Aristotelian metaphysics is a change in the form of metaphysics, which seems to be extraneous to it but in reality co‐determines it in the most intimate way. Descartes’ Meditations are intellectual exercises that extend over six days. On almost every new day, a reference is made to the results or intermediary results of the previous day, or the spiritual experiences of the last days. This division into days, as well as the physical back‐references, mentioned in the First Meditation and repeated (...) in the Third, the repetitions, the monologue form, and other elements, point to the fact that Descartes’ Meditations must be understood within the tradition of philosophy in the sense of spiritual exercises. The knowledge of God must be considered as the highest stage of freedom. Descartes himself described the true path to the truth as the path a facilioribus ad difficiliora [from easier to more difficult things]. (shrink)

Is philosophy endangered by a scientific culture increasingly influenced by demands of utility and efficiency? What are the goals and intentions of philosophy, and what are the reasons that one practices philosophy at all? The main questions of this collection concern the self-understanding of philosophy. Prominent authors consider historical, systematic, and social approaches to this question and discuss possible answers. The purpose is not merely to legitimate philosophical practice but to understand what such practice consists in at all.

Focusing on Meister Eckhart, John Duns Scotus, Hervaeus Natalis, Durandus of St.-PourAain, Walter Burley and Petrus Aureoli, this volume investigates the nature ...

Immer wieder in der Entwicklung des philosophischen und theologischen Denkens gab es Einzelne, die bestehende Ansichten radikal in Frage stellten. Manchmal wurden ihre Vorschläge angenommen und sie begründeten so eine neue Traditionslinie. Oft aber blieben sie Dissidenten und Ketzer, wurden verfolgt, verleugnet und nicht in die großen Verzeichnisse der seriösen Philosophen aufgenommen. Einzelne Ideen aus ihrem Werk wurden dann in einem neuen Kontext für das >offizielle Denken.

Religion, Metaphysik und Theologie sind durch das neuzeitliche Denken in besonderer Weise herausgefordert. Die Beiträge des Bandes befassen sich von verschiedenen Standpunkten aus mit der Spannung, die in Moderne und Postmoderne zwischen diesen Disziplinen entsteht.

All but 4 of the 31 papers in this collection deal with late Neoplatonism. Descriptions of each paper are offered in Peter Lautner's review at Bryn Mawr Classical Review BMCR 2004.04.34.

The modern concept of personhood as it is used e.g. in national constitutions and international agrecments is closely tied to the idea of freedom: thus understood, the person is the proper object of a »metaphysics of morals« the roots of which go back to the Middle Ages. Hegel's philosophy of right, which takes up this tradition, and the »spcculative ethics« which followed his Iine of thinking havc tobe regardcd as philosophies of personhood because they understand the being of the person (...) essentially as a kind of communicative freedom.- The prcsent discussions ccntering on freedom ofthe will are obviously unawae of this tradition although they might profit a Iot from taking it into consideration. (shrink)

English summary: The blooming of ancient thought throughout the Renaissance and the Early Modern Age took place mainly in the shape of late antique philosophy. Many of its characteristic main features have influenced modern thought in a defining manner. In the present book, Theo Kobusch addresses those features which still determine our thinking today. Although this intellectual heritage, both in its ancient and modern forms, has largely been forgotten, it is however worth remembering that modern thought is indebted to an (...) intellectual transformation on a large scale. The author shows how this becomes evident by focusing on key aspects such as the concept of philosophy, universal Christendom, the inner man, awareness, rational faith, creatio ex nihilo, the concept of god, practical metaphysics, univocity of morality, and the theory of mind and will. German description: Das Denken der Antike ist, vor allem in der Gestalt der spatantiken Philosophie, der paganen wie der christlichen, in Renaissance und Neuzeit wieder aufgebluht. Es sind charakteristische Grundzuge der spatantiken Philosophie, die bestimmend auf das Denken der Moderne gewirkt haben. Theo Kobusch befasst sich im vorliegenden Band mit diesen Grundzugen, die unser Denken bis heute bestimmen. Dieses geistige Erbe, sei es in seiner modernen oder in der spatantiken Form, haben wir jedoch grosstenteils vergessen. Doch es ist der Erinnerung wurdig, dass das Denken der Neuzeit sich einer Transformation grossen Stils verdankt. Der Autor verdeutlich dies, indem er unter anderem die Schwerpunkte Philosophiebegriff, das universale Christentum, den inneren Menschen, die Aufmerksamkeit, den Vernunftglauben, die Schopfung aus Nichts, den Gottesbegriff, praktische Metaphysik, Univozitat des Moralischen und die Geist- und Willenslehre herausarbeitet. (shrink)

In the history of the reception and interpretation of the metaphysics or the “First Philosophy” according to Aristotle, the contribution of authors like Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus is nowadays well known. However, in those conceptions which tend to conceive metaphysics as or to ground it on a theory of transcendental concepts, understanding that discipline then either as onto-theology or as ontology, the contributions of Henry of Ghent and Master Eckhart are still little known. The present study focuses on (...) the doctrine of transcendentals of these two authors, with a particular interest on the influence of Henry of Ghent over Duns Scotus. KEY WORDS – Henry of Ghent. Master Eckhart. John Duns Scotus. Metaphysics. Object of Metaphysics. Transcendentals. Knowledge of God. (shrink)

This is the initial volume in a new series entitled Ars medicinae: The Science of Medicine and Human Salvation. The name of the association behind the series is Initiative Gesundheit, which is made up of physicians, researchers, and university teachers working in the sciences and the humanities. This first publication is designed to reflect the broad range of subjects to be addressed in the volumes to come, the immense variety of which has prompted the editors to opt for a format (...) that will do justice to this multiplicity.The leitmotif for the first installment is "health," a concept that both delineates the boundaries of the topics envisaged and provides an introduction to the issues and problems involved.In line with the interdisciplinary approach adopted by Initiative Gesundheit, the essays assembled in this volume approach the subject from the perspectives of medicine, medical history, philosophy, theology, and philology. Historically, the purview extends from antiquity to the present day. (shrink)