A Philosopher at the Crossroads Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola’s Encounter with Scholastic Philosophy (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, 338)

This book offers a fresh account of one of the remarkable figures in the Renaissance, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), by focusing on a neglected aspect of his work; his reading of scholasticism and its reception in the fifteenth century. Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1 Scholastic Formation and Training in Italy and Paris Chapter 1 Status Quaestionis Chapter 2 Pico in Padua (1480–1482) and Beyond Chapter 3 Pico in Paris: When and What Part 2 Scholastic Traces and Influence. Pico’s Attitude towards the Scholastic Tradition Chapter 4 A Historical Approach: Scholastic Thinkers and the New Status of Philosophy Chapter 5 The Apology as a Case-Study Chapter 6 Pico and Albert the Great Chapter 7 Pico and Thomas Aquinas Chapter 8 Pico and Francis of Mayronnes Chapter 9 Pico and John Duns Scotus Chapter 10 Pico and Henry of Ghent Chapter 11 Pico and Giles of Rome Part 3 Scholastic Reactions to Pico and the Reception of His Thought and Method Chapter 12 Bernardo Torni against Four Theses Concerning Natural Philosophy Chapter 13 Galgani da Siena against a Thesis on the Nature of Sound Chapter 14 Pedro Garsia against the Apology Chapter 15 Picus ut pica locutus est: Giovanni Caroli against Certain Theological Theses Chapter 16 Antonio Cittadini di Faenza against De ente et uno Chapter 17 Pietro Pomponazzi against Pico on Astrology and Beyond: Modification vs. Rejection Conclusion Bibliography Index "This study explains how one of the remarkable thinkers of the Italian Renaissance, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), broke new ground by engaging with the scholastic tradition while maintaining his 'humanist' sensibilities. A central claim of the monograph is that Pico was a 'philosopher at the crossroads', whose sophisticated reading of numerous scholastic thinkers enabled him to advance a different conception of philosophy. The scholastic background to Pico's work has been neglected by historians of the period. This omission has served to create not only an unreliable portrait of Pico's thought, but a more general ignorance of the dynamism of scholastic thought in late fifteenth-century Italy. The books argues that these deficiencies of modern scholarship stand in need of correction"-- Provided by publisher This study explains how one of the most remarkable thinkers of the Italian Renaissance, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494), broke new ground by engaging with the scholastic tradition while maintaining his ‘humanist'sensibilities. A central claim of the monograph is that Pico was a'philosopher at the crossroads,'whose sophisticated reading of numerous scholastic thinkers enabled him to advance a different conception of philosophy. The scholastic background to Pico's work has been neglected by historians of the period. This omission has served to create not only an unreliable picture of Pico's thought, but also a more general ignorance of the dynamism of scholastic thought in late fifteenth-century Italy. The author argues that these deficiencies of modern scholarship stand in need of correction. This study explains how one of the remarkable thinkers of the Italian Renaissance, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), broke new ground by engaging with the scholastic tradition while maintaining his ?humanist? sensibilities. A central claim of the monograph is that Pico was a ?philosopher at the crossroads?, whose sophisticated reading of numerous scholastic thinkers enabled him to advance a different conception of philosophy. The scholastic background to Pico?s work has been neglected by historians of the period. This omission has served to create not only an unreliable portrait of Pico?s thought, but also a more general ignorance of the dynamism of scholastic thought in late fifteenth-century Italy. The author argues that these deficiencies of modern scholarship stand in need of correction