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Palgrave Macmillan

Re-evaluating Pico

Aristotelianism, Kabbalism, and Platonism in the Philosophy of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. Sophia Howlett

    1. School for International Training, Brattleboro, USA

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  • Considers Pico's work as the bringing together of three specific philosophical and religious traditions (Platonism, Aristotelianism, and Kabbalism), with his Christian belief
  • Reinterprets Pico’s work as part of a history of theological philosophy that attempts to overcome the separation of reason and faith
  • Presents an overall hypothesis that Pico’s goal is distinctively different to others at the time

Part of the book series: Critical Political Theory and Radical Practice (CPTRP)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
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  2. Introduction

    • Sophia Howlett
    Pages 1-9

  3. Life and Works

    • Sophia Howlett
    Pages 11-51

  4. Pico’s Intellectual Foundations: Aristotelianism, Platonism, and Pico’s Syncretism

    • Sophia Howlett
    Pages 53-90

  5. The Third Pillar: Pico and Kabbalism

    • Sophia Howlett
    Pages 91-134

  6. Pico’s Universe

    • Sophia Howlett
    Pages 135-169

  7. The Way Home

    • Sophia Howlett
    Pages 171-208

  8. Conclusion

    • Sophia Howlett
    Pages 209-213

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 215-251
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Keywords

About this book

This book offers a re-evaluation of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, the prominent Italian Renaissance philosopher and prince of Concord. It argues that Pico is part of a history of attempted concordance between philosophy and theology, reason and faith. His contribution is a syncretist theological philosophy based on Christianity, Platonism, Aristotelianism and Jewish Kabbalism. After an introduction, Chapter 2 discusses Pico’s career, his power-relations and his work, Chapters 3 and 4 place his three pillars of Platonism, Aristotelianism and Kabbalism in their historical context, examines shared histories, and introduces the scholars around Pico who contributed so much in each of these traditions (introducing, for example, Christian Kabbalism), including exploring Pico's complex relationship with Marsilio Ficino. Chapter 5 examines the problems of concordance within Pico’s cosmology and metaphysics, including the question of God and the role of the Intellect. Chapter 6 describes Pico’s‘exceptionalist’ version of the mystical ascent as an individualized ascetic experience. Pico eschews the contemporary desire to use a renewed christian thinking or christian-classical metaphysics to change the world (towards a Golden Age or a 'second coming') to present a personal path to God, with no return to the world.    

Authors and Affiliations

  • School for International Training, Brattleboro, USA

    Sophia Howlett

About the author

Dr Sophia Howlett is President of School for International Training (SIT), USA, and the author of Marsilio Ficino and His World (2016).

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