Syncretism in the West develops a cross-cultural model of the evolution of premodern religious, philosophical, and cosmological thought, viewed through the exaggerated syncretic system developed in Pico’s 900 theses. Pico planned to debate the theses at Rome before the Pope and leaders of “all schools.” The book contains a corrected Latin edition of Pico’s text, the first English translation (the only reliable translation in any language), and a commentary on Pico’s debate, in which he planned to discuss (and partially harmonize) all major traditions known in his day.
The cross-cultural model developed through study of the 900 theses discusses the neurobiological grounds of primitive religious thought and the systematic ways in which that thought was transformed by writers like Pico over thousands of years in manuscript traditions. One novel aspect of that model is its ability to be implemented in a series of simple computer simulations — the first of their type used to model the evolution of premodern thought. The simulations mimic the ways that syncretic processes operated in manuscript traditions, generating the kinds of multileveled ‘correlative’ (or fractal) structures typical world-wide of traditional religious, philosophical, and cosmological systems.
Author(s): Stephen A. Farmer, Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola
Series: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies 167
Edition: 2
Publisher: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies
Year: 2003
Language: English
Pages: 595
City: Tempe, Arizona
Tags: syncretisminwest00farmuoft
Title
Imprint
Table of Contents
Preface
Part 1: Introductory Monograph
Chapter 1: Pico’S Roman Debate
i. General Introduction
ii. Pico’s Correlative System (His "New Philosophy")
ii. Syncretism and Correlative Thought: Pico's Resolution of the "Being" and "One" Controversy
iv. Cosmology and History: The Structure of Pico's Theses and the Eschatological Goals of His Vatican "Council"
v. Collating the Theses: Pico's Debating Strategies
Chapter 2: Syncretism in Premodern Thought
1. Syncretic Strategies
i. The Syncretic Growth of Premodern Religious, Philosophical, and Cosmological Systems
iii. Theoretical Conclusions
Chapter 3: Deciphering the 900 Theses
i. Pico's Syncretic Reading of the Substance/Accident Distinction
ii. Reconciling Plato and Aristotle: Pico’s Theory of Knowledge
iii. “Freedom of the Will”? Pico’s Mysticism and the Syncretic Origins of Some Ancient Religious Paradoxes
iv. Pico and the Syncretic Origins of Renaissance Magic: Further Problems in the Yates Thesis
Chapter 4: Pico and Anti-Pico
i. The Decline of Syncretic Traditions
ii. The Disputations against Divinatory Astrology: Pico’s “Palinode” to Syncretism?
iii. Other Readings of the Disputations
iv. Evidence of Posthumous Tampering in Pico’s Works by Gianfrancesco Pico, Savonarola, and Their Associates
Part 2: Text, Translation, and Commentary
Introduction to the Edition
i. History of the Text
ii. The Modern Editions of Kieszkowski and Biondi
ii. The Present Edition
iv. On the Translation and Commentary
Plates
Charts
Pico’s Historical Theses
Theses according to His Own Opinion
Guide to Textual Symbols, Titles, and Punctuation
Text, Translation, and Commentary
Select Bibliography
Primary Sources in Western Thought
Secondary Sources on Western Thought
Non-Western Primary and Secondary Sources
Nonhistorical Studies
Indices
Subject Index
Index of Names and Works
