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.
Par Grégory Clesse
Les Étymologies d’Isidore sont l’un des « best-sellers » du début du Moyen Âge et ont été citées par de nombreux auteurs médiévaux. Mais elles constituent également une compilation basée sur des auteurs plus anciens, parfois perdus. Dans cette perspective, Isidore peut être considéré comme un pont entre l’Antiquité et le Moyen Âge. Maria Vittoria Martino (UCLouvain) fournit quelques clés pour comprendre cette figure majeure.
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By Guido Alt
In this interview, we have talked about Stephen’s book Why Medieval Philosophy Matters (Bloomsbury, 2019). Stephen provides a defense of the relevance of medieval thought for contemporary philosophical inquiry at large.
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Par Grégory Clesse
Été 2025 – On ne présente plus l’historien médiéviste français Michel Pastoureau, auteur de nombreux travaux de synthèse sur les couleurs ainsi que sur les animaux au Moyen Âge. Dernièrement, il a publié un volume « Le bestiaire au Moyen Âge », à l’occasion duquel il nous a fait l’honneur de répondre à cet entretien.
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By Isabel Inzunza Gomez
May 2025 – At 6 PM sharp, as the soft light filtered through the windows of the Husserl Archives in KU Leuven, we gathered in the Saloons around a large square table. The chairs were plentiful, but at the center of each side sat the evening’s presenters: Professor Paul Richard Blum, who introduced Jesuit und Neuzeit: Diskursarchäologische Streifzüge in die Philosophiegeschichte by Sven K. Knebel, and Professor Rebecca Copenhaver alongside Dr. Boaz Faraday Schuman, who presented Maria Rosa Antognazza’s posthumous book Thinking with Assent. At the fourth side, Professor Andrea Robiglio presided—not only guiding the discussion with his characteristic mix of wit and erudition, but also, as always, supplying a bottle of Franciacorta to encourage both rigor and conviviality. This was the latest meeting of the Philosophical Review Club, better known as the PRC.
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By Grégory Clesse
Avril 2025 – Rencontré il y a plusieurs mois lors du dernier colloque de la Société renardienne à Trente (Italie), Agostino Paravicini Bagliani est revenu au micro de Grégory Clesse sur sa publication Histoire de la papesse Jeanne : une enquête au cœur des textes (Presses universitaires de Lyon, 2024). Une interview recueillie en collaboration avec la radio RCF Sud Belgique.
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By Grégory Clesse
Dans cette entretien, Meyssa Ben Saad, historienne des sciences et biologiste de formation, revient sur son parcours académique et ses recherches consacrées aux sciences naturelles dans le monde arabe médiéval. Elle évoque son intérêt pour la transmission des savoirs entre Orient et Occident ainsi que la construction des connaissances biologiques à travers les siècles.
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By Guido Alt
February 2025 – In this issue of Philosophy and Academy, we are joined by Daniel Di Liscia in Haifa to discuss the calculators’ tradition and its impact on the history of philosophy and science. Daniel walks us through the importance of the calculators’ movement in natural philosophy, as well as in logic and mathematics. In our interview, we also explore its connection to the history of early modern science.
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By Isabel Inzunza Gomez and Guillermo Ruz Troncoso
January 2025 – In this interview, Clelia Crialesi, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, delves into her pioneering research project, MUCH, funded by the European Commission. Focusing on the philosophical and mathematical intersections of 14th-century Italy, Clelia explores themes such as quantity, abstraction, and the unknown, revealing their significance in shaping both medieval and modern thought. She also discusses her forthcoming book, Mathematics and Philosophy at the Turn of the First Millennium: Abbo of Fleury on Calculus, shedding light on the rich interplay between arithmetic, theology, and natural philosophy. From uncovering the intellectual landscape of premodern Europe to reflecting on the challenges and opportunities in her field, Clelia offers a compelling glimpse into her work and its lasting impact on the study of the history of philosophy and mathematics.
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By Isabel Inzunza
December 2024 – When you picture a medieval philosopher, what comes to mind? A stern figure bent over a candlelit desk, perhaps, meticulously ruminating on the metaphysical status of angels or the divisions of Hell. What probably doesn’t spring to mind is a figure cracking a joke about clerical celibacy, or pausing an argument about the existence of God for a wink and a nudge. Enter Boaz Faraday Schuman, the medievalist who insists that the Middle Ages weren’t all fire and brimstone and syllogistic logic—they were also surprisingly funny.
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By Guillermo Ruz and Isabel Inzunza
In this November issue, IPM sits down to enjoy some coffee and cinnamon rolls with Jonathan Greig to explore what Byzantine philosophy really is and where the field is headed. As a leading voice in this area, Jonathan’s research shines a light on the rich and often complex world of Byzantine thought. His impressive body of work delves into topics like Neoplatonism, metaphysics, and the relationship between reason and faith, bringing fresh insights to areas that have often been overlooked. Jonathan is helping shape how we understand Byzantine Philosophy’s lasting impact on medieval philosophy and beyond.
