Medieval philosophy is often ignored or left out of the undergraduate curriculum in today's universities, except those colleges and institutions of higher education that have a religious affiliation or background in their history. Given the paucity of undergraduate resources that are understandable and affordable, the editors of this book attempt to present up‐to‐date research along with thought‐provoking essays that examine medieval philosophy and all of its complexities to a modern‐day audience.
In comparing this book to A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages (Gracia and Noone, 2002) also reviewed by your present reviewer in these pages (RR 2003/297), there are no extended biographies of major philosophical figures of the period. The editors do provide some short biographies at the end of this book, but none as extensive as the Blackwell publication, where biographies take up the majority of the pages. The editors of this book have a number of short essays that examine and present the major issues and branches of medieval philosophy as currently understood. These essays include: medieval philosophy in context; two medieval ideas: eternity and hierarchy; language and logic; philosophy in Islam; Jewish philosophy; metaphysics: God and being; creation and nature; natures: the problem of universals; human nature; the moral life; ultimate goods: happiness, friendship, and bliss; political philosophy; medieval philosophy in later thought; and transmission and translation. Each essay weaves into its presentation the major philosophical figures and branches of medieval philosophy, and how they relate to one another. Perhaps not as encyclopedic or extensive as the Blackwell tome, this book certainly approaches medieval philosophy from its many angles and branches, and presents arguments and solutions to the questions posed by medieval logic and religion in a comprehensive and understandable fashion. The book also contains a graphic chronology of philosophers and major events, a short biographical section and a bibliography and index.
The editor, in the introduction, provides context for the essays with a short essay on what medieval philosophy is, the concept of otherness, and various ways to approach the presentation of medieval philosophy. There is also a very good chapter on the transmission and translation of medieval texts, and some of the challenges modern‐day academics must face in studying and understanding certain medieval concepts and philosophers. I highly recommend this work, as I did with the Blackwell book. For those who wish to truly delve into and examine medieval philosophy, this book is much more affordable than the Blackwell volume, but both would provide complimentary approaches and interesting contrasts to the presentation and study of medieval philosophy as it is currently understood in academia today.
