Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
Edited by Margaret Cameron (University of Melbourne)
Assistant editors: Andrew Park, Donald Collins
About this topic
| Summary | This category covers the diverse period between the 5th and 16th centuries, which is typically divided into medieval (roughly 5th-14th century) and renaissance (15th-16th century). No brief summary could do justice to the breadth and complexity of these more than 1000 years of philosophy. The medieval period includes Western European, Arabic/Islamic, and Jewish philosophers who were primarily focused on Aristotle's philosophy, although much of the period is influenced by (neo-)Platonic and Augustinian views. The renaissance period includes both the continuation of scholasticism as well as new, humanist trends, which were marked by a return to ancient Greek and Roman literature, as well as a broadening of philosophical interest to include politics, literature, and rhetoric. |
| Key works | A few, highly regarded recently written multi-author surveys and studies of Medieval philosophy in English: Pasnau & Van Dyke 2010, Marenbon 2011, McGrade 2003. Guides to Arabic medieval philosophy: Adamson & Taylor 2004, Nasr & Leaman 1995.. Guides to Jewish medieval philosophy: Frank & Leaman 2003. For information on primary source texts, editions and translations, see the bibliographies in these surveys. For Renaissance philosophy: Hankins 2007, Schmitt et al 1988. |
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