Metaphysics and Hermeneutics in the Medieval Platonic Tradition

Metaphysics and Hermeneutics in the Medieval Platonic Tradition is a collection of essays that explores the relationship between metaphysics and hermeneutics in the medieval Platonic tradition. It argues that hermeneutics is essential to the philosophical program developed by these authors and that its role varies between being a means towards the development of metaphysical theory and being an integral component of metaphysics itself. The book fills in a lacuna in the history of philosophy between the fifth and fifteenth centuries and initiates a dialogue between medieval Platonism and modern theories of hermeneutics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 286 pages
Publication date: 09 January 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Metaphysics and Hermeneutics in the Medieval Platonic Tradition is a comprehensive collection of twelve essays, originally published between 2006 and 2015, that delve into the major trends and specific figures within the medieval Platonic tradition. The book offers a comprehensive exploration of the transmission of late ancient thought to the Middle Ages, with three essays providing general surveys of this process. These essays focus on the ancient authors, themes, and medieval readers involved in the transmission, highlighting the significance of hermeneutics in understanding these texts.

The remaining essays in the collection specifically address key figures in the Platonic tradition, such as pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Johannes Scottus Eriugena, and Nicholas of Cusa. The principal conceptual aim of the collection is to establish the primacy of hermeneutics within the philosophical program developed by these authors. In other words, the essays argue that these authors' philosophical activity, while not exclusively focused on hermeneutics, is primarily rooted in the reading and evaluation of authoritative texts.

The essays further explore the role of hermeneutics within the tradition, arguing that it shifts between being a means towards the development of metaphysical theory and being an integral component of metaphysics itself. This shift is accompanied by a change in emphasis from the connection between logic and philosophy to the relationship between rhetoric and philosophy. The collection fills in a significant lacuna in the history of philosophy between the fifth and fifteenth centuries, initiating a dialogue between the metaphysical hermeneutics of medieval Platonism and certain modern theories of hermeneutics, structuralism, and deconstruction.

This book will be of particular interest to students of the classical tradition in western thought, as well as to students of med. It provides a valuable resource for scholars and researchers seeking to understand the complex interplay between metaphysics, hermeneutics, and the broader philosophical landscape of the medieval period.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367611408