Mind, Soul and the Cosmos in the High Middle Ages

This is a unique volume in which a critical introduction and multiple chapters offer a wide-ranging discussion of medieval conceptions of the nature of humankind, its relationship with the universe, and the processes of thinking by which both are conceptualized. Concentrating on the centuries spanning the High Middle Ages, chapters include in-depth analyses of such ideas as the habit as the ultimate dwelling place of the soul, the Soul of the Universe and its relation to humanity, and the Agent Intellect’s part in the functions of the mind regarding abstraction and intuition. This book explores how metaphysical Intelligences interact with our movements, how the desires of our minds affect the acquisition of knowledge, as well as asking how and why analysis of the makeup of animal souls took place.

The High Middle Ages was a crucially important epoch in the history of intellectual endeavor. This volume appeals to students and researchers; it discusses and evaluates the contributions on the subjects of mind, soul, and the cosmos of some of the finest Christian, Jewish, and Moslem intellects in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Theologians, philosophers, and cosmologists include Aquinas, Grosseteste, Avicenna, Gersonides, Buridan, the School of Chartres, as well as many others. The overarching theme of this collection of essays is that vitally new conceptions of what it meant to be a rational Human, the purpose of thought in relation to the journey of the soul, and the metaphysical character of our universe contributed enormously to the paradigm-shifting nature of this age.