Medieval Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction

John Marenbon

Oxford University Press, 2016 - Philosophy, Medieval - 141 pages

For many of us, the term 'medieval philosophy' conjures up the figure of Thomas Aquinas, and is closely intertwined with religion. In this Very Short Introduction John Marenbon shows how medieval philosophy had a far broader reach than the thirteenth and fourteenth-century universities of
Christian Europe, and is instead one of the most exciting and diversified periods in the history of thought.

Introducing the coexisting strands of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish philosophy, Marenbon shows how these traditions all go back to the Platonic schools of late antiquity and explains the complex ways in which they are interlinked. Providing an overview of some of the main thinkers, such as Boethius,
Abelard, al-Farabi, Avicenna, Maimonides, and Gersonides, and the topics, institutions and literary forms of medieval philosophy, he discusses in detail some of the key issues in medieval thought: universals; mind, body and mortality; foreknowledge and freedom; society and the best life.

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Contents

• Introduction: 1
• A map of earlier medieval philosophy: 8
• A map of later medieval philosophy: 24
• Fields of medieval philosophy: 44
• Institutions and literary forms: 54
• Universals Avicenna and Abelard: 67
• Mind body and mortality Averroes and Pomponazzi: 79
• Foreknowledge and freedom Boethius and Gersonides: 93
• Society and the best life Ibn Ṭufayl and Dante: 106
• Why medieval philosophy?: 117
• Timeline: 121
• References: 125
• Further reading: 129
• Index: 133
• Very Short Introduction: 142
• A Very Short Introduction: 143
• A Very Short Introduction: 144

About the author

John Marenbon studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where in 1978 he became, as he remains, a fellow. He is also a Fellow of the British Academy (2009) and Honorary Professor of Medieval Philosophy in the University of Cambridge (2010) . He has also taught at the Sorbonne (Paris IV) and has been
a visiting fellow at the Centre for Mediaeval Studies and the Pontifical Institute at the University of Toronto, and at present holds a visiting appointment at Peking University. His books include Pagans and Philosophers. The problem of paganism from Augustine to Leibniz (Princeton University Press,
2015), and The Cambridge Companion to Boethius (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Medieval Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction; Very short introductions : arts and humanities : philosophy; Volume 463 of Very short introductions
• Author: John Marenbon
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2016
• ISBN: 019966322X, 9780199663224
• Length: 141 pages