A new angle to stoic ideas
Medicines of the mind in 16th and 17th century philosophy encompass unexplored intellectual territory. During this time, theologians, rhetoricians and physicians devised methods for training the soul and the body to work together. As an interdisciplinary prototype, stoic ideas were intertwined with religious models of self-analysis. As a result, they provided regimens for living the good life, cures for passions and methods of controlling one's own thoughts. Due to its crossover into different fields, this system of knowledge did not fit into a specific institutional niche. Thus, this background was bypassed in the study of history of natural philosophy in this period. An EU-funded project, MOM (The medicine of the mind and natural philosophy in early modern England: A new interpretation of Francis Bacon), sought to recover it. Innovative views about Bacon's natural philosophy have been disseminated via conferences, workshops and seminars. The five years of research have also resulted in collaborations with other scholars working on Bacon and early modern intellectual history. Arriving at an intersection of various historical disciplines, including early modern philosophy, theology, medicine, science and literature, the work has helped to establish a better understanding of Bacon's natural philosophy.