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By Mário João Correia
October 2024 – In this issue interview, we had the pleasure to interview Pedro Mantas España, the president of Sociedad de Filosofía Medieval, the society that supports IPM Monthly. We talked about his work on the transfer of knowledge in the Middle Ages as an alternative to classical historiography that departs from hermeneutics. We also reflected on medieval philosophy scholar’s lack of preparation to work as teams, and not just as individuals. Finally we got to know what are the plans for the recently formed commissions of SOFIME. Enjoy!
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By Guillermo Ruz and Isabel Inzunza
September 2024 – In a recent conversation, IPM Monthly sat down with Richard Taylor and Luis Xavier López-Farjeat to talk about their work in the Aquinas and ‘the Arabs’ International Working Group. These scholars lead a vibrant community of researchers dedicated to exploring the complex interactions between Islamic, Jewish, and Christian philosophies during the medieval period. Through their efforts, the group is uncovering new pathways for understanding how these diverse traditions have shaped and enriched each other over centuries.
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By Sarah Virgi
Setembro 2024 – A filosofia medieval árabe, ainda pouco explorada no Brasil e no mundo lusófono, depende de traduções para o português como um passo crucial para ampliar o seu estudo e compreensão, tanto do lado académico como entre o público geral. Tadeu Verza é um dos principais investigadores desta área no Brasil e co-fundador da coleção Estudos em História da Filosofia Árabe e Islâmica, que publica verbetes sobre autores e tópicos da história da filosofia árabe das principais enciclopédias traduzidos para português e acessíveis a todos. Nesta entrevista, Verza relata que o seu interesse pela filosofia islâmica surgiu através da Maimónides, um dos mais importantes nomes do mundo islâmico no período medieval, e que a ausência de especialistas no Brasil o motivou a enveredar por essa linha de pesquisa.
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By Guido Alt
Summer 2024 – In this issue of Philosophy and Academy we are happy to have Graziana Ciola (RU Nijmegen). In this interview (recorded in April 2024), Graziana talks about Marsilius of Inghen, the medieval logic of consequences, how inconceivable concepts become thinkable, and the medieval roots of renaissance mathematical conceptualizations of imaginary numbers.
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By Bichen Yan
June 2024 – On the afternoon of 28 May 2024, the School of Social Development at Yangzhou University held a grand ceremony to inaugurate the Xu Fancheng Research Institute, followed by an inauguration and development planning conference. The event aimed to promote the development and vision of the Xu Fancheng Research Institute, providing a high-quality platform for the study and dialogue of classical civilizations from China, India, and Europe.
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By Isabel Inzunza Gomez
May 2024 – The Aristoteles Latinus project is a cornerstone in the field of medieval studies, dedicated to the critical edition of all medieval Greek-Latin translations of Aristotle. Overseen by the International Union of Academies, this project plays a pivotal role in understanding the various forms in which Aristotle’s texts were read and utilized in the West during the Middle Ages. The Latin translations of these texts were essential tools for the study of science and philosophy, forming the canonized foundation upon which all commentary on Aristotle’s work was based.
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By Isabel Inzunza Gomez
March 2024 – On Thursday, March 7th, at the KU Leuven Institute of Philosophy, a notable gathering unfolded, marking a significant commemoration in the realms of medieval philosophy and theology. The event was dedicated to celebrating the 750th anniversary of Saint Thomas Aquinas’s passing. The “Holistic Eudaimonism Conference,” as it was aptly named, sought to unravel the intricacies of Aquinas’s efforts to harmonize the Christian philosophical tradition with the Aristotelian corpus.
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By Guido Alt
March 2024 – Nesta entrevista, o Prof. Marcus Boeira oferece insights sobre sua pesquisa que conecta Direito e Idade Média, destacando interseções frutíferas entre os dois campos. Com foco particular na lógica modal e suas variantes nos contextos filosóficos tanto medievais quanto contemporâneos, o Prof. Marcus Boeira enfatiza a relevância das percepções medievais para os lógicos contemporâneos. Liderando um grupo de pesquisa na Faculdade de Direito da UFRGS e colaborando com a Pontificia Università Gregoriana em Roma, ele lança luz sobre seu interesse no desenvolvimento histórico da lógica deôntica, traçando suas raízes até as reflexões filosóficas medievais. Além disso, o Prof. Marcus Boeira enfatiza a importância da escolástica latino-americana, destacando esforços contínuos para explorar esse período menos conhecido e suas contribuições para a lógica e a filosofia jurídica.
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By Rodrigo Ballon Villanueva
January 2024 – IPM Monthly opens the year with John Marenbon and Anna Marmodoro. On December 4th, the 33rd Meeting of the ‘Medieval Philosophy Network in the UK’ (MEDPHILUK) took place. IPM had the chance to speak with the organisers, professors John Marenbon (Trinity College, Cambridge) and Anna Marmodoro (Durham University/Oxford University), to learn more about the network and the launch of its new website!
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By Eduarda Sousa Machado
December 2023 – In the December issue, to close a very fruitful year to this section, IPM presents an interview with one of the most significant international figures in Thomism and in the work of systematising theoretical transversalities in the history of philosophy. Therese Cory, in addition to her kind soul, has an entrepreneurial spirit in research that intersects the study of mind, existence and self-knowledge in the History of Philosophy and today’s cutting-edge philosophical problems.
