

A Hidden Wisdom
Medieval Contemplatives on Self-Knowledge, Reason, Love, Persons, and Immortality
Author: Christina Van Dyke
Narrator: Christina Van Dyke
Unabridged: 7 hr 53 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: 04/25/2023
Categories: Nonfiction, Philosophy, History & Surveys, Religious Philosophy
Synopsis
The period from 1200 to 1500, in particular, saw a dramatic increase in the production and consumption of mystical and contemplative literature in the "Christian West," by laypeople as well as religious scholars, women as well as men. A Hidden Wisdom focuses on five topics of particular interest, namely, self-knowledge, reason and its limits, love and the will, persons, and immortality and the afterlife. This focus centers the (often overlooked) contributions of medieval women and demonstrates that when we reunite scholasticism with its contemplative counterpart, we gain not only a more accurate understanding of the scope of medieval Christian philosophy and theology but also an increased awareness of a deeply practical tradition that builds up as well as tears down.
The book's treatment of topics and figures is meant to be representative rather than exhaustive: a tasting menu, rather than a comprehensive study.