Medieval Philosophy

This is the fourth volume in the Oxford series 'a history of philosophy without any gaps', following on from books on classical philosophy, philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds and philosophy in the Islamic world - then the next in the series on Indian philosophy will be reviewed in PE 133. It is a staggering philosophical achievement by a single individual (though he does have a collaborator for the Indian volume) and certainly lives up to the series title, showing up considerable gaps in such classic treatments as Russell's History of Western Philosophy, which I read in the summer of 1973. Moreover, the clarity of the animated text is further enhanced by the author's humour, bringing a light touch to complex matters. One example is the old joke that asks what Alexander the Great and Winnie the Pooh have in common – the answer is their middle name. And in describing the seduction of Heloise by Peter Abelard ('so eminent in logic that he alone was thought to converse with Aristotle') by becoming her teacher, he comments, I imagine ironically, 'of course, even today it remains true that skill in philosophy is a sure path to romantic success.'

The volume chronologically covers 600 years in 78 short chapters, with the second and third parts devoted to the 13th and 14th centuries. The author amply demonstrates the range and sophistication of mediaeval philosophers and mystics while highlighting perennial themes treated in individual chapters: the existence and knowledge of God, human freedom, immaterial souls, epistemology, science, logic, metaphysics, ethics and even mediaeval theories of law and economics. All the great figures appear in the book, along with many I had never heard of such as Peter Olivi, Gilbert of Poitiers, Robert Kilwardby, Henry of Ghent and Marsilius of Padua. It was also refreshing to see fair-minded treatment of major women mystics such as Hildegard of Bingen, Hadewijch, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Julian of Norwich and the remarkable Marguerite Porete, burned at the stake for heresy in 1310 on account of her work The Mirror of Simple, Annihilated Souls and Those Who Only Remain in Will and Desire of Love. Adamson remarks that, 'like Socrates, she was executed after courageously refusing to recant her convictions' involving going beyond virtue to mystical union in Love, using the will to abandon the will. This volume will surely attain classic status, and can be read either sequentially or consulted as a detailed encyclopaedia of mediaeval philosophy and its variegated personalities.