Renaissance Thought and its Sources

by Paul Oskar Kristeller, Michael Mooney (Editor)

Renaissance Thought and Its Sources presents the fruits of an extraordinary lifetime of scholarship: a systematic account of major themes in Renaissance philosophy, theology, science, and literature, show in their several settings. Here, in some of Paul Oskar Kristeller's most comprehensive and ambitious writings, is an exploration of the distinctive trends and concepts of the Renaissance, grounded in detailed historical investigation.All of these fourteen essays were originally delivered as lectures. Part One identifies the classical sources of Renaissance thought and exposes its essential physiognomy, indicating its humanist, Aristotelian, and Platonist traditions. The next two parts present Renaissance thought in the historical context of the Latin and Greek Middle Ages. Part Four offers a thematic study of Renaissance thought, examining its characteristic conceptions of man's dignity, destiny, and grasp of truth. Part Five forms a summary from the perspective of a central theme of Renaissance intellectual life and of the entire Western tradition: the relation of language to thought and the seemingly insoluble contest between our literary and philosophical traditions.The reader of "Renaissance Thought and its Sources" enjoys the results of meticulous study in a concise yet comprehensive format. Throughout, Kristeller achieves a graceful blending of sever historical scholarship and adherence to humane values that the editor calls "nearly a lost art in our times."

Genres: History, Philosophy, Renaissance, Art, Nonfiction, Academic

347 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Paul Oskar Kristeller (May 22, 1905 in Berlin – June 7, 1999 in New York, USA) was an important scholar of Renaissance humanism. He was awarded the Haskins Medal in 1992. He was last active as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Columbia University in New York, where he mentored both Irving Louis Horowitz and A. James Gregor.

During his university years he studied with Werner Jaeger, Heinrich Rickert, Richard Kroner, Karl Hampe, Friedrich Baethgen, Eduard Norden, and Ulrich von Wilamowitz. He also attended lectures by noted philosophers such as Ernst Cassirer, Edmund Husserl, and Karl Jaspers. In 1928, he earned his doctorate from the University of Heidelberg under Ernst Hoffmann with a dissertation on Plotinus. He did postdoctoral work at the universities of Berlin and Freiburg. At Freiburg, Kristeller studied under the philosopher Martin Heidegger from 1931 to 1933. The Nazi victory in 1933 forced Kristeller to move to Italy. At his arrival, Giovanni Gentile secured for him a position as lecturer in German at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. It was at the Scuola Normale that Kristeller completed his first great works in the Renaissance: the Supplementum Ficinianum (1937) and The Philosophy of Marsilio Ficino (1943). In 1939, he fled Italy, due to the enactment of Mussolini's August 1938 racial laws, to live in the USA. Thanks to the help of Yale University historian Roland Bainton, he sailed from Genoa in February 1939 and by March was teaching a graduate seminar at Yale on Plotinus. However Kristeller taught for only a short time at Yale University until moving to Columbia University, where he taught until his retirement in 1973, as Frederick J. E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy. He continued to be an active researcher after he retired. Paul Kristeller received the Serena Medal of the British Academy in 1958, the Premio Internazionale Galileo Galilei in 1968 and the Commendatore nell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 1971.

The emphasis of Kristeller's research was on the philosophy of Renaissance humanism. He is the author of important studies on Marsilio Ficino, Pietro Pomponazzi and Giambattista Vico.

An especially important achievement is his Iter Italicum (the title recalls Iter Alemannicum and other works of Martin Gerbert), a large work describing numerous uncatalogued manuscripts. After decades of neglect, Kristeller's lengthy, erudite essay of the early 1950s, "The Modern System of the Arts", in Journal of the History of Ideas, proved to be an influential, much reprinted classic reading in Philosophy of Art.

Kristeller was the chief inspirer of the Catalogus Translationum et Commentariorum, the ongoing project that aims to chart the fortune of all extant classical works through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, serving as Founder and Editor-in-Chief for the first two volumes and Associate Editor for the next five volumes.

Reviews

[Seekers of Unity · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his chapter The Unity of Truth, he talks about Perennialism. He gives a light overview of Renaissance Perennialism, Ficino, Pico, Steuco, but open and closes with an appeal to the general mission of Perennialism for generations to take seriously the thought and achievements of the past and not just throw the out wholesale to start afresh every time.

If you like books like this you'll love my project:
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[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kristeller is a giant figure in academic history circles, largely associated with having redefined and resurrected cultural studies of the Renaissance midway through the 20th century. Any serious student of the Renaissance is obliged to consult Kristeller at some point. Not the lightest reading, but you can feel yourself becoming smarter with every passing sentence.

[Joel Zartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because the book is a collection of lectures, it is at times repetitive. This is unfortunate since it discourages the careful attention that Kristeller deserves. Kristeller is a master.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a tough read if you don't have a background in philosophy, but if you're patient it's a very good piece of historical scholarship. Kristeller is very good about setting his questions - despite the title, he wisely doesn't try to cover the whole swath of Renaissance thought and instead provides 14 focused essays that raise particular questions and proceed to answer them well with conscientious and methodical scholarship. The guy knows his primary documents.

I don't know much about Renaissance scholarship, but I get the impression that his conception of humanism is a bit contested (I'd imagine some people see it as too narrow a definition). Regardless, it's still worth a read.

[Patrick\ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flawed, but one of the essential survey books to pick from when approaching an understanding of the Renaissance. I don't think anybody could have predicted this phenomenon, but many have disected as though they could have - like theorizing a tornado after the fact. They are, but how? Still don't really know. One of the reasons to despise how most of our educators declare a closed world of understanding. Is there not a teacher out there to say "I don't know?"

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredible stuff, but very time consuming to read! A dense foray into the intellectual roots of the Renaissance. I wouldn't recommend reading this if you have no prior background of Plato & Aristotle or the Renaissance. Because Kristeller formed the book from essays, there is some repetition in places, and obvious transitions where he had to insert material to make it understandable for the reader.