Byzantine and Renaissance Philosophy

Adamson (Classical Indian Philosophy), a philosophy professor at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, delivers the sixth installment to his History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps series, an erudite and witty overview of medieval Byzantine philosophy and its influence on the Italian Renaissance. Here, the author argues that “an influx of manuscripts and scholars from the Greek East helped to trigger Italian humanism.” To that end, he details the relationship between these traditions, studying the ideas of Eastern figures such as John of Damascus and Michael Psellos, as well as more familiar Italian thinkers including Galileo and Niccolò Machiavelli. Adamson suggests that the Renaissance was as Greek as it was Italian, noting, for example, that Aristotle’s political writings impressed historian Leonardo Bruni, and Plato’s thoughts on love influenced philosopher Marsilio Ficino’s. Adamson also considers Byzantine philosophy’s debt to Islamic thought and religious controversies around the veneration of icons and reason’s applicability to God, as well as the overlooked contributions of female philosophers such as Laura Cereta. By introducing readers to Eastern Orthodox thinkers who often don’t get their due, Adamson provides an invaluable and comprehensive overview of nearly a millennium of philosophy. This thorough volume is an ideal accompaniment for philosophy students and professors looking to expand the standard curriculum. (May)