9780130485571

For courses in Medieval Philosophy. Designed to be accessible to today's students, this anthology in Western Medieval philosophy studies ethics,politics, metaphysics and epistemology,questions on the nature of universals, the nature and essence of God, the relationship of God to time and creation, and the ability of humans to know God and creation.

Preface

xi

PROLOGUE I: EARLY CHRISTIAN DOCUMENTS

1

(42)

Jesus

5

(11)

New Testament: Gospels (in part)

7

(9)

Paul and the Early Church

16

(14)

New Testament: Acts, Pauline Letters, and Revelation (in part)

18

(12)

The Church Fathers

30

(13)

Justin Martyr

33

(3)

Clement of Alexandria

36

(1)

Tertullian

37

(2)

Origen

39

(4)

PROLOGUE II: OTHER FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENTS

43

(26)

Philo of Alexandria

44

(7)

On the Account of the World's Creation Given by Moses (2-6, 44-46)

46

(5)

Plotinus

51

(10)

Enneads (Ennead I, Tractate 6)

53

(8)

Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagite

61

(8)

The Divine Names (Chapter 4, Sections 18-21, 30; 7, 3)

62

(7)

AUGUSTINE

69

(74)

On the Free Choice of the Will (Book II)

72

(27)

Confessions (Book VIII 5, 8-12 and XI, 14-28)

99

(15)

City of God (Book VIII, Chapters 1-12; XI, 26; XII, 1-9; XIX, 11-17)

114

(29)

EARLY MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY

143

(74)

Boethius

145

(15)

The Second Edition of the Commentaries on the Isagoge of Porphyry (Book I, Chapters 10-11)

147

(4)

The Consolation of Philosophy (Book V)

151

(9)

John Scotus Eriugena

160

(9)

Periphyseon: On the Division of Nature (Book I, Chapters 1-7, 11-12, 13-14)

162

(7)

Anselm (and Guanilo)

169

(9)

Proslogion (Preface, Chapters 1-4)

171

(2)

Gaunilo and Anselm: Debate

173

(5)

Peter Abelard

178

(22)

On Universals (selections)

180

(8)

Ethics (Prologue, Chapters 1-3, 10-12)

188

(12)

Hildegard of Bingen

200

(7)

Scivias (Book I, Vision 4, Chapters 16-26)

202

(5)

John of Salisbury

207

(10)

Metalogicon (Book II, Chapter 17)

209

(2)

Statesman (Policratus) (Chapters 1-3)

211

(6)

ISLAMIC AND JEWISH PHILOSOPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES

217

(72)

Avicenna

219

(15)

Essay on the Secret of Destiny

221

(2)

Concerning the Soul (Chapters 1-2, 4, b, 12-13)

223

(11)

Al-Ghazali

234

(5)

The Incoherence of the Philosophers (Introduction, and Preface One)

235

(4)

Averroes

239

(22)

The Decisive Treatise

241

(20)

Moses Maimonides

261

(28)

The Guide for the Perplexed (Part I, Chapters 51-53, 58-60; II, Introduction, 13, 17; III, 12)

263

(26)

THIRTEENTH-CENTURY PHILOSOPHY

289

(42)

Robert Grosseteste

291

(8)

On Light

292

(7)

Roger Bacon

299

(11)

The Opus Majus (Part IV, 1, 3; VI, 1-2)

301

(9)

Bonaventure

310

(21)

The Mind's Road to God (Prologue, Chapters 1-3)

312

(12)

On the Eternity of the World (selections)

324

(7)

THOMAS AQUINAS

331

(106)

Summa Theologica (selections)

335

(75)

The Principles of Nature

410

(10)

On Being and Essence

420

(17)

LATE MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY

437

(86)

John Duns Scotus

439

(29)

A Treatise on God as First Principle (Chapter 3)

441

(5)

Reportata Parisiensia (in part)

446

(2)

Prologue to the Ordinatio

448

(20)

