Elijah Del Medigo and Paduan Aristotelianism: Investigating the Human Intellect (Bloomsbury Studies in the Aristotelian Tradition)

Elijah Del Medigo (1458-1493) was a Jewish Aristotelian philosopher living in Padua, whose work influenced many of the leading philosophers of the early Renaissance. His Two Investigations on the Nature of the Human Soul uses Aristotle's De anima to theorize on two of the most discussed and most controversial philosophical debates of the Renaissance: the nature of human intellect and the obtaining of immortality through intellectual perfection. In this book, Michael Engel places Del Medigo's philosophical work and his ideas about the human intellect within the context of the wider Aristotelian tradition. Providing a detailed account of the unique blend of Hebrew, Islamic, Latin and Greek traditions that influenced the Two Investigations , The Aristotelian Tradition and Elijah Del Medigo provides an important contribution to our understanding of Renaissance Aristotelianisms and scholasticisms. In particular, through his defense of the Muslim philosopher Averroes' hotly debated interpretation of the De anima and his rejection of the moderate Latin Aristotelianism championed by the Christian Thomas Aquinas, Engel traces how Del Medigo's work on the human intellect contributed to the development of a major Aristotelian controversy. Investigating the ways in which multicultural Aristotelian sources contributed to his own theory of a united human intellect, The Aristotelian Tradition and Elijah Del Medigo demonstrates the significant impact made by this Jewish philosopher on the history of the Aristotelian tradition. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Outline of Book Chapter 1 Historical and Philosophical Background Biography1 Reception in Modern Scholarship Structure, Content, and Date of Composition Manuscripts Scholarly Work on the Two Investigations Paduan Averroism and the Two Investigations Latin and Hebrew Readership Latin and Hebrew Sources104 Conclusion Chapter 2 Del Medigo on the Material Intellect Introductory Remarks Methodology and Structure of the Unicity Discussion Against the Thomists Alexander of Aphrodisias Avempace Averroes and the Unicity of the Material Intellect Resolving Difficulties Aristotle and the Unicity of the Material Intellect Conclusion Chapter 3 Del Medigo on the Agent Intellect Introductory Remarks The Agent Intellect as the Efficient Cause of the Intelligibles On the Productive Nature of the Agent Intellect: Del Medigo and Themistius Del Medigo on the Transient Nature of the Intelligibles Proofs for the Transient Nature of the Intelligbles in the Two Investigations On the Eternity of the Agent Intellect versus the Transient Nature of the Intelligibles Conclusion Introductory Remarks Averroist Background Del Medigo’s Investigation into the Relation between the Material and Agent Intellects Conclusion Chapter 4 Del Medigo on Conceptualization Introductory Remarks1 Jandun, Del Medigo, and the Notion of Intelligible Species Del Medigo’s Critique of Jandun in Light of Their Different Conceptual Frameworks23 Chapter 5 Hic Homo Intelligit? Introductory Remarks Aquinas’s Critique of the Two-Subject Theory John of Jandun on the Conjunction of Man with the Human Intellect Del Medigo on the Conjunction of Man with the Human Intellect Conclusion Appendix I: The Works of Elijah Del Medigo Original Compositions Translations Letters Appendix II: Del Medigo’s Theory of Intellect Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Appendix I Bibliography Primary sources Secondary sources Index "Elijah Del Medigo (1458-1493) was a Jewish Aristotelian philosopher living in Padua, whose work influenced many of the leading philosophers of the early Renaissance. His Two Investigations on the Nature of the Human Soul uses Aristotle's De anima to theorize on two of the most discussed and most controversial philosophical debates of the Renaissance: the nature of human intellect and the obtaining of immortality through intellectual perfection. In this book, Michael Engel places Del Medigo's philosophical work and his ideas about the human intellect within the context of the wider Aristotelian tradition. Providing a detailed account of the unique blend of Hebrew, Islamic, Latin and Greek traditions that influenced the Two Investigations, Elijah Del Medigo and Paduan Aristotelianism provides an important contribution to our understanding of Renaissance Aristotelianisms and scholasticisms. In particular, through his defense of the Muslim philosopher Averroes' hotly debated interpretation of the De anima and his rejection of the moderate Latin Aristotelianism championed by the Christian Thomas Aquinas, Engel traces how Del Medigo's work on the human intellect contributed to the development of a major Aristotelian controversy. Investigating the ways in which multicultural Aristotelian sources contributed to his own theory of a united human intellect, Elijah Del Medigo and Paduan Aristotelianism demonstrates the significant impact made by this Jewish philosopher on the history of the Aristotelian tradition."--Bloomsbury Publishing.