Abelard in four dimensions : a twelfth-century philosopher in his context and ours / John Marenbon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marenbon, John, author.

Series:

Conway lectures in medieval studies

The Conway lectures in medieval studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Abelard, Peter, 1079-1142.

Abelard, Peter.

Physical Description:

x, 284 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Notre Dame, Indiana : University of Notre Dame Press, [2013]

Summary:

Abelard in Four Dimensions: A Twelfth-Century Philosopher in His Context and Ours by John Marenbon, one of the leading scholars of medieval philosophy and a specialist on Abelard's thought, originated from a set of lectures in the distinguished Conway Lectures in Medieval Studies series and provides new interpretations of central areas of Peter Abelard's philosophy and its influence. The four dimensions of Abelard to which the title refers are that of the past (Abelard's predecessors), present (his works in context), future (the influence of his thinking up to the seventeenth century), and the present-day philosophical culture in which Abelard's works are still discussed and his arguments debated. For readers new to Abelard, this book provides an introduction to his life and works along with discussion of his central ideas in semantics, ethics, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion. For specialists, the book contains new arguments about the authenticity and chronology of Abelard's logical work, fresh evidence about his relations with Anselm and Hugh of St. Victor, a new understanding of how he combines the necessity of divine action with human freedom, and reinterpretations of important passages in which he discusses semantics and metaphysics. For all historians of philosophy, it sets out and illustrates a new methodological approach, which can be used for any thinker in any period and will help to overcome the divisions between "historians" based in philosophy departments and scholars with historical or philological training. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Abelard's Present

Introduction to Part I 8

1 Abelard's Developing Thought 11

2 An Unpopular Argument (I): Abelard and His Contemporaries 45

Part II Abelard's Past and Abelard's Future

Introduction to Part II 90

3 Abelard and Anselm 93

4 An Unpopular Argument (II): From the Lombard to Leibniz 117

Part III Abelard and Our Present

Introduction to Part III 146

5 Abelard and the 'New' Theory of Meaning 149

6 Abelard and Contemporary Metaphysics 167.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780268035303

026803530X

OCLC:

841892436