Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook / Edition 2

by Joshua Parens, Joseph C. Macfarland

Overview

Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook, edited by Ralph Lerner and Muhsin Mahdi, has been a classroom favorite since its publication in 1963. When it first appeared, it was the only anthology of medieval political philosophy to contain major texts from all three Western monotheistic traditions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—and that claim remains true today. This new edition of this classic text of political philosophy—revised and enlarged by Joshua Parens and Joseph C. Macfarland—will make accessible to today's students the insights of these profound medieval thinkers.

Prior to the modern separation of religion from politics, these medieval thinkers explored a variety of approaches to the relation between religion and politics—approaches that prompted renewed interest in a world divided over how best to relate the two. For the authors gathered in this volume—including Alfarabi, Alghazali, Averroes, Maimonides, Judah Halevi, Thomas Aquinas, Boethius of Dacia, and Dante Alighieri among many others—there was a greater uniformity of general intention than at any other period. All of these authors studied the works of classical political philosophy and considered in a variety of ways the implications of this political thought for their contemporary situation in a monotheistic religious community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801476815
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2011
Series:	Agora Editions
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Joshua Parens is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Dallas. He is the author of Metaphysics as Rhetoric: Alfarabi’s "Summary of Plato’s ‘Laws’" and An Islamic Philosophy of Virtuous Religions. Joseph C. Macfarland is a tutor at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland.

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Table of Contents

General IntroductionPART I: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IN ISLAM
Edited by Joshua ParensIntroduction1. Alfarabi, The Enumeration of the Sciences
Charles E. Butterworth, trans.2. Alfarabi, The Book of Religion
Charles E. Butterworth, trans.3. Alfarabi, The Political Regime
Charles E. Butterworth, trans.4. Alfarabi, The Attainment of Happiness
Muhsin Mahdi, trans.5. Alfarabi, Plato's Laws
Muhsin Mahdi, trans.6. Avicenna, On the Divisions of the Rational Sciences
Muhsin Mahdi, trans.7. Avicenna, Healing: Metaphysics
Michael E. Marmura, trans.8. Alghazali, The Deliverer from Error
Richard J. McCarthy, SJ, trans.9. Ibn Bajja, The Governance of the Solitary
Lawrence Berman, trans.10. Ibn Tufayl, Hayy the Son of Yaqzan
George N. Atiyeh, trans.11. Averroes, The Decisive Treatise
Charles E. Butterworth, trans.Bibliography and Further ReadingPART II: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IN JUDAISM
Edited by Joshua ParensIntroduction12. Saadya Gaon, The Book of Doctrines and Beliefs
Alexander Altmann, trans.13. Judah Halevi, The Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion, or, The Kuzari
Barry Kogan and Lawrence Berman, trans.14. Maimonides, Logic
Muhsin Mahdi, trans.15. Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed
Ralph Lerner, Muhsin Mahdi, and Joshua Parens, trans.16. Maimonides, Eight Chapters
Joshua Parens, trans.17. Maimonides, Letter on Astrology
Ralph Lerner, trans.18. Isaac Polgar, The Support of Religion
Charles H. Manekin, trans.19. Abravanel, Commentary on the Bible
Robert Sacks, trans.Bibliography and Further ReadingPART III: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IN CHRISTIANITY
Edited by Joseph C. MacfarlandIntroduction20. Roger Bacon, Opus Maius: Moral Philosophy
Richard McKeon, Donald McCarthy, and Ernest L. Fortin, trans.21. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics
Charles I. Litzinger, trans.22. Thomas Aquinas and Peter of Auvergne, Commentary on the Politics
Ernest L. Fortin, Peter D. O'Neill, and Joseph C. Macfarland, trans.23. Boethius of Dacia, On the Supreme Good
John F. Wippel, trans.24. Condemnation of 219 Propositions
Ernest L. Fortin and Peter D. O’Neill, trans.25. Giles of Rome, On Ecclesiastical Power
R. W. Dyson, trans.26. Ptolemy of Lucca, On the Government of Rulers
James M. Blythe, trans.27. Dante Alighieri, Monarchy
Philip H. Wicksteed, trans.28. Marsilius of Padua, The Defender of the Peace
Alan Gewirth, trans.29. William of Ockham, The Dialogue
John Kilcullen, trans.Bibliography and Further ReadingIndex

Editorial Reviews

This updated collection is as timely now as it was back then: few students of political theory are sufficiently conversant with the rich medieval tradition of reflection on such problems as 'reason and revelation' or 'natural and divine law.'... One cannot argue with the enduring relevance of this work for the study of political philosophy. Summing Up: Highly recommended.

-- "Choice"

From the Publisher

"This updated collection is as timely now as it was back then: few students of political theory are sufficiently conversant with the rich medieval tradition of reflection on such problems as 'reason and revelation' or ‘natural and divine law.’... One cannot argue with the enduring relevance of this work for the study of political philosophy. Summing Up: Highly recommended."

Choice