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Geoanatomy. The Body as a Model in Greco-Roman Conceptions of the Earth and the Environment

Project description

The body as a model analogy for understanding the earth and the environment

One of the most pressing and puzzling philosophical questions focusses on the proper way of explaining the structure of the surrounding world. In reassessing the relationship between ancient biomedicine and natural philosophy, the EU-funded GEOANATOMY project aims to determine the impact of ancient Greek and Roman medicine on the causal explanations of meteorological and geological phenomena offered by Aristotle, Lucretius and Seneca. The project will shed light on this cross-boundary scientific collaborative amalgam, advancing awareness in both the academic world and the wider public of issues concerning protoecology and care for the environment.

Objective

One of the most ancient, still puzzling, philosophical questions concerns how one should explain the structure of the surrounding world while being herself part of it. Believing that all bodies are part of the cosmos in the sense that they are governed by the same causal principles, ancient scientists communicated their observations by using analogy. Evidence of the various forms of communicative analogical scientific exposition is traditionally taken to reveal that medicine and natural science, though sharing a common interest in accounting for natural phenomena, manifest a keen eagerness to delimit their boundaries. There is, however, a largely underexplored type of analogical reasoning in which these disciplines are seen to create a trans-boundary scientific mixture, enabling us to speak of cross-disciplinary influence and assimilation. This project aims to determine the impact of ancient Greek and Roman medicine on the causal explanations of meteorological and geological phenomena offered by Aristotle (4th c. BCE), Lucretius (1st c. BCE) and Seneca (1st c. CE) by investigating the course of reasoning within which such explanations are embedded, what I call ‘the medical argument’. An analysis of this single, unified cross-disciplinary argumentative system will ultimately lead to a redefinition of our present historical knowledge about the beginnings of modern environmental conscience and consciousness. As its strategic intent, GEOANATOMY encompasses the following set of specific goals: (a) To reassess the relationship between ancient biomedicine and natural philosophy, two disciplines which are traditionally thought to have had clearly demarcated boundaries; (b) To bring to light for the first time and clearly identify the ‘fruit’ of this cross-boundary scientific collaborative amalgam; and (c) To advance awareness in both the academic world and the wider public of issues concerning proto-ecology and care for the environment.

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 187 572,48
Address
HEIDELBERGLAAN 8
3584 CS Utrecht
Netherlands

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 187 572,48
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