The Closing of the Western Mind
 | |
| Author | Charles Freeman (historian) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | History |
| Publisher | Knopf |
Publication date | October 7, 2003 |
| Media type | Hardcover, paperback, audiobook |
| Pages | 434 |
| ISBN | 1-4000-4085-X |
The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason (2003) is a book by the well-known historian of the classical world Charles Freeman in which he discusses the relationship between the Greek philosophical tradition and Christianity, primarily in the fourth to sixth century AD. He argues that far from suppressing Greek philosophy Christianity integrated the more authoritarian aspects of Platonism at the expense of the Aristotelian tradition. He also explores the contribution by the Roman emperors to the definition of Christian doctrine, an argument followed up by his later AD 381. He dates 'the reopening of the western mind' to the integration of Aristotle's thought into Christian doctrine by Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century. The Closing of the Western Mind has been the subject of much debate, especially in the United States, and a wide variety of reviews are to be found online. Further information on the author is to be found at 'Charles Freeman Yale University Press'.
The title is an allusion to Allan Bloom's 1987 book The Closing of the American Mind.
External links
- The Closing of the Western Mind by Charles Freeman, a critical review by James Hannam (God's Philosophers), 2009