Aristotle on Religion
Cambridge University Press, 11/2/2017
EAN 9781108415255, ISBN10: 1108415253
Hardcover, 198 pages, 23.5 x 15.5 x 1.4 cm
Language: English
Aristotle is a severe critic of traditional religion, believing it to be false, yet he also holds that traditional religion and its institutions are necessary if any city, including the ideal city he describes in the Politics, is to exist and flourish. This book provides, for the first time, a coherent account of the socio-political role which Aristotle attributes to traditional religion despite his rejection of its content. Mor Segev argues that Aristotle thinks traditional religion is politically necessary because it prepares the ground for what he considers the pinnacle of human endeavor: attaining the knowledge of ï¬Ârst philosophy, whose objects are real beings worthy of being called gods. Developing this interpretation, Segev goes on to analyze Aristotle's references to the myths of traditional Greek religion, and to assess his influence on medieval Jewish and Christian theology and philosophy of religion.
Introduction
1. Aristotle's rejection of the content of traditional religion
2. Traditional religion and its natural function in Aristotle
3. Humans, 'eternal humans' and Gods
the usefulness of traditional Gods for the imitation of the divine
4. Aristotle on the possible uses of the myths of 'the Ancients'
5. The influence of Aristotle's view of religion on medieval Jewish and Christian thought
6. Conclusion.