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دیباچهای بر فلسفهی قرون وسطی
فردریک کاپلستون، که دوستداران فلسفه درایران با «تاریخ فلسفه» اوآشنایی دارند، دراین کتا ب میکوشد فلسفهی قرون وسطی راازمنظر تاریخی بررسی کند و سیمای مهمترین متفکران و جریانهای فکری این دوران را بازنماید. در این کتاب مجال آشنایی با آرای متفکرانی چون آوگوستین، توماس آکویناس، دانز اسکوترس، ابن رشدیها، فلاسفهی فرانسیسی، ویلیام آکمی و نیکولاس کوزایی فراهم شده است. همچنین، خواننده با آرای فلاسفهی این دوران در موضوعاتی همچون نسبت عقل و ایمان، مسئلهی کلیات، فلسفهی سیاسی و عرفان نظری از منظر یکی ازصاحبنظران فلسفهی قرون وسطی آشنا میشود.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
20 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
Frederick Charles Copleston
303 books298 followersFrederick (Freddie) Charles Copleston was raised an Anglican and educated at Marlborough College from 1920 to 1925. Shortly after his eighteenth birthday he converted to Catholicism, and his father subsequently almost disowned him. After the initial shock, however, his father saw fit to help Copleston through his education and he attended St. John’s in Oxford in 1925, only managing a disappointing third in classical moderations. He redeemed himself somewhat with a good second at Greats in 1929.
In 1930 Copleston became a Jesuit, and, after two years at the Jesuit novitiate in Roehampton, he moved to Heythrop. He was ordained a Jesuit priest at Heythrop College in 1937 and soon after went to Germany (1938) to complete his training. Fortunately he made it back to Britain before the outbreak of war in 1939. The war made it impossible for him to study for his doctorate, as once intended, at the Gregorian University in Rome, and instead Copleston was invited to return to Heythrop to teach the history of philosophy to the few remaining Jesuits there.
While in Heythrop Copleston had time and interest to begin the work he is most famous for, his "A History of Philosophy" - a textbook that originally set out to deliver a clear account of ancient, medieval and modern philosophy in three volumes, which was instead completed in nine volumes (1975). To this day Copleston’s history remains a monumental achievement and stays true to the authors it discusses, being very much a work in exposition.
Copleston adopted a number of honorary roles throughout the remainder of his career. He was appointed Visiting Professor at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, spending half of each year lecturing there from 1952 to 1968. He was made Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 1970, given a personal professorship from his own university (Heythrop, now re-established in the University of London) in 1972 and made an Honorary Fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford, in 1975. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Santa Clara between 1974 and 1982, and he delivered the Gifford Lectures at the University of Aberdeen between 1979 and 1981. His lectures were published under the title Religion and the One, and were largely a metaphysical tract attempting to express themes perennial in his thinking and more personal than in his history. Gerard J. Hughes notes Copleston as remarking "large doses of metaphysics like that certainly don’t boost one’s sales".
He received honorary doctorates from a number of institutions, notably, Santa Clara University, California, University of Uppsala and the University of St. Andrews (D.Litt) in later years. He was selected for membership in the Royal Institute of Philosophy and in the Aristotelian Society, and in 1993 he was made CBE.
Copleston’s personality saw him engage in the many responsibilities bestowed upon him with generous commitment and good humour.
In 1930 Copleston became a Jesuit, and, after two years at the Jesuit novitiate in Roehampton, he moved to Heythrop. He was ordained a Jesuit priest at Heythrop College in 1937 and soon after went to Germany (1938) to complete his training. Fortunately he made it back to Britain before the outbreak of war in 1939. The war made it impossible for him to study for his doctorate, as once intended, at the Gregorian University in Rome, and instead Copleston was invited to return to Heythrop to teach the history of philosophy to the few remaining Jesuits there.
