Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics had a profound influence on generations of later philosophers, not only in the ancient era but also in the medieval period and beyond. In this book, Anthony Celano explores how medieval authors recast Aristotle's Ethics according to their own moral ideals. He argues that the moral standard for the Ethics is a human one, which is based upon the ethical tradition and the best practices of a given society. In the Middle Ages, this human standard was replaced by one that is universally applicable, since its foundation is eternal immutable divine law. Celano resolves the conflicting accounts of happiness in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, demonstrates the importance of the virtue of phronesis (practical wisdom), and shows how the medieval view of moral reasoning alters Aristotle's concept of moral wisdom.

Further information here.

A new book by John Marenbon:

From the turn of the fifth century to the beginning of the eighteenth, Christian writers were fascinated and troubled by the "Problem of Paganism," which this book identifies and examines for the first time. How could the wisdom and virtue of the great thinkers of antiquity be reconciled with the fact that they were pagans and, many thought, damned? Related questions were raised by encounters with contemporary pagans in northern Europe, Mongolia, and, later, America and China.

Pagans and Philosophers explores how writers—philosophers and theologians, but also poets such as Dante, Chaucer, and Langland, and travelers such as Las Casas and Ricci—tackled the Problem of Paganism. Augustine and Boethius set its terms, while Peter Abelard and John of Salisbury were important early advocates of pagan wisdom and virtue. University theologians such as Aquinas, Scotus, Ockham, and Bradwardine, and later thinkers such as Ficino, Valla, More, Bayle, and Leibniz, explored the difficulty in depth. Meanwhile, Albert the Great inspired Boethius of Dacia and others to create a relativist conception of scientific knowledge that allowed Christian teachers to remain faithful Aristotelians. At the same time, early anthropologists such as John of Piano Carpini, John Mandeville, and Montaigne developed other sorts of relativism in response to the issue.

A sweeping and original account of an important but neglected chapter in Western intellectual history, Pagans and Philosophers provides a new perspective on nothing less than the entire period between the classical and the modern world.

Further information here.

A new book by Stephen Read:

The rediscovery of Aristotle in the late twelfth century led to a fresh development of logical theory, culminating in Buridan’s crucial comprehensive treatment in the Treatise on Consequences. Buridan’s novel treatment of the categorical syllogism laid the basis for the study of logic in succeeding centuries.

This new translation offers a clear and accurate rendering of Buridan’s text. It is prefaced by a substantial Introduction that outlines the work’s context and explains its argument in detail. Also included is a translation of the Introduction (in French) to the 1976 edition of the Latin text by Hubert Hubien.

Further information here.

The first volume of a new series, Oxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy, has recently been published. 

Blurb: "Oxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy showcases the best scholarly research in this flourishing field. The series covers all aspects of medieval philosophy, including the Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew traditions, and runs from the end of antiquity into the Renaissance. It publishes new work by leading scholars in the field, and combines historical scholarship with philosophical acuteness. The papers will address a wide range of topics, from political philosophy to ethics, and logic to metaphysics. OSMP is an essential resource for anyone working in the area."

Further details at the OUP website. 

The usual division of philosophy into 'medieval' and 'modern' may obscure very real continuities in the ideas of thinkers in the western and Islamic traditions. This book examines three areas where these continuities are particularly clear: knowledge, the mind, and language. 

Dominik Perler shows how, when Descartes attacked faculty psychology, he was indeed separating himself from one strand of the medieval tradition, represented by Suárez, but at the same time he was closely following another strand, found in Ockham. 

Martin Lenz shows how Locke's philosophy of language fits into a long medieval tradition of thought based on Aristotle's On Interpretation. Locke introduced the requirement that a word be linked to an idea in the speaker's mind, but Lenz argues that this does not mean that Locke was proposing that we each have a private language. 

Robert Pasnau looks at an area where the continuity between the attitudes of, for instance, Aquinas and Locke contrasts with views generally held in Islam and among Jewish thinkers. Whereas Latin thinkers rarely defended the idea that some knowledge should be kept for the elite, this view was held by al-Ghazâlî, Averroes and Maimonides - and it may, he argues, be a defensible philosophical position today. 

The chapters are based on papers given at a symposium at the British Academy and are presented here with responses by Andrew Pyle, Michael Ayers and John Hawthorne. [More info]

Anselm (1033-1109) described the Monologion, his first major theological work, as a model meditation on the divine essence; and he enjoined his potential critics to read Augustine’s De trinitate diligently and then judge the Monologion by it. In following Anselm’s admonition, I have paid particular attention to Anselm’s claims about the persuasiveness of his arguments, and probed the cogency of some of the many arguments that make up the Monologion. The result is something like a critical companion to the Monologion. It is not meant to replace an actual reading of the Monologion, which is an experience worth having, since no interpretation or paraphrase can capture the feeling of wading through Anselm’s analytic arguments. And I have resisted the common tendency of reading the Monologion merely as a prelude to its more evocative sequel, the Proslogion. [More info] 

A new edition (with translation) of the correspondence between Abelard and Heloise has recently been published by OUP, details here. 

A new collection of essays on Avicenna edited by Peter Adamson has recently been published by CUP, details here. 

Anna Marmodoro has recently published a review of Robert Pasnau's book Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671, available here. 

It is also worth noting that Pasnau's book is now available in paperback, details here. 

Attempting a complete round-up of new medieval philosophy books here has become unnecessary due to the wonderful work of Robert Pasnau at his new medieval philosophy blog 'In medias PHIL'. He has made three lists of recent publications: 

• Some 2012 Books
• More 2012 Books
• Still More 2012 Books

In the final post he notes "I am now up to 57 books pertaining to medieval philosophy published in 2012. No doubt the list is still incomplete".