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A History of Western Philosophy, Volume 2: The Medieval Mind
A HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY examines the nature of philosophical enterprise and philosophy's role in Western culture. Jones and Fogelin weave key passages from classic philosophy works into their comments and criticisms, giving A HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY the combined advantages of a source book and textbook. The text concentrates on major figures in each historical period, combining exposition with direct quotations from the philosophers themselves. The text places philosophers in appropriate cultural context and shows how their theories reflect the concerns of their times.
355 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 11, 2023
We Create a Problem where None Exists
The error of Duns Scotus leads to the error of David Hume. On page 308, Professor Jones credits Duns for pointing out that inductive inferences need justification. I must respectfully disagree. Induction itself does not need further justification.
Induction is simply a feature of reality ascertainable by human reasoning. By asking for a justification, we run the risk falling down an infinite regress and throwing away one of our most powerful tools of human reasoning. Induction is simply the name we use to describe the human capacity to infer general patterns from specific observations. Perhaps giving this human capacity a name, induction, is the first mistake. We then refer to this as the 'rule of induction' and proceed to ask what more fundamental rule justifies the 'rule of induction'. We fail to realize that induction is simply a feature of reality and not a rule in the sense that it is imposed by authority and needs justification based upon further and more fundamental rules. There is nothing more fundamental. A rule or a law is a convention and a convention is a social construct. Bottom-line brute reality brings a full stop to what would otherwise be an infinite regression. There is no vicious circle, we do not use induction to justify induction. Induction arises naturally out of the uniformity of our past experience with the features of reality. We create a problem where none exists.
Having said this. I still highly recommend this book as a very good survey of medieval thought.
The error of Duns Scotus leads to the error of David Hume. On page 308, Professor Jones credits Duns for pointing out that inductive inferences need justification. I must respectfully disagree. Induction itself does not need further justification.
Induction is simply a feature of reality ascertainable by human reasoning. By asking for a justification, we run the risk falling down an infinite regress and throwing away one of our most powerful tools of human reasoning. Induction is simply the name we use to describe the human capacity to infer general patterns from specific observations. Perhaps giving this human capacity a name, induction, is the first mistake. We then refer to this as the 'rule of induction' and proceed to ask what more fundamental rule justifies the 'rule of induction'. We fail to realize that induction is simply a feature of reality and not a rule in the sense that it is imposed by authority and needs justification based upon further and more fundamental rules. There is nothing more fundamental. A rule or a law is a convention and a convention is a social construct. Bottom-line brute reality brings a full stop to what would otherwise be an infinite regression. There is no vicious circle, we do not use induction to justify induction. Induction arises naturally out of the uniformity of our past experience with the features of reality. We create a problem where none exists.
Having said this. I still highly recommend this book as a very good survey of medieval thought.
May 18, 2020
The second volume in W.T. Jones' history of Western philosophy focuses on the struggles inherent in trying to match the revealed and thus perfect words of God with the demands of logic and reason -- and not surprisingly, the task proved impossible.
That said, the works of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus and others are impressive efforts, and remind us once again that people today are not more intelligent than those of times past, and that technology and accumulated knowledge should not blind us to the achievements of those who came before. (For example, John Buridan, an obscure 14th century thinker, anticipated Isaac Newton with an incisive analysis of motion, but because he lacked much of the information available to Newton, he could go no further.)
Overall, though, medieval philosophy foundered on the rocks of God's omniscience, for if God knows all, then individual actions mean little. The doctrine of predestination -- which holds that those who will be saved have already been chosen -- leaves no room for morality or ethics, and the doctrine of grace -- which says that all people are sinners but God mercifully chooses a few to inspire -- further emphasizes the point that reason cannot justify Biblical theology.
Jones does a fine job of explicating the theories of Augustine and Aquinas, and it's important to note that their thoughts still resonate today, especially Augustine. Augustine, like Paul several centuries earlier, believed that sensual pleasure is a trap for the unwary, and sex, food and any other human activity that offered good feelings different than the love of God were a kind of sin. We still cling to those beliefs today, considering many sensual pleasures to either be unnecessary or immoral, though we do not follow through with a look at where those ideas came from.
Surprisingly, "The Medieval Mind" is a relatively quick read, as Jones is an engaging writer and he both shows how medieval thought drew on Classical roots, and sets the stage for the Renaissance an Enlightenment.
I started reading the series just to see if I would get much out of it -- some 40 years after encountering it as an undergraduate textbook -- and so far, it's been well worth the time. On to volume three ...
That said, the works of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus and others are impressive efforts, and remind us once again that people today are not more intelligent than those of times past, and that technology and accumulated knowledge should not blind us to the achievements of those who came before. (For example, John Buridan, an obscure 14th century thinker, anticipated Isaac Newton with an incisive analysis of motion, but because he lacked much of the information available to Newton, he could go no further.)
Overall, though, medieval philosophy foundered on the rocks of God's omniscience, for if God knows all, then individual actions mean little. The doctrine of predestination -- which holds that those who will be saved have already been chosen -- leaves no room for morality or ethics, and the doctrine of grace -- which says that all people are sinners but God mercifully chooses a few to inspire -- further emphasizes the point that reason cannot justify Biblical theology.