While in Heythrop Copleston had time and interest to begin the work he is most famous for, his "A History of Philosophy" - a textbook that originally set out to deliver a clear account of ancient, medieval and modern philosophy in three volumes, which was instead completed in nine volumes (1975). To this day Copleston’s history remains a monumental achievement and stays true to the authors it discusses, being very much a work in exposition.
Copleston adopted a number of honorary roles throughout the remainder of his career. He was appointed Visiting Professor at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, spending half of each year lecturing there from 1952 to 1968. He was made Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 1970, given a personal professorship from his own university (Heythrop, now re-established in the University of London) in 1972 and made an Honorary Fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford, in 1975. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Santa Clara between 1974 and 1982, and he delivered the Gifford Lectures at the University of Aberdeen between 1979 and 1981. His lectures were published under the title Religion and the One, and were largely a metaphysical tract attempting to express themes perennial in his thinking and more personal than in his history. Gerard J. Hughes notes Copleston as remarking "large doses of metaphysics like that certainly don’t boost one’s sales".
He received honorary doctorates from a number of institutions, notably, Santa Clara University, California, University of Uppsala and the University of St. Andrews (D.Litt) in later years. He was selected for membership in the Royal Institute of Philosophy and in the Aristotelian Society, and in 1993 he was made CBE.
Copleston’s personality saw him engage in the many responsibilities bestowed upon him with generous commitment and good humour.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 15, 2017
To say Dr. Copleston's knowledge is encyclopedic is both a complement and an insult
If you have Copleston's History of Philosophy 9 volume set, you may ask yourself why would he repeat what he had essentially written in volumes 2 and 3. The answer lies in the nature of the two books.
The History of Philosophy set is something akin to an encyclopedia while A History of Medieval Philosophy is something more like a book. While the set has enteries on philosophers (or periodically schools) the history book presents an overarching argument for the importance of Medieval philosophy as distinct from classical philosophy, Christian theology and a major contributing factor to modern philosophy and the study of law.
Perhaps the best introduction to the book would be to quote Copleston's forward to the 1972 edition, "This book is a revision and enlargement of my Medieval Philosophy first published in 1952...The general plan of the previous work has, of course, been retained. But in the present volume, a great deal more is said about Christian thought in the ancient world. Again, accounts of Islamic and Jewish philosophy in the Middle Ages have undergone considerable extension. And longer treatments have been provided of leading thinkers such as Aquinas, Scotus and Ockham. Philosophical discussion of issues raised by Medieval thinkers has obviously had to be kept to a minimum. But some general lines of thought about medieval philosophy have been expressed in the first and last chapters."
A couple of points to make and I'll make them in the order Fr. Copleston made them in the foreward.
Firstly, the discussion of Christian thought in the ancient world is interesting and at 40 pages, hardly insignificant. Obviously St. Augustine dominates this but there is sizable space dedicated to the Christian enemies of philosophy such as Tertullian or the neo-Platonists like Origen and the Pseudo-Dionysus.
As regarding Islamic and Jewish thought, equal space is allotted to each, a little over forty pages combined. This reflects the rather brief flourishing and limited impact of both Islamic and Jewish philosophy on Medieval and Western thought. Philosophy was killed by the respective theologies of Islam and Judaism and Avicenna, Averroes and Maimonides died with the specter of heresy overhanging them. At least two of them (Averroes and Maimonides) needed to flee the mythically 'tolerant' Islamic Spain for North Africa. The modern politically motivated obsession with these subjects is righfully mostly ignored.
The chapter on Aquinas (coupled with Albert the Great) is surprisingly short but is excusable because, though Copleston manages to avoid interpreting other philosophies through the eyes of Thomism, the Thomistic theme is frequently revisited. Duns Scotus and William of Ockham are given considerable space and enough rope to hang themselves.
The relationship between Medieval philosophy and ancient or modern trends is merely hinted at in the introduction and conclusion. Copleston manages to minimize the connections without eliminating them which is a bit of a shame because the premise of the book is that Medieval philosophy in its own right is philosophy and not the dead trunk situatied between the roots in antiquity and the flowering leaves on the branches of modernity.
