Project description
How the Middle Ages shaped ideas on life and evolution
The debate over the nature of living species and their evolution has been thought to begin in the 18th century, rooted in fixist doctrines and religious creationism. The ERC-funded SPECIES project aims to explore whether the Middle Ages saw sophisticated reflections on the constancy and changeability of species, often framed through divine omnipotence. SPECIES seeks to rewrite the history of the concept of species by exploring four core questions. Were species eternal or did they have a beginning? Could they vary or evolve? How did logical classifications relate to natural kinds? Were species hierarchically ordered, with internal subdivisions? The project promises new insights into debates that still resonate today, from speciesism to intergenerational ethics.
Objective
It is commonly believed that the debate on the nature of living species and their possible evolution has no real history prior to the 18th century. The roots of this assumption lie in the belief that the entire previous tradition had been dominated by the combination of the Aristotelian doctrine of the eternity of species (fixism) and Jewish, Christian and Islamic creationism.
The core hypothesis of SPECIES is that, on the contrary, the Middle Ages produced a significant and sophisticated series of reflections on the constancy and fluidity of species, and that the originality of these doctrines can be traced to the use of arguments based on divine omnipotence.
The ambition of SPECIES is to rewrite the history of the concept of species. To this end, it will develop through four specific questions, which correspond to the four fundamental objectives [O] of the project:
1. [ORIGO] Are species eternal or do they have a temporal beginning?
O1: Show that pre-evolutionary theories are by no means a monolithic and undifferentiated whole.
2. [ORDO] Do species represent an unchanging essential order or can they be subject to variation?
O2: Show that hypotheses relating in various ways to the variability or new generation of species arose and were discussed long before the 18th and 19th centuries.
3. [PRAEDICATIO] What is the relationship between species as natural kinds and species as logical predicables?
O3: Clarify the relationship between logical and natural classifications in the pre-modern period, allowing a precise disambiguation of the different meanings of ‘species’.
4. [DESCENSUS] Are species hierarchically ordered among themselves? And do they allow for any internal subdivision?
O4: Offer a first precise reconstruction of the genesis of a number of (still) burning issues, such as those related to intraspecific racism, speciesism, and the balance between individual and specific interests (a topic of increasing interest in the field of intergenerational ethics).
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. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-ADG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
20122 Milano
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.