The Evolution of Western Thought: Volume 1, From the Ancient World to Late Antiquity: A New History, from Antiquity to the Early Modern Era

A rich and immersive reinterpretation of the entire history of Western thought, this volume – the first in a major trilogy – explores the transmission and development of philosophical ideas from Plato and Aristotle to Jesus, Paul, Augustine and Gregory the Great. Christopher Celenza recalibrates philosophy's story not as abstract argumentation but rather as lived practice: one aimed at excavating wisdom and shaping life. Emphasizing the importance of textual tradition and elucidation across diverse contexts, the author shows how philosophical and religious ideas were transformed and readjusted over time. By focusing on the centrality of Christianity to Western thought, he reveals how ancient ideas were alchemized within religious frameworks, and how – across the centuries – ethical and intellectual traditions intersected to shape culture, memory, and the pursuit of sagacity. Ever attentive to ongoing conversations between past and present, this expansive intellectual history brings perspectives to the subject that are both nuanced and fresh.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Philosophy, Wisdom, Traditions; 2. Plato: Philosophy, Conversation, and the Nature of Reality; 3. Plato: Wisdom is about Examples; 4. Aristotle: From Observation to Ethics; 5. The Shape of the Good Life: Virtue, Friendship, and Contemplation in Aristotle; 6. Strands in the Fabric: Judaism, Hellenistic Thought, Rome; 7. Christianity; 8. The Death of Christ; 9. Vessel of Election, Light of the Gentiles; 10. Augustine, Platonism, and Conversion; 11. Augustine, the “City of God”, and History; 12. Endings and New Beginnings: Gregory the Great and Beyond; Epilogue.

About the Author :
Christopher S. Celenza is Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and a Professor of History and Classics at Johns Hopkins University. A former Director of the American Academy in Rome, he has also held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and the Fulbright Foundation. He is a scholar whose wide interests and expertise span Renaissance thought, classical tradition, and intellectual history. His many books include Machiavelli: A Portrait (Harvard University Press, 2015), The Intellectual World of the Italian Renaissance: Language, Philosophy, and the Search for Meaning (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and The Italian Renaissance and the Origins of the Modern Humanities: An Intellectual History, 1400-1800 (Cambridge University Press, 2021).