Project description
Exploring 16th century European philosophical debates
In the 16th century, European philosophers debated natural body composition, forging influential ontologies of nature. These had a significant impact on cross-cultural discussions regarding metaphysical and cosmological doctrines in both China and New Spain. By studying the Scholastic debate on natural substance constitution, we can gain insight into how non-European philosophies were integrated into the intellectual landscape of early modern Asia and America, as well as the evolving shape of European identity in a globalising world. The MSCA-funded HYLOGLOB project will reconstruct how historical figures addressed complex metaphysical issues and how their theories contributed to the understanding of non-European philosophical traditions. This research provides insights into the perspectives of philosophers, including the conflicts between metaphysical and physical ideas.
Objective
HYLOGLOB aims to reconstruct a long-neglected yet crucial debate among Scholastic philosophers on the ontological constitution of natural bodies. This debate took place in Europe during the 16th c., but its consequences had a global, cross-cultural impact. In their struggle to find a balance among opposite claims about matter, form, and the elements, 16th-c. Scholastic philosophers produced influential ontologies of nature. Their theories, in turn, became the lenses through which European thinkers in China and New Spain engaged with metaphysical and cosmological doctrines that were completely alien to them. The reconstruction of the 16th-c. Scholastic debate on the constitution of natural substances is key to understand the processes of philosophical accommodation and reinterpretation of non-European systems of thoughts that took place in early modern Asia and America. By using a multi-levelled methodology, HYLOGLOB will reconstruct the Scholastic debate on the ontology of nature and its global impact. On the one hand, it will analyse how historical actors addressed apparently unsolvable questions on prime matter, substantial forms, and the elements. On the other, it will assess how these theories were used as influential interpretative tools to grasp sophisticated metaphysical doctrines that utterly diverged from the European tradition. HYLOGLOB’s results will produce, for the first time, a thorough, comprehensive understanding of how 16th-c. thinkers envisioned the constitution of the physical world. It will provide meaningful insights on the tensions between metaphysical and physical considerations of nature, the Jesuits materialistic interpretations of Chinese philosophy, and the foundation of an independent philosophical tradition in New Spain. At the crossroad of different traditions and disciplines, HYLOGLOB will contribute to foster a new, more nuanced understanding of a central aspect of the constitution of European identity in a globalising world.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesknowledge engineeringontology
- humanitiesphilosophy, ethics and religionphilosophy
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Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
4099-002 Porto
Portugal