Philosophy and the Academy issues up to the minute reports and reflections on scholarship, recent projects, and interviews with scholars on theoretical and practical dimensions of doing history of medieval philosophy worldwide.

Exploring the Origins of ‘Scientia media’: An Interview with João Rebalde

March 2023 – In this interview, we delve into the 16th century with João Rebalde, a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto. The exploratory project he directs seeks to find clues for understanding the theoretical background that led to the development of the famous doctrine of middle knowledge (scientia media), a theory of divine knowledge of future contingents. Starting from the question of the doctrine’s authorship (was it Molina? was it Fonseca?), the project is surveying new sources from the mid-16th century in the context of the Jesuit colleges of Coimbra and Évora in Portugal. There was also time for advice and prospects for the future.
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Hacer y estudiar Historia y Filosofía: entrevista con Dra. Verónica Tozzi Thompson

Marzo 2023 – Para nosotros, medievalistas, es claro que Agustín de Hipona es pionero en muchas áreas. Hemos llegado a decir que es el primer filósofo de la Historia. Ahora bien, ¿Cómo fundamentar tal afirmación? Tal argumentación supone además una definición precisa de “Filosofía de la Historia”. Pero, ¿Tenemos realmente en claro el lugar epistemológico de la Historia de la Filosofía y de la Filosofía de la Historia? Para colaborar a esbozar alguna respuesta a estos interrogantes, desde sus estudios sobre la Filosofía de la Historia y la Epistemología de las ciencias sociales, pero también para relatar la historia reciente del Departamento de Filosofía de la Universidad de Buenos Aires que la tiene como Directora, contamos con Verónica Tozzi Thompson.
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From Data to Wisdom: An interview with José Higuera

February 2023 – How was data gathered and visualised in the Middle Ages and Early Modernity? Can we learn something about our contemporary way of dealing with data by looking to the past? In this interview, José Higuera Rubio (UNED, Madrid) presents the outcomes of the project “From Data to Wisdom”, held at the Institute of Philosophy, University of Porto, between 2018 and 2022. This interdisciplinary project aimed at philosophising about visualisation tools such as diagrams, charts, and Porphyrian trees and how they are connected to philosophical theories on the mind, imagination and demonstration. A second goal of the project was to make a joint effort to understand these tools from the point of view of contemporary hermeneutics of technology. There was also time for advice to young scholars and opening prospects for the future.
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Rewriting the History of Medieval Philosophy (or, a thousand years of philosophy): An interview with Andreas Speer

January 2023 – Prof. Andreas Speer (Cologne) is this issue’s interviewee for Philosophy and the Academy. Andreas has shared very interesting reflections about the Thomas-Institut, including his personal involvement of about thirty years with this renowned research center for medieval philosophy and studies. Besides hosting the Mediaevistentagung and producing its volumes in the series Miscellanea Mediaevalia (De Gruyter), the Thomas-Institut hosts under the collaboration of Prof. Speer a variety of projects mentioned in this interview, among which, for example, the Averroes Edition (directed by Andreas Speer and David Wirmer), the Durandus-Edition, the edition of the Hebrew-to-Latin translation of Maimonides’ Dux neutrorum, and much more. Clearly, this exemplifies a vision of medieval philosophy as cross-cultural and interreligious development, and then question naturally arises: how to write (or rewrite) a history of medieval philosophy which does justice to that? Is the category ‘medieval’ even accurate after all? With this in mind, Andreas is about to publish a book entitled “1000 Jahre Philosophie: Ein anderer Blick auf die Philosophie des “Mittelalters” (1000 years of philosophy: another look at the philosophy of the “Middle Ages”), coming this year on Brill.
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Envisioning the Future of Medieval Philosophy

December 2022 – What are the biggest challenges that the study of medieval philosophy is going to face in the near future? And what should young researchers be expecting from a future that seems so dire and unpredictable for our discipline? We have asked thirteen international scholars to engage with these crucial questions and share their hopes and advice with our community. We hope that the plurality of voices, languages, experiences, and visions collected in this short docufilm will contribute to foster a hands-on, inclusive, and open discussion about the state of our field.
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Cultura pop, libertad y determinismo en los límites de la Edad Media y la Modernidad: Entrevista con Natalia Strok

Diciembre 2022 – ¿Es posible hablar sobre Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avatar the last Airbender y al mismo tiempo enseñar Filosofía? ¿Acaso tenemos libre albedrío y decisiones reales? ¿Cuál es el límite entre la Filosofía Medieval y la Moderna? Las respuestas a estas preguntas y tantas más vienen de la mano de Natalia Strok (UBA-UNLP/CONICET). Natalia nos cuenta sobre su investigación acerca de la historia del platonismo y relata su camino por la academia y la docencia.
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Los estudios sobre el platonismo cusano y la gestión universitaria en Argentina: Entrevista con Prof. Claudia D’Amico

