish thinkers of the time include Saadia ben Joseph, Isaac ben Solomon Israeli, Solomon ibn Gabirol, Abraham ibn Daud, and of course, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides). Neoplatonism was a strong strand through most of these philosophers, derived from Philo and general philosophical traditions. Maimonides was addressing the concerns of most philosophers of the time of any religious or ethnic persuasion with his `Guide for the Perplexed', an attempt to reconcile religion with philosophy. The `second half' of medieval philosophy takes place in response and reaction to the rediscovery of Aristotle's works, preserved by the Muslim culture. Thomas Aquinas is the strongest figure associated with this rebirth of Aristotilianism. Other figures, such as Duns Scotus (not to be confused with the earlier John Scotus), William of Ockham, Marsilius of Padua, and Nicholas of Cusa finish out the medieval period, in anticipation of later figures such as Descartes and Francis Bacon. The medieval philosophical construct remained in the Western tradition we have inherited an expressly Christian one - the interplay between Plato and Aristotle took place on the stage of the dialectical relationship of church and state, church and academia, and faith vs. knowledge. Developments would continue, and indeed still continue to this day, on all these fronts.
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