If you have Copleston's History of Philosophy 9 volume set, you may ask yourself why would he repeat what he had essentially written in volumes 2 and 3. The answer lies in the nature of the two books.
The History of Philosophy set is something akin to an encyclopedia while A History of Medieval Philosophy is something more like a book. While the set has enteries on philosophers (or periodically schools) the history book presents an overarching argument for the importance of Medieval philosophy as distinct from classical philosophy, Christian theology and a major contributing factor to modern philosophy and the study of law.
Perhaps the best introduction to the book would be to quote Copleston's forward to the 1972 edition, "This book is a revision and enlargement of my Medieval Philosophy first published in 1952...The general plan of the previous work has, of course, been retained. But in the present volume, a great deal more is said about Christian thought in the ancient world. Again, accounts of Islamic and Jewish philosophy in the Middle Ages have undergone considerable extension. And longer treatments have been provided of leading thinkers such as Aquinas, Scotus and Ockham. Philosophical discussion of issues raised by Medieval thinkers has obviously had to be kept to a minimum. But some general lines of thought about medieval philosophy have been expressed in the first and last chapters."
A couple of points to make and I'll make them in the order Fr. Copleston made them in the foreward.
Firstly, the discussion of Christian thought in the ancient world is interesting and at 40 pages, hardly insignificant. Obviously St. Augustine dominates this but there is sizable space dedicated to the Christian enemies of philosophy such as Tertullian or the neo-Platonists like Origen and the Pseudo-Dionysus.
As regarding Islamic and Jewish thought, equal space is allotted to each, a little over forty pages combined. This reflects the rather brief flourishing and limited impact of both Islamic and Jewish philosophy on Medieval and Western thought. Philosophy was killed by the respective theologies of Islam and Judaism and Avicenna, Averroes and Maimonides died with the specter of heresy overhanging them. At least two of them (Averroes and Maimonides) needed to flee the mythically 'tolerant' Islamic Spain for North Africa. The modern politically motivated obsession with these subjects is righfully mostly ignored.
The chapter on Aquinas (coupled with Albert the Great) is surprisingly short but is excusable because, though Copleston manages to avoid interpreting other philosophies through the eyes of Thomism, the Thomistic theme is frequently revisited. Duns Scotus and William of Ockham are given considerable space and enough rope to hang themselves.
The relationship between Medieval philosophy and ancient or modern trends is merely hinted at in the introduction and conclusion. Copleston manages to minimize the connections without eliminating them which is a bit of a shame because the premise of the book is that Medieval philosophy in its own right is philosophy and not the dead trunk situatied between the roots in antiquity and the flowering leaves on the branches of modernity.
June 20, 2021
اگر زمان کافی برای مطالعه جلد دوم تاریخ فلسفه کاپلستون را ندارید و از علاقه مندان فلسفه قرون وسطی و مسیحیت هستید این کتاب راهنما و جایگزین مناسبی است، استاد فلسفه قرون وسطی در این کتاب با موجز ترین و نافذترین و دقیق ترین کلمات پرده از تاریکی های قلمرو تفکر در آن اعصار برمی دارد
Read
December 10, 2025Contextually competent, and a potent drug best consumed caffeinated. In chunks it is digestible, and more often than not, a very immersive exposition. Hegel is an easter egg here: mentioned occasionally throughout the text - like a boogeyman!
“the whole of European thought as leading up to absolute idealism” & “as Hegel later maintained, that by means of intellectus (or Vernunft), operating with dialectical logic, the human mind can penetrate the essence of God.” & “Hegel regarded himself as carrying on and carrying further the programme of medieval theologians, the programme of 'faith seeking understanding'.”