November 2022 – In this interview, Prof Claudia D’Amico (UNLP-UBA/CONICET) discusses the most emblematic moments of her career as a specialist on Nicholas of Cusa’s reception of Plato and other Platonic philosophers, like Proclus. D’Amico also draws a path for the future of medieval studies in Argentina and Latin America in relation to the innovations in the teaching of philosophy and interregional dialogue.
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Challenges and Opportunities of Doing Medieval Philosophy: An Interview with Alessandra Beccarisi

October 2022 – What were the challenges of managing an academic journal during the Covid pandemic? And what advices can be given to early-career scholars in a period so complicated as the one we are living in? This month, we discuss these fundamental topics with Alessandra Beccarisi, Full Professor of Medieval Philosophy at the University of Foggia and editor of the Bulletin de Philosophie Médiévale (the official journal of SIEPM).
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Roger Bacon’s Mathematical Epistemology: An Interview with Yael Kedar, Giora Hon, and Elena Baltuta

September 2022 – What is the role that mathematics and the mathematical method play in Roger Bacon’s philosophy? We discuss about this fascinating topic with three special guests: Yael Kedar, Giora Hon, and Elena Baltuta. They have recently started an ambitious research project in Israel titled “Certainty Without Doubt and Truth Without Error: The Mathematical Epistemology of Roger Bacon” and funded by the Israel Science Foundation. Beside talking about Roger Bacon, Yael, Giora, and Elena also give useful insights on how to structure a successful research proposal and the challenges of working on medieval philosophy and science in the 21st century.
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Research on Medieval Philosophy in China: An Interview with Tianyue Wu

July 2022 – Research on medieval philosophy is global in many ways, and in this section of IPM we have been discussing the individual projects from, and spaces for cooperation between, scholars from various parts of the globe. Today we dedicate this issue to research on Western medieval philosophy practiced in China. We are delighted to have Tianyue Wu joining us for an interview. We have talked about Tianyue’s latest research projects, his academic path towards choosing to do medieval philosophy, his teaching on medieval philosophy as an associate professor in Peking, among much else. In particular, we have further talked about the context of research in medieval philosophy in China, and the kinds of forum there already are and that can be created to foster collaboration between scholars in China and in Europe and the Americas.
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Logical Geometry and Aristotelian Diagrams: Interview with Lorenz Demey

June 2022 – Aristotelian diagrams are familiar to most students of logic, and to anyone who has studied history of logic in particular – from classical squares of opposition to more complex varieties such as octagons of opposition, diagrams have been used to study logical relations from antiquity through the Middle Ages and beyond. While they are an important part of the history of logic, do they also have contemporary relevance? Lorenz Demey (Leuven) argues that they do. In this interview, he introduces us to his studies on logical geometry – which comprises the study of Aristotelian diagrams – and argues that Aristotelian diagrams, in their variety of applications, merit consideration as independent objects of study from logical, philosophical and historical perspectives. We spoke about Lorenz’s trajectory leading up to his ERC project on logical geometry and Aristotelian diagrams, what they are and their contemporary relevance, the use of formal and mathematical tools in the history of logic, and much more.
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Argumentation as Practice: Interview with Ana María Mora-Márquez

May 2022 – In the first issue of Philosophy and the Academy we are delighted to have Ana María Mora-Márquez (University of Gothenburg) joining us. In this interview, she talks about the social and institutional context of ancient and medieval logic and argumentation theory, in connection with her research projects as a Wallenberg Academy Fellow. The projects she leads aim at spotting pragmatic dimensions of Aristotelian dialectics – underpinning the significance of Aristotle’s Topics and its commentary tradition – and its repercussions for the understanding of medieval science as a social endeavour. Additionally, she also spoke to us about communicating philosophy to broader audiences – in particular, to science experts who are non-philosophers – and gives advice to early career scholars on the ways of academia.
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Filosofía medieval en Argentina: Entrevista con Natalia Jakubecki

May 2022 – In this interview, Natalia Jakubecki (University of Buenos Aires) highlights both weaknesses and strengths of the academic system in Argentina and the “modus vivendi” of the academics that currently work there. Natalia also describes her academic path, philosophical interests, and research projects. In doing so, the interview engages with issues that concern all medievalists, if not all academics, such as the attitude of medieval studies in relation to positivist criticism, what “progress” means in science and philosophy, and the “Platonic” and “Aristotelian” approaches to our work.
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