William of Ockham

468

(27)

On Universals (Summa Logicae, Part I, Chapters 14-16)

471

(8)

On Being (Summa Logicae, Part I, Chapter 38)

479

(2)

On Knowledge (Quodlibetol Questions, First Quodlibet, Question 13)

481

(3)

On God (selections)

484

(7)

On Politics (Eight Questions on the Power of the Pope, Question 2, Chapters 1, 7)

491

(4)

Meister Eckhart

495

(7)

Sermon #1

497

(5)

Catherine of Siena

502

(13)

Letter #58

504

(2)

The Dialogue (1-3, 4, 7, 23, 79)

506

(9)

Nicholas Cusanas

515

(8)

On Learned Ignorance (Chapters 1-4, 26)

516

(7)

EPILOGUE: GIOVANNI PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA

523

(2)

Oration on the Dignity of Man (1-7)

525

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The Middle Ages have been depicted as a time of intellectual sterility obsessed with trivial and tiresome questions; as a valley between two great mountain ranges-Greek philosophy on one side, which medievalism distorted, and modern philosophy on the other, which happily rejected medieval precedents entirely. As late as the 1960s, medieval philosophers were described by many as being incapable of independent thought, saddled with a "sacramental" view of a God-pointing world. For example, W.T. Jones wrote inThe Medieval Mind(New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1969), It can hardly be denied that this sacramental point of view was a block to progress . . . and to many it seems equally obvious, now that this viewpoint has disappeared, that men have rid themselves of much that was a liability--ignorance, superstition, intolerance. (p. xix) This attitude led many to skip almost two millennia of human thought--from the Hellenistic philosophers to Francis Bacon or Rene Descartes--with only a passing nod to Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Much has changed. Most scholars no longer see Bacon and Descartes as the saviors of philosophy from a long medieval night. Following the lead of Etienne Gilson and others, philosophers now recognize that modern philosophy cannot be understood apart from its roots in medieval thought, that medieval philosophy was much richer than previously believed, and that medieval philosophers were as intelligent and thoughtful as the philosophers of any age. Although it is true that most debates during the medieval period were framed in a "sacramental" way and that the medievals considered some answers unacceptable for religious reasons, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim thinkers in this period did original philosophical work. Furthermore, whereas medieval topics may often appear only theological, they are, in fact, related to virtually every area of philosophy. The readings included in this volume of the Philosophic Classics series represent the towering medieval thinkers--Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and William of Ockham--discussing a variety of topics, along with representative texts of other medieval figures. The readings consider ethics and politics, but the focus is on metaphysics and epistemology--questions on the nature of universals, the nature and essence of God, the relationship of God to time and creation, and the ability of humans to know God and creation. For this fourth edition, a number of small changes have been made, including the translations for Plotinus, Anselm, and Pico and additional material from Augustine'sCity of God,Boethius'sThe Consolation of Philosophy,Anselm'sProslogion,and Thomas Aquinas'sSumma Theologica.In choosing texts for this volume, I have tried wherever possible to follow three principles: (1) to use complete works or, where more appropriate, complete sections of works (2) in clear translations (3) of texts central to the thinker's philosophy or widely accepted as part of the "canon." To make the works more accessible to students, most footnotes treating textual matters (variant readings, etc.) have been omitted and all Greek words have been transliterated and put within angle brackets. In addition, each thinker is introduced by a brief essay composed of three sections: (1) biographical (a glimpse of the life), (2) philosophical (a esume of the philosopher's thought), and (3) bibliographical (suggestions for further reading). Those who use this volume for a one-term course in medieval philosophy, philosophy of religion, or metaphysics will find more material here than can easily be read in a normal semester. But this embarrassment of riches offers teachers some choice and, for those who teach the same course year after year, an opportunity to change the menu.

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Philosophic Classics, Volume II: Medieval Philosophy

Philosophic Classics, Volume II: Medieval Philosophy

0130485578

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