Eeeek! How fun…
Ideas/ systems of thought discussed:
(Neoplatonism)
(Aristotelianism)
(Eschatology)
(Hierarchic worldview(s))
(Christian theism -Theology-Exegesis)
(Dialectical philosophy)
(Ontology - e.g. Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of God)
(Ultra-realism)
(Logic)
(Syllogism)
(Nominalism)
(The state’s role/ideal)
(GOD and his nature, will, origin, essence and presence)
(Pantheism)
(Mysticism)
(Early humanism) (?)
(Key) thinkers explored:
St. Augustine.
Pseudo-Dionysius.
Boethius (Briefly).
John Scotus.
St. Anselm.
Peter Abelard.
William of Champeaux.
Bernard of Chartres.
John of Salisbury.
Hugh/Richard of Saint Victor.
Peter Lombard.
St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Bonaventure.
Roger Bacon.
St. Albert the Great.
St. Thomas Aquinas.
Duns Scotus.
William of Ockham.
Meister Eckhart.
Marsilius of Padua.
Nicholas of Cusa
- Islamic/Jewish influence -
Al-kindi.
Al-Farabi.
Avicenna.
Averroes.
Al-Ghazali.
Philo of Alexandria.
Solomon ibn Gabirol.
Moses Maimonides.
(others).
Shifts/changes-occurrences:
The Carolingian Renaissance - cultural/intellectual revival.
The rise of universities - development of the liberal arts and natural science.
Scholasticism - system of theology/philosophy based on Aristotelian logic and the writings of the early Christian Fathers. Systematic study, critical analysis, careful distinctions.
Islamic/Jewish influence - Averroes renditions of Aristotle/introduction to Western Europe.
Development of nominalism; univocal concepts, categories as invented systems, rationality and no universal entities (e.g. Ockham), and the “freeing” of Christian thinking from the framework of scholastic Aristotelianism (Aquinas, etc.). “what God does < what he could do”
“the whole of European thought as leading up to absolute idealism” & “as Hegel later maintained, that by means of intellectus (or Vernunft), operating with dialectical logic, the human mind can penetrate the essence of God.” & “Hegel regarded himself as carrying on and carrying further the programme of medieval theologians, the programme of 'faith seeking understanding'.”
Eeeek! How fun…
Ideas/ systems of thought discussed:
(Neoplatonism)
(Aristotelianism)
(Eschatology)
(Hierarchic worldview(s))
(Christian theism -Theology-Exegesis)
(Dialectical philosophy)
(Ontology - e.g. Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of God)
(Ultra-realism)
(Logic)
(Syllogism)
(Nominalism)
(The state’s role/ideal)
(GOD and his nature, will, origin, essence and presence)
(Pantheism)
(Mysticism)
(Early humanism) (?)
(Key) thinkers explored:
St. Augustine.
Pseudo-Dionysius.
Boethius (Briefly).
John Scotus.
St. Anselm.
Peter Abelard.
William of Champeaux.
Bernard of Chartres.
John of Salisbury.
Hugh/Richard of Saint Victor.
Peter Lombard.
St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Bonaventure.
Roger Bacon.
St. Albert the Great.
St. Thomas Aquinas.
Duns Scotus.
William of Ockham.
Meister Eckhart.
Marsilius of Padua.
Nicholas of Cusa
- Islamic/Jewish influence -
Al-kindi.
Al-Farabi.
Avicenna.
Averroes.
Al-Ghazali.
Philo of Alexandria.
Solomon ibn Gabirol.
Moses Maimonides.
(others).
Shifts/changes-occurrences:
The Carolingian Renaissance - cultural/intellectual revival.
The rise of universities - development of the liberal arts and natural science.
Scholasticism - system of theology/philosophy based on Aristotelian logic and the writings of the early Christian Fathers. Systematic study, critical analysis, careful distinctions.
Islamic/Jewish influence - Averroes renditions of Aristotle/introduction to Western Europe.
Development of nominalism; univocal concepts, categories as invented systems, rationality and no universal entities (e.g. Ockham), and the “freeing” of Christian thinking from the framework of scholastic Aristotelianism (Aquinas, etc.). “what God does < what he could do”
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews