Unlocked Books

Unlocked Books PDF Author: Benedek Láng
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271048212
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
"Presents and analyzes texts of learned magic written in medieval Central Europe (Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary), and attempts to identify their authors, readers, and collectors"--Provided by publisher.

Unlocked Books

Unlocked Books PDF Author: Benedek Láng
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271048212
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 350

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Presents and analyzes texts of learned magic written in medieval Central Europe (Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary), and attempts to identify their authors, readers, and collectors"--Provided by publisher.

The Speculum Astronomiae and Its Enigma

The Speculum Astronomiae and Its Enigma PDF Author: P. Zambelli
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401734674
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
The attribution of the Speculum Astronomiae to Albertus Magnus became a controversial issue only recently, when the great neo-Thomist historian Pierre Mandonnet suggested -- without any antecedents -- that the author was Roger Bacon rather than Albert. Mandonnet's theses were refuted by Lynn Thorndike and have since then been the subject of widespread discussion. The present historiographical case-study considers this debate in the light of an analysis of texts by Albert himself, as well as other important authors, such as Bacon, Bonaventura, Thomas Aquinas, Witelo, Campanus of Novara, and others, which shows how widespread the general concept of the influence of the stars and other astrological ideas to be found in the Speculum were. Most of the scientific ideas of the Middle Ages were based on principles derived from the notion of celestial influence and its consequences. The Speculum drew the fundamental outlines of this discipline into a theoretical and bibliographical introduction -- no small achievement -- and was consequently greeted with great interest and used as a standard reference book for many centuries. Set against the background of discussions taking place in the 1260s, within the Dominican Order as well as in the Faculties of Arts, Zambelli removes all doubt that the Speculum was written by Albert, possibly with some collaboration.

A History of Science, Magic and Belief

A History of Science, Magic and Belief PDF Author: Steven P. Marrone
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1137029781
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
A History of Science, Magic and Belief is an exploration of the origins of modern society through the culture of the middle ages and early modern period. By examining the intertwined paths of three different systems for interpreting the world, it seeks to create a narrative which culminates in the birth of modernity. It looks at the tensions and boundaries between science and magic throughout the middle ages and how they were affected by elite efforts to rationalise society, often through religion. The witch-crazes of the sixteenth and seventeenth century are seen as a pivotal point, and the emergence from these into social peace is deemed possible due to the Scientific Revolution and the politics of the early modern state. This book is unique in drawing together the histories of science, magic and religion. It is thus an ideal book for those studying any or all of these topics, and with its broad time frame, it is also suitable for students of the history of Europe or Western civilisation in general.

Conjuring Spirits: Texts and Traditions of Medieval Ritual Magic

Conjuring Spirits: Texts and Traditions of Medieval Ritual Magic PDF Author:
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271042419
Category : Magic
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description


Contemplation and Philosophy: Scholastic and Mystical Modes of Medieval Philosophical Thought

Contemplation and Philosophy: Scholastic and Mystical Modes of Medieval Philosophical Thought PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004379290
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 829

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Book Description
This volume collects essays which are thematically connected through the work of Kent Emery Jr., to whom the volume is dedicated. A main focus lies on the attempts to bridge the gap between mysticism and a systematic approach to medieval philosophical thought. The essays address a wide range of topics concerning (a) the nature of the human soul (in philosophical and theological discourse); (b) medieval theories of cognition (natural and supernatural), self-knowledge and knowledge of God; (c) the human soul’s contemplation of, and union with, God; (d) the tradition of “the modes of theology” in the Middle Ages; (e) the relation between philosophy and theology. Various articles are dedicated to major figures of the 13th and 14th century philosophy, others display new material based on critical editions. Contributors are Jan A. Aertsen, Stephen Brown, Bernardo Carlos Bazán, William J. Courtenay, Alfredo Santiago Culleton, Silvia Donati, Bernd Goehring, Guy Guldentops, Daniel Hobbins, Roberto Hofmeister Pich, Georgi Kapriev, Steven P. Marrone, Stephen M. Metzger, Timothy B. Noone, Mikolaj Olszewski, Alessandro Palazzo, Garrett R. Smith, Andreas Speer, Carlos Steel, Loris Sturlese, Chris Schabel, Christian Trottmann, and Gordon A. Wilson.

Debating the Stars in the Italian Renaissance

Debating the Stars in the Italian Renaissance PDF Author: Ovanes Akopyan
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004442278
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
An account of the astrological controversies that arose in Renaissance Italy in the wake of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem, published in 1496.

The Problem of Rationality in Science and its Philosophy

The Problem of Rationality in Science and its Philosophy PDF Author: J. Misiek
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401104611
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Rationality of science was the topic of two conferences (held in 1988 and 1989) organized by the Department of Philosophy of Science, Institute of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University. Both conferences included a small group of invited speakers. This book contains a selection of papers presented there. It is intended mainly for specialists in the philosophy of science and scientists interested in philosophy. Students and especially postgraduate students would also benefit from reading it. The first conference, 'Popper, Polanyi and the Notion of Rationality', was held from 1 to 5 October 1988 in Janowice. The second conference, 'The Aim and Rationality of Science', was held in Cracow at the Jagiellonian Univer sity, from 4-10 June 1989. The topics of both conferences were inspired by our late friend Dr. Tomasz Kocowski, who many years earlier invited me and my colleagues from the Department to participate in research concerning the problem of creativity, and serve him and other psychologists as methodological advisors. Personal contacts with this intelligent and inquisitive man helped us to realize that we could not fulfill our task while adhering to the received view in the philoso phy of science. This experience helped us to see science not only as scientific knowledge but also as a process of research. We then turned our attention to Michael Polanyi, who seemed to provide the philosophy we were looking for.

A Companion to Albert the Great

A Companion to Albert the Great PDF Author: Irven Resnick
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004239731
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 849

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Book Description
Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus; d. 1280) is one of the most prolific authors of the Middle Ages, and the only scholar to be known as “the Great” during his own lifetime. As the only Scholastic to to have commented upon all the works of Aristotle, Albert is also known as the Universal Doctor (Doctor Universalis) for his encyclopedic intellect, which enabled him to make important contributions not only to Christian theology but also to natural science and philosophy. The contributions to this omnibus volume will introduce students of philosophy, science, and theology to the current state of research and multiple perspectives on the work of Albert the Great. Contributors include Jan A. Aertsen, Henryk Anzulewicz, Benedict M. Ashley, Miguel de Asúa, Steven Baldner, Amos Bertolacci, Thérèse Bonin, Maria Burger, Markus Führer, Dagmar Gottschall, Jeremiah Hackett, Anthony Lo Bello, Isabelle Moulin, Timothy Noone, Mikołaj Olszewski, B.B. Price, Irven M. Resnick, Francisco J. Romero Carrasquillo, H. Darrel Rutkin, Steven C. Snyder, Michael W. Tkacz, Martin J. Tracey, Bruno Tremblay, David Twetten, Rosa E. Vargas and Gilla Wöllmer

The Routledge Research Companion to John Gower

The Routledge Research Companion to John Gower PDF Author: Ana Saez-Hidalgo
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317043022
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 568

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Book Description
The Routledge Research Companion to John Gower reviews the most current scholarship on the late medieval poet and opens doors purposefully to research areas of the future. It is divided into three parts. The first part, "Working theories: medieval and modern," is devoted to the main theoretical aspects that frame Gower’s work, ranging from his use of medieval law, rhetoric, theology, and religious attitudes, to approaches incorporating gender and queer studies. The second part, "Things and places: material cultures," examines the cultural locations of the author, not only from geographical and political perspectives, or in scientific and economic context, but also in the transmission of his poetry through the materiality of the text and its reception. "Polyvocality: text and language," the third part, focuses on Gower’s trilingualism, his approach to history, and narratological and intertextual aspects of his works. The Routledge Research Companion to John Gower is an essential resource for scholars and students of Gower and of Middle English literature, history, and culture generally.

Medieval Robots

Medieval Robots PDF Author: E. R. Truitt
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812291409
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
A thousand years before Isaac Asimov set down his Three Laws of Robotics, real and imagined automata appeared in European courts, liturgies, and literary texts. Medieval robots took such forms as talking statues, mechanical animals, and silent metal guardians; some served to entertain or instruct while others performed disciplinary or surveillance functions. Variously ascribed to artisanal genius, inexplicable cosmic forces, or demonic powers, these marvelous fabrications raised fundamental questions about knowledge, nature, and divine purpose in the Middle Ages. Medieval Robots recovers the forgotten history of fantastical, aspirational, and terrifying machines that captivated Europe in imagination and reality between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. E. R. Truitt traces the different forms of self-moving or self-sustaining manufactured objects from their earliest appearances in the Latin West through centuries of mechanical and literary invention. Chronicled in romances and song as well as histories and encyclopedias, medieval automata were powerful cultural objects that probed the limits of natural philosophy, illuminated and challenged definitions of life and death, and epitomized the transformative and threatening potential of foreign knowledge and culture. This original and wide-ranging study reveals the convergence of science, technology, and imagination in medieval culture and demonstrates the striking similarities between medieval and modern robotic and cybernetic visions.