St. Augustine's Press
In this amazing tour de monde medievale, Josef Pieper moves easily back and forth between the figures
and the doctrines that made medieval philosophy unique in Western thought. After reflecting
on the invidious implications of the phrase “Middle Ages,” he turns to the fascinating personality
of Boethius whose Consolation of Philosophy is second only to the Bible in the number of
manuscript copies. Neo-Platonic figures Dionysius and Eriugena are the occasion for a discussion
of negative theology. The treatment of Anselm of Canterbury’s proof of God’s existence involves
later voices, e.g., Kant. Pieper is enamored of the twelfth century, which is regularly eclipsed by
accounts of the thirteenth. He does justice to both, and he gives a thorough and lively account of
the struggle between Aristotelians and anti-Aristotelians, and the famous condemnations that
put the effort of Saint Thomas Aquinas at risk.
The book closes with Pieper’s thoughts on the permanent philosophical and theological significance and the Middle Ages.
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Scholasticism
Personalities and Problems of Medieval Philosophy
192 pages, 5½” x 8½”, paperbound,
originally
published in English in 1960,
2001
preface, notes, index
ISBN: 1-58731-750-8,
$13.00 sp (£9.00)