Although metaphysics as a discipline can hardly be separated from Aristotle and
his works, the questions it raises were certainly known to authors even before
the reception of Aristotle in the thirteenth century. Even without the explicit
use of this term the twelfth century manifested a strong interest in
metaphysical questions under the guise of natural philosophy or divine
science, leading M.D. Chenu to coin the expression of a twelfth century eveil
metaphysique. In their commentaries on Boethius and under the influence of
Neoplatonism, twelfth century authors not only anticipate essential elements of
thirteenth century metaphysics, they also make an original contribution to the
history of metaphysics by attempting to integrate the theory of first
principles, philosophical theology and ontology. This volume presents and
examines the contributions of the twelfth century to metaphysics made by
selected Jewish, Christian and Muslim authors of the Iberian Peninsula and
Francia. Contributors include Matthias Lutz-Bachmann (Frankfurt am Main),
Andreas Speer (Wuzburg), Charles Burnett (London), Alexander Fidora (Frankfurt
am Main), Thomas Ricklin (Neuchatel), Yossef Schwartz (Jerusalem), Josep Udina
(Barcelona), Jack C. Marler (St. Louis/USA), Gillian R. Evans (Cambridge),
Andreas Niederberger (Frankfurt am Main) and Francoise Hudry (Paris).
