Renaissance Thought and its Sources

by Paul Oskar Kristeller, Michael Mooney (Editor)

Overview

Renaissance Thought and Its Sources presents the fruits of an extraordinary lifetime of scholarship: a systematic account of major themes in Renaissance philosophy, theology, science, and literature, show in their several settings. Here, in some of Paul Oskar Kristeller's most comprehensive and ambitious writings, is an exploration of the distinctive trends and concepts of the Renaissance, grounded in detailed historical investigation.All of these fourteen essays were originally delivered as lectures. Part One identifies the classical sources of Renaissance thought and exposes its essential physiognomy, indicating its humanist, Aristotelian, and Platonist traditions. The next two parts present Renaissance thought in the historical context of the Latin and Greek Middle Ages. Part Four offers a thematic study of Renaissance thought, examining its characteristic conceptions of man's dignity, destiny, and grasp of truth. Part Five forms a summary from the perspective of a central theme of Renaissance intellectual life and of the entire Western tradition: the relation of language to thought and the seemingly insoluble contest between our literary and philosophical traditions.The reader of "Renaissance Thought and its Sources" enjoys the results of meticulous study in a concise yet comprehensive format. Throughout, Kristeller achieves a graceful blending of sever historical scholarship and adherence to humane values that the editor calls "nearly a lost art in our times."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231045131
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	04/15/1979
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	347
Product dimensions:	5.92(w) x 8.93(h) x 0.96(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Paul Oskar Kristellar is Frederick J.E. Woodbridge Professor Emeritus of philosophy at Columbia University.

Michael Mooney is Associate Provost at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface
Introduction
Part One: Renaissance Thought and Classical Antiquity
Introduction
1. The Humanist Movement
2. The Aristotelian Tradition
3. Renaissance Platonism
4. Paganism and Christianity
Part Two: Renaissance Thought and the Middle Ages
5. Humanism and Scholasticism in the Italian Renaissance
6. Renaissance Philosophy and the Medieval Tradition
Part Three: Renaissance Thought and Byzantine Learning
7. Italian Humanism and Byzantium
8. Byzantine and Western Platonism in the Fifteenth Century
Part Four: Renaissance Concepts of Man
Introduction
9. The Dignity of Man
10. The Immortality of the Soul
11. The Unity of Truth
Part Five: Philosophy and Rhetoric From Antiquity to the Renaissance
Introduction
12. Classical Antiquity
13. The Middle Ages
14. The Renaissance
Notes
Index