Philosophies of the Afterlife in the Early Italian Renaissance

Deeply researched and filled with broad learning, this book should become part of the bookshelf of every scholar interested in the intellectual history of early modern Europe. Papiernik shows deftly that Italian thinkers of the fifteenth century explored the issue of the possible immortality of the human soul in original and lasting ways, often through seeing philosophy and religion as one unified enterprise. * Christopher S. Celenza, James B. Knapp Dean, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, USA * This work holds great value for enhancing our understanding of Renaissance culture. It delves into one of the most significant and challenging issues in the history of ideas, where philosophy, science, and religion intersect in a critical manner. The author engages with an impressive array of sources, both printed and unedited, all of which are consistently contextualized, interconnected, and interpreted accurately and innovatively * Daniel A. Di Liscia, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, Germany * In Renaissance philosophy the immortality of the soul has been often too narrowly associated with the platonist Marsilio Ficino. Lesser-known but no less interesting authors from different traditions have written on this theme, in particular Antonio degli Agli, Leonardo Nogarola, Agostino Dati and Giovanni Canali. In this truly commendable book, Joanna Papiernik broadens our horizons, offering us a wealth of informations and texts on the afterlife of the spirit as a proof of the dignity of man. * Stéphane Toussaint, CNRS Research Director, Sorbonne Université, France *