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lucylovesfantasy's review against another edition
4.0
Anthony Kenny is an actual genius.
the way he's somehow able to first convey the chronology of philosophers and then take a subject and show how it evolves and expands through the history is mind-blowing.
i will have to study this book very well for my exam but I'm not at all reluctant to
the way he's somehow able to first convey the chronology of philosophers and then take a subject and show how it evolves and expands through the history is mind-blowing.
i will have to study this book very well for my exam but I'm not at all reluctant to
ciannait76's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second volume of the history of philosophy. It deals with the history of philosophy and the concepts of it during the Hellenistic era going through to St. Augustine, Abelard, Aquinas, Scotus, Okham, and some Islamic and Jewish philosophers as well. Even though my interest is in the Ethics portion of this I enjoyed reading the whole book.
iwb's review against another edition
4.0
A good introductory survey of philosophical topics as they were treated by various medieval thinkers throughout the entire period, from late antiquity and the commentators of Aristotle, to the inception of the humanists. The survey combines what is properly called intellectual history and philosophy proper. The historical aspect is kept to a minimum (as it ought to be in a philosophy book) without sacrificing salient features of the historical context in which the topic under discussion occurred. The philosophy, on the other hand, is more developed and Kenny has an emphasis on concept explanation, as opposed to explicating arguments; though he does do both at times.
This includes the following topics: God, Mind and Soul, Logic and Language, Knowledge, Physics, Metaphysics, Ethics, as well as an excellent treatment of philosophy and religious belief from Augustine to Maimonides,and scholasticism from the twelfth century renaissance (Abelard and the 'nominales' school) to the so-called renaissance proper (roughly 1360-1550), at which point scholasticism began to give way to the new schoolman, the humanists.
Kenny is especially good at explaining the intellectual current of a given period and how such a current has bearing on the topic at hand, this is particularly seen in his discussion of physics. As such, the historical context of each topic and its subsequent development is presented thoroughly but briefly; however, little attention is given to the explication of any particular thinker's arguments on any given topics. For that reason, you will find little critical analysis of is presented.
All in all it is an excellent work, written clearly and informatively, by a very capable philosopher. It's a good introduction for undergraduates at the freshman and sophomore level. But if you've had more than a survey course in medieval philosophy, you need something with a bit more depth.
This includes the following topics: God, Mind and Soul, Logic and Language, Knowledge, Physics, Metaphysics, Ethics, as well as an excellent treatment of philosophy and religious belief from Augustine to Maimonides,and scholasticism from the twelfth century renaissance (Abelard and the 'nominales' school) to the so-called renaissance proper (roughly 1360-1550), at which point scholasticism began to give way to the new schoolman, the humanists.
Kenny is especially good at explaining the intellectual current of a given period and how such a current has bearing on the topic at hand, this is particularly seen in his discussion of physics. As such, the historical context of each topic and its subsequent development is presented thoroughly but briefly; however, little attention is given to the explication of any particular thinker's arguments on any given topics. For that reason, you will find little critical analysis of is presented.
All in all it is an excellent work, written clearly and informatively, by a very capable philosopher. It's a good introduction for undergraduates at the freshman and sophomore level. But if you've had more than a survey course in medieval philosophy, you need something with a bit more depth.
shoaibmnagi's review
5.0
A very informative and well-written introduction to Medieval Philosophy from St. Augustine to William Ockham. The thematic division of the book helps the reader understand different branches of philosophy in a more coherent manner. To take an example, the author describes the ethical philosophy of St. Augustine under the chapter dedicated exclusively to Medieval Ethics and his theology under the chapter dedicated to God. In this manner, the entire voluminous philosophical output of a philosopher is not crammed down the reader's throat in an instant.
Moreover, Anthony Kenny also gives an insight into Islamic philosophy. He introduces the reader to the theology of Al-Kindi, the metaphysics of Avicenna and the logic of Averroes. It isn't as detailed as it should be (e.g. Kenny doesn't mention Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Arabi or Al-Ghazali), but compared to other books on the history of philosophy, it is still a good start.
Moreover, Anthony Kenny also gives an insight into Islamic philosophy. He introduces the reader to the theology of Al-Kindi, the metaphysics of Avicenna and the logic of Averroes. It isn't as detailed as it should be (e.g. Kenny doesn't mention Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Arabi or Al-Ghazali), but compared to other books on the history of philosophy, it is still a good start.
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