Reexamining Love of Wisdom

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 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.