The Legend of the Middle Ages – Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam - Hardcover

Brague, Remi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226070808 ISBN 13: 9780226070803

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2009

Synopsis

This volume presents a penetrating interview and sixteen essays that explore key intersections of medieval religion and philosophy. With characteristic erudition and insight, RémiBrague focuses less on individual Christian, Jewish, and Muslim thinkers than on their relationships with one another. Their disparate philosophical worlds, Brague shows, were grounded in different models of revelation that engendered divergent interpretations of the ancient Greek sources they held in common. So, despite striking similarities in their solutions for the philosophical problems they all faced, intellectuals in each theological tradition often viewed the others' ideas with skepticism, if not disdain. Brague's portrayal of this misunderstood age brings to life not only its philosophical and theological nuances, but also lessons for our own time.

About this title

Review:

Brague shows [how] the subtle, often acrimonious interplay between Judaism, Christianity and Islam helped to create the advanced thought of the Middle Ages--a phrase that, after reading Brague''s book, no longer sounds like an oxymoron." -- Adam Kirsch "Nextbook"

"This account will illuminate novices as well as adepts embarked on a shared journey into a fascinating world. . . . By using contemporary reflections on hermeneutics and other sophisticated tools . . . [Brague] deftly introduces us into this world in a way that helps us attain the consciousness demanded to understand 'the other, ' so as to better appreciate our own limitations. In fact, that correlative activity of coming to understand ourselves as we seek to understand the other fairly defines the journey on which these essays launch us. So it could best be described as an exercise in self-understating, facilitated by a rich store of historical examples, deftly employed."--David Burrell "Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "

"Brague is one of the few scholars alive who is equally an expert on medieval Arabic, Jewish, and Latin philosophy (as well as on ancient Greek philosophy). He is an extraordinary linguist in both ancient and modern languages, which enables a truly subtle analysis of texts and ideas. "The Legend of the Middle Ages" demonstrates his special ability to discover profound philosophical implications in notions and questions in medieval texts that modern scholars would usually pass over."
--Kent Emery, Jr., University of Notre Dame

Brague is one of the few scholars alive who is equally an expert on medieval Arabic, Jewish, and Latin philosophy (as well as on ancient Greek philosophy). He is an extraordinary linguist in both ancient and modern languages, which enables a truly subtle analysis of texts and ideas. "The Legend of the Middle Ages" demonstrates his special ability to discover profound philosophical implications in notions and questions in medieval texts that modern scholars would usually pass over.
--Kent Emery, Jr., University of Notre Dame"

"Brague shows [how] the subtle, often acrimonious interplay between Judaism, Christianity and Islam helped to create the advanced thought of the Middle Ages a phrase that, after reading Brague's book, no longer sounds like an oxymoron."--Adam Kirsch "Nextbook ""

About the Author:

Remi Brague is professor of philosophy at the Universite Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne and at the University of Munich. He is the author of nine other books, including The Law of God and The Wisdom of the World, both published by the University of Chicago Press. Lydia G. Cochrane has translated numerous books for the University of Chicago Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0226070808
• ISBN 13: 9780226070803
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272