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By Guido Alt
November 2023 – Joining us in this issue is no one other than Bob Pasnau (UC Boulder), who has kindly accepted to do an interview for the IPM to talk about his books and latest projects. In this pleasant and informal conversation, we took the opportunity to ask him about issues connected to his scholarship. Among these is the relevance of pursuing projects that cross over compartmentalized disciplinary boundaries in the history of philosophy, a task which he masterfully engages in like very few in the field. He has shared with us perspectives from his most recent book project on medieval voluntarism, from detailed historical analyses of what the voluntarist movement was, to reflections about how that movement has changed our conception of the self.
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By Sarah Virgi and Alexander Lamprakis
October 2023 – Six years ago, Peter Adamson and Bligh Somma started to think about a project on animals in philosophy of the Islamic world. What started as a spontaneous idea evolved into an ambitious research project, which sparked an extraordinary philosophical journey, earning the highest research grant of the European Research Commission (ERC). The project lasted for five years, from 2018 to 2023, and involved a team of ten international scholars who produced articles, book chapters and monographs on this topic, some of which have already been published, while others are forthcoming.
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Por Eduarda Sousa Machado
September 2023 – IPM Monthly has invited Professor Richard Cross for an interview, who very willingly volunteered. This encounter quickly became a pleasant and surprising conversation thanks to his charismatic personality and good humour. He has an insouciant curiosity, a sharp mind and impressive writing skills. We had the opportunity to talk about a vast group of topics, including the reasons that led him to study Christology, mainly from a philosophical-metaphysical point of view, his perspectives as a philosopher on how philosophical metaphysics and theology intersect in his work. We engage in a dense, detailed talk about the metaphysics of disability concerning the resurrected body, and human and divine natures in Christ. The interview could be shortened, but it was edited as little as possible to be faithful to the original conversation.
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Por Francisco Iversen
Septiembre 2023 – ¿Cuáles son las principales características de la escolástica virreinal peruana? Y, ¿cómo se relaciona esta tradición fundamental pero aún poco estudiada con filósofos escolásticos anteriores como Aquino y Duns Scotus? Nos adentramos en estas y otras preguntas con Jean Christian Egoavil, filósofo e historiador peruano. En esta entrevista, conversamos sobre filosofía, las especificidades de la escolástica colonial y los principales desafíos al abordar sus obras.
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By Alexander Lamprakis
Summer 2023 – In this issue, we explore the subject of philosophy in Africa with Dr. Anke Graneß from the University of Hildesheim. Dr. Graneß is a specialist in the Global Historiography of Philosophy and the philosophical traditions of Africa. Her latest achievement is the groundbreaking book titled Philosophie in Afrika. Herausforderungen einer globalen Philosophiegeschichte (Suhrkamp 2023) which delves into a diverse array of themes related to philosophical thought on the African continent. In her book, Dr. Graneß explores various aspects of African thought and its representation in both Western and African histories of philosophy. The book covers a broad range of historical, geographical, and cultural contexts, including Ancient Egypt, Ethiopia, Early Christianity, the Islamic world, and sub-Saharan Africa. By examining these distinct yet intertwined regions, Dr. Graneß sheds light on the philosophical perspectives that have emerged throughout the continent’s history.
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By Rodrigo Ballon Villanueva
June 2023 – There is a long-standing ‘fracture’ among the philosophical community, divided into the so-called ‘analytical’ and the so-called ‘continental’ camps. One dimension along which the two groups are perceived and perceive themselves as different concerns their relation to the history of philosophy. Continentals have often accused analytics to be ‘ahistorical’ or, even worse, ‘anti-historical’. On their part, analytics consider continental scholarship as mere doxography in opposition to ‘proper’ (i.e., analytic) philosophy. It seems like upcoming philosophers have no alternative but to pick a side. Is it so? In this interview, Anna Marmodoro will address this question on the occasion of her recent research stay at the University of Notre Dame.
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By Sarah Virgi
May 2023 – For centuries before the electronic mail and the internet came about, philosophers exchanged letters. In fact, some of the most important claims and arguments made by authors such as Leibniz, Descartes, and Kant, for instance, were written as part of a correspondence with other thinkers. Since his undergraduate studies, Paul Hullmeine has become interested in the correspondence between two premodern thinkers in the Islamic world: Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā, d. 1037) and al-Bīrūnī (d. after 1050). This year, he has started a new post-doctoral research project funded by the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), which aims at exploring the various philosophical and scientific aspects of this correspondence. Moreover, the project will also establish a new Arabic text and an English translation of the letters written by Avicenna and al-Bīrūnī, which can be used to teach in class and, according to Hullmeine, would serve as a good introductory text to Aristotelian natural philosophy.
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By Mário João Correia
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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Por Francisco Iversen
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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By Mário João Correia
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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By Guido Alt
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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By IPM Monthly Editorial Team
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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Por Francisco Iversen
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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Por Francisco Iversen
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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By Mário João Correia
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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By Mário João Correia
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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By Guido Alt
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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By Guido Alt
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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By Guido Alt
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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Por Francisco Iversen
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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