Byzantine Philosophy and its Ancient Sources

by: Ierodiakonou, K.

Price: 89,00 EURO

1 copy in stock

Byzantine Philosophy and its Ancient Sources
Edited by Katerina Ierodiakonou
Clarendon Press

a ground-breaking work
promises to open up Byzantine philosophy as an area of study
fills an important gap in the history of ideas
relevant for theology and the history of Christianity
excellent line-up of contributors — eminent philosophers and Byzantine experts
features helpful introduction to the subject and the literature
all essays previously unpublished

Description
Byzantine philosophy is an almost unexplored field. Being regarded either as mere scholars or as primarily religious thinkers, Byzantine philosophers, for the most part, have not been studied on their own philosophical merit, and their works have hardly been scrutinized as works of philosophy. Thus, although distinguished scholars in the past have tried to reconstruct the intellectual life of the Byzantine period, there is no question that we still lack even the beginnings of a systematic understanding of the philosophy of the Byzantines.
Byzantine Philosophy and its Ancient Sources is conceived as a concerted attempt in this direction. It examines the attitude the Byzantines took towards the ancient philosophical tradition and the specific ancient sources which they relied upon to form their theories. But did the Byzantines merely copy ancient philosophers or interpret them the way they already had been interpreted in late antiquity? Does Byzantine philosophy as a whole lack a distinctive character which differentiates it from the previous periods in the history of philosophy?
Eleven scholars, representing different disciplines from philosophy and history to classics and medieval studies, approach these questions by thoroughly investigating particular topics which give us some insight as to the directions in which we should look for possible answers. These topics range, in modern terms, from philosophy of language, theory of knowledge, and logic, to political philosophy, ethics, natural philosophy, and metaphysics. The philosophers whose works our contributors study belong to all periods from the beginnings of Byzantine culture in the fourth century to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the fifteenth century.

Table of Contents
Introduction, Katerina Ierodiakonou
1:Greek-Latin Philosophical Interaction, Sten Ebbesen
2:Basil of Caesarea on the Semantics of Proper Names, Paul Kalligas
3:The Justinianic Dialogue On Political Science and its Neoplatonic Sources, Dominic O'Meara
4:John of Damascus on Human Action, the Will, and Human Freedom, Michael Frede
5:Syllogistic in the Anonymous Heiberg, Jonathan Barnes
6:Helenic Philosophy in Byzantium and the Lonely Mission of Michael Psellos, John Duffy
7:Psellis' Paraphrasis on Aristotle's De Interpretatione, Katerina Ierodiakonou
8:'To Every Argument There is a Counter-Argument'. Theodore Metochites' Defence of Scepticism (Semeiosis 61), Börje Bydén
9:The Anti-Logical Movement in the 14th Century, Katerina Ierodiakonou
10:Byzantine Commentators on the Chaldaean Oracles: Psellos and Plethon, Polymnia Athanassiadi
11:Plethon and Scholarios on Aristotle, George Karamanolis
Epilogue: Current Research in Byzantine Philosophy, Linos Benakis
Index Locorum, Index of Names

Author Information
Edited by Katerina Ierodiakonou, Tutorial Fellow at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and Assistant Professor at the National Technical University of Athens

Contributors:
Polymnia Athanassiadi, University of Athens
Jonathan Barnes, University of Geneva
Linos Benakis, The Academy of Athens
Börje Bydén, University of Göteborg
John Duffy, Harvard University
Sten Ebbesen, University of Copenhagen
Michael Frede, University of Oxford
Katerina Ierodiakonou, St Hugh's College, Oxford, and and National Technical University of Athens
Paul Kalligas, National Technical University of Athens
George Karamanolis, University of Oxford
Dominic O'Meara, University of Fribourg

Reviews and Awards
"This book is an excellent beginning, particularly as it makes accessible and available to the reader writers one might not normally read, including scholars from Greek institutions, whose work is here translated from the Greek." - Kiki Kennedy-Day, Transcendent Philosophy

"... fine introduction ... praise-worthy." - Jahrbuch Der Österreichischen Byzantinistik

"Linos Benakis's epilogue on current research in Byzantine philosophy will be a welcome starting-point for all who want to emark on, or continue, their own research in the field. Especially potential Ph.D. students in search of exciting topics might find that it contains many rare treasures yet to be lifted from the dark recesses of forgotten libraries and ares of philosophical inquiry." - Religious Studies

"This volume can be recommended to anyone interested in Byzantine philosophy. It is obligatory reading not only for those engaged in Byzantine studies, but also for students in adjacent areas." - Religious Studies

"The collection is of the highest quality." - Religious Studies

Byzantine Philosophy and its Ancient Sources

by: Ierodiakonou, K.

• ISBN-13: 9780199246137 / 978-0-19-924613-7
• ISBN-03: 0199246130 / 0-19-924613-0
• Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002

Price: 89,00 EURO

1 copy in stock