Aristotle East and West: Metaphysics and the Division of Christendom

by David Bradshaw

Overview

Winner of the Journal of the History of Ideas's Morris D. Forkosch prize This book traces the development thought about God and the relationship between God's being and activity from Aristotle, through the pagan Neoplatonists, to thinkers such as Augustine, Boethius, and Aquinas (in the West) and Dionysius the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor, and Gregory Palamas (in the East). The resulst is a comparative history of philosophical thought in the two halves of Christendom, providing a philosophical backdrop to the schism between the Eastern and Western churches.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521828659
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/02/2004
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.42(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

David Bradshaw is Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy, University of Kentucky. He has published in a number of journals including Ancient Philosophy, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Review of Metaphysics and the American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. The Aristotelian beginnings; 2. The prime mover; 3. Between Aristotle and Plotinus; 4. Plotinus and the theory of two acts; 5. The Plotinian heritage in the West; 6. Gods, demons and theurgy; 7. The formation of the eastern tradition; 8. The flowering of the eastern tradition; 9. Palamas and Aquinas; 10. Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...this impressively scholarly endeavor not only intends to inform us of the philosophical landscape of theologies of the Christian east, but would lead us to learn from their practice by undertaking comparative explorations, exemplified by the exchange he sets up between Aquinas and Palamas."
-David B. Burrell, Nova Et Vetera

"One of the central virtues of this book, which deserves to be called a tour de force, is that it builds bridges without employing rhetorical gimmicks. The gulfs between Eastern and Western Christianity, philosophy and theology, and ancient philosophy broadly and narrowly conceived all here come under attack...Beginning with the ancient concept of energeia, Bradshaw is able to cast light on a plethora of deeply divisive issues. Scholars of ancient philosophy primarily or exclusively devoted to the 4th century B.C.E. are hereby invited to a little horizon expansion."
-Lloyd P. Gerson, University of Toronto, Ancient Philosophy

"The study is a learned and original undertaking, presents many valuable insights, and is a fairly complete history of the career of the term energeia."
-L.J. Elders, Institute of Philosophy and Theology Rolduc Kerktrade, The Netherlands

From the Publisher