Reexamining Love of Wisdom: Philosophical Desire from Socrates to Nietzsche
Ebook
What is philosophy? Why does it matter? How have philosophy and its relation to religion and science changed from the ancient to the medieval and modern periods and beyond? What are the central philosophical ideas, from Socrates to Nietzsche? Reexamining Love of Wisdom addresses these questions. It offers a new perspective by organizing the material under the theme of philosophical desire and shows the timeless importance of philosophy understood as the love of wisdom. Flores provides an historical introduction to philosophy suitable for college students that is a resource for more advanced students or scholars interested in the history and nature of philosophy.
"Flores presents a fascinating study of philosophy as the love
of wisdom. For ancient and medieval thinkers, wisdom encompasses
the whole of life. For moderns, specialized desires replace the
whole, from certainty for Descartes to power for Nietzsche. This
book is deeply rooted in the texts and thus beneficial to students
and professors alike, as a companion for the history of philosophy
and as a stimulus for comparing philosophical positions."
--Gary Gurtler, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Boston College;
author of Plotinus: Ennead IV.4.30-45 and IV.5 "Problems
Concerning the Soul"
"In Reexamining Love of Wisdom, Juan Carlos Flores
interprets the history of philosophy, not as a parade of diverse
metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical doctrines, but as the
expansion and contraction of a certain kind of love; quite
literally, the love of wisdom. Working from this reorientation,
Flores arrives at original and important insights into what has
animated philosophical passion over the centuries. His highly
readable book is characterized throughout by both fair-mindedness
and critical penetration."
--James Carey, St. John's College, Santa Fe
"Flores' valuable book unveils new perspectives on the role of
'love of wisdom' in the history of Western
philosophy. Beginning from the Greek understanding of love of
wisdom as self-knowledge and understanding of right action
(Socrates) and as the soul's liberation and knowledge of divine
objects as the Forms (Plato) to a comprehension of the totality of
things and their principles (Aristotle), he proceeds through the
medieval and modern periods showing how the shifting focus of love
or desire in inquiry determines the final outcome of a
philosopher's view. A refreshing, informative, and stimulating
work."
--Joseph A. Novak, Professor Emeritus, University of Waterloo
Product Details
- Title : Reexamining Love of Wisdom: Philosophical Desire from Socrates to Nietzsche
- Author: Flores, Juan Carlos
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Publication Date: 2016
- ISBN: 9781498237635
Juan Carlos Flores is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Detroit Mercy. He is the author of Henry of Ghent: Metaphysics and the Trinity (2006) and coauthor of Historical Dictionary of Medieval Philosophy and Theology (2007) and has written various scholarly articles.