Agora Editions Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook (Hardcover)

Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook edited by Ralph Lerner and Muhsin Mahdi has been a classroom favorite since its publication in 1963. When it first appeared it was the only anthology of medieval political philosophy to contain major texts from all three Western monotheistic traditions--Christianity Judaism and Islam--and that claim remains true today. This new edition of this classic text of political philosophy--revised and enlarged by Joshua Parens and Joseph C. Macfarland--will make accessible to today s students the insights of these profound medieval thinkers. Prior to the modern separation of religion from politics these medieval thinkers explored a variety of approaches to the relation between religion and politics--approaches that prompted renewed interest in a world divided over how best to relate the two. For the authors gathered in this volume--including Alfarabi Alghazali Averroes Maimonides Judah Halevi Thomas Aquinas Boethius of Dacia and Dante Alighieri among many others--there was a greater uniformity of general intention than at any other period. All of these authors studied the works of classical political philosophy and considered in a variety of ways the implications of this political thought for their contemporary situation in a monotheistic religious community.