Medieval Commentaries on Aristotle's Categories

Medieval Commentaries on Aristotle's Categories
Author: Lloyd A. Newton
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004167528

The contributors to this volume cover a wide range of philosophers, from Simplicius to John Wyclif, and philosophical problems, including: the harmony of Platonism and Aristotelianism; the relationship between logic, and metaphysics; the number of categories; and realism vs. nominalism.

Medieval Commentaries on Aristotle's Categories

Medieval Commentaries on Aristotle's Categories
Author: Lloyd Newton
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2008-08-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 9047442075

Medieval commentary writing has often been described as a way of "doing philosophy," and not without reason. The various commentaries on Aristotle's Categories we have from this period did not simply elaborate a dialectical exercise for training students; rather, they provided their authors with an unparalleled opportunity to work through crucial philosophical problems, many of which remain with us today. As such, this unique commentary tradition is important not only in its own right, but also to the history and development of philosophy as a whole. The contributors to this volume take a fresh look at it, examining a wide range of medieval commentators, from Simplicius to John Wyclif, and discussing such issues as the compatibility of Platonism with Aristotelianism; the influence of Avicenna; the relationship between grammar, logic, and metaphysics; the number of the categories; the status of the categories as a science realism vs. nominalism; and the relationship between categories.