Overview
Robert Pasnau traces the developments of metaphysical thinking through four rich but for the most part neglected centuries of philosophy, running from the thirteenth century through to the seventeenth. At no period in the history of philosophy, other than perhaps our own, have metaphysical problems received the sort of sustained attention they received during the later Middle Ages, and never has a whole philosophical tradition come crashing down as quickly and completely as did scholastic philosophy in the seventeenth century. The thirty chapters work through various fundamental metaphysical issues, sometimes focusing more on scholastic thought, sometimes on the seventeenth century. Pasnau begins with the first challenges to the classical scholasticism of Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas, runs through prominent figures like John Duns Scotus and William Ockham, and ends in the seventeenth century, with the end of the first stage of developments in post-scholastic philosophy: on the continent, with Descartes and Gassendi, and in England, with Boyle and Locke.
Full Product Details
Author: Robert Pasnau (University of Colorado at Boulder)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 17.60cm
, Height: 5.00cm
, Length: 25.10cm
Weight: 1.554kg
ISBN: 9780199567911
ISBN 10: 0199567913
Pages: 812
Publication Date: 24 February 2011
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
truly a magnificent achievement ... spanning four centuries of philosophical argumentation on notions of matter, substance, accidents, extension, quantity, unity and identity. It contains historical scholarship and philosophical argumentation in a very well balanced mix in order to present the reader with a true sense of the historical position held as well as a subtle philosophical assessment of the correctness of these views. It is history of philosophy at its very best... Pasnau's work is invaluable to anyone dealing with the history of this time period as well as anyone interested in the metaphysics of substance. Henrik Lagerlund, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Readers with a keen interest in metaphysics and a doughty historical stamina will find Pasnau's book rewarding. Anthony Kenny, Times Literary Supplement
truly a magnificent achievement ... spanning four centuries of philosophical argumentation on notions of matter, substance, accidents, extension, quantity, unity and identity. It contains historical scholarship and philosophical argumentation in a very well balanced mix in order to present the reader with a true sense of the historical position held as well as a subtle philosophical assessment of the correctness of these views. It is history of philosophy at its very best... Pasnau's work is invaluable to anyone dealing with the history of this time period as well as anyone interested in the metaphysics of substance. Henrik Lagerlund, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Readers with a keen interest in metaphysics and a doughty historical stamina will find Pasnau's book rewarding. Times Literary Supplement
Author Information
Robert Pasnau is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is the author of many books and articles on the history of philosophy, including Thomas Aquinas on Human Nature (Cambridge, 2002), which won the American Philosophical Association Book Prize.
