It is ironic that the man whom Europeans came to regard as one of the most influential Arab scientists and philosophers of the Middle Ages, was not exactly appreciated in his homeland. Ibn Rushd (1126—1198), was a native of Cordoba, in Andalusian Spain, and his work covered a broad range of topics in medicine, science… Continue reading On Averroes
There’s a great scene in Elaine May’s 1971 film, A New Leaf, where the main character, an aging WASP played by Walter Matthau, is being encouraged by his butler to marry rich in order to stave off bankruptcy. He’s frittered away his inheritance on expensive cars, the country club, and fine art. And he still… Continue reading A Return to Scholasticism?
It can’t be easy translating Latin for your daily research, and it must be even harder if it’s Latin that’s over 800 years old. Following up on my post earlier this month on Fabrizio Amerini’s new book Aquinas on the Beginning and End of Human Life, I wondered what drew the Italian scholar to the study… Continue reading Fabrizio Amerini on Aquinas
Fabrizio Amerini is not an author most Americans are likely to have heard of, but if you’re a fan of Umberto Eco, you might want to check out his new book. ‘New’ is not entirely accurate, perhaps, as it was first published in Italian in 2009. But Georgetown University professor Mark Henninger’s translation hit the… Continue reading Book Notes: Fabrizio Amerini on Aquinas and the Beginning and End of Human Life
Those rules of argument became increasingly complex. Many, after several centuries, now seem almost banal: it is perhaps a testimony to the effectiveness and importance of the foundations laid down in the twelfth century that stages in argumentative processes which then had to be carefully thought through and elucidated are now taken for granted, with… Continue reading The Middle Ages … and Your Latest Laptop