Jones does a fine job of explicating the theories of Augustine and Aquinas, and it's important to note that their thoughts still resonate today, especially Augustine. Augustine, like Paul several centuries earlier, believed that sensual pleasure is a trap for the unwary, and sex, food and any other human activity that offered good feelings different than the love of God were a kind of sin. We still cling to those beliefs today, considering many sensual pleasures to either be unnecessary or immoral, though we do not follow through with a look at where those ideas came from.
Surprisingly, "The Medieval Mind" is a relatively quick read, as Jones is an engaging writer and he both shows how medieval thought drew on Classical roots, and sets the stage for the Renaissance an Enlightenment.
I started reading the series just to see if I would get much out of it -- some 40 years after encountering it as an undergraduate textbook -- and so far, it's been well worth the time. On to volume three ...
June 21, 2020
My favorite history of philosophy, this is a rigorous but readable source for understanding the essential ideas of major philosophers. In this, the second volume of the series, the coverage begins with Neoplatonism. The coming of Christianity is discussed in detail with two sections devoted to Augustine. The overview concludes with two sections on Thomas Aquinas followed by the end of the medieval period.
The volume is enhanced with a glossary and valuable suggestions for further readings by topic. I have found this an excellent reference work ever since my college days.
The volume is enhanced with a glossary and valuable suggestions for further readings by topic. I have found this an excellent reference work ever since my college days.
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November 22, 2023An excellent overview of the major currents in Medieval philosophy and theology, stretching (quite ambitiously) from the 4th century, through the far-reaching musings of Erigena to the Aristotelian synthesis of Aquinas, all the way to the forerunners of modern science in the Franciscan tradition, and touching on everyone in between.
August 8, 2021
Very good. My only critique is the chapters on the dark ages poetry which were very boring and seemed out of place.
August 30, 2017
W.T. Jones' second volume of his A History of Western Philosophy series cannot be compared favourably to Copleston's lucid and profound text, but nor is it fair to Jones to lump him with Russell. Jones on the Middle Ages operates in the middle ground between Copleston's depth and Russell's dismissive brevity.
The one advantage that Jones provides is his use of extended quotations though this is less apparent in The Medieval Mind. He begins with Plotinus and the neo-Platonists, and this is an interesting choice, to include them with the Medievals rather than the Classics, but a defensible one if one thinks that their impact was mostly on Christianity, even when they were openly against it. The Jewish influence on Christianity, St. Paul and St. John are also discussed at length, leaving the Medieval Mind slightly slanted to the early Medieval period (for example, only fourty pages at the end of the book are reserved for Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham and the Averroists). Augustine is quoted at length but the bulk of the book is reserved for Aquinas, who is decidedly less quotable.
In this book in the series, and only in this book, is a sizable amount of space dedicated to the culture of the time. Chapters on the Church, Art and Letters, Chivalry, Feudalism seem out of place. Perhaps a discussion of Maimonides or Avicenna and Averroes would have been a better use of space.
Jones does a good job throughout the series balancing the philosophers and focusing on the major players and the major themes. One volume for the Classical period, one for the Medieval, one for Hobbes to Hume and finally one from Kant to Wittgenstein and Sartre strikes a good balance, not overemphasizing or ignoring any period. He later added the fifth volume Quine to Derrida bringing the series relatively up-to-date.
The second volume The Medieval Mind includes chapters on:
The one advantage that Jones provides is his use of extended quotations though this is less apparent in The Medieval Mind. He begins with Plotinus and the neo-Platonists, and this is an interesting choice, to include them with the Medievals rather than the Classics, but a defensible one if one thinks that their impact was mostly on Christianity, even when they were openly against it. The Jewish influence on Christianity, St. Paul and St. John are also discussed at length, leaving the Medieval Mind slightly slanted to the early Medieval period (for example, only fourty pages at the end of the book are reserved for Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham and the Averroists). Augustine is quoted at length but the bulk of the book is reserved for Aquinas, who is decidedly less quotable.
In this book in the series, and only in this book, is a sizable amount of space dedicated to the culture of the time. Chapters on the Church, Art and Letters, Chivalry, Feudalism seem out of place. Perhaps a discussion of Maimonides or Avicenna and Averroes would have been a better use of space.
Jones does a good job throughout the series balancing the philosophers and focusing on the major players and the major themes. One volume for the Classical period, one for the Medieval, one for Hobbes to Hume and finally one from Kant to Wittgenstein and Sartre strikes a good balance, not overemphasizing or ignoring any period. He later added the fifth volume Quine to Derrida bringing the series relatively up-to-date.
The second volume The Medieval Mind includes chapters on:
1) The New Religious Orientation
2) Christianity: the Formative Years
3) Augustine: God the Creator
4) Augustine: the Created Universe
5) The Medieval Interval
6) Thomas: Metaphysics
7) Thomas: Psychology, Ethics, Politics
8) The End of the Middle Ages
November 23, 2020
Como con el primer volumen de esta serie "The Classical Mind", estoy muy satisfecho con la lectura de "The Medieval Mind". Me pareció que el autor tiene un enfoque muy racional a la historia de la filosofía. Su explicación de los capítulos de la historia que presenta tiene en cuenta el contexto en el que las nuevas ideas se van desarrollando. A lo largo del libro conecta las ideas con las tendencias más amplias dentro de la cultura en la que tienen lugar.
November 27, 2015
One of the most illuminating set of books I've read in striving to develop an understanding of Western history, culture and philosophy.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews