Event

May 9, 2019
Modeling Premodern Theories of Mind

Models play a role not only in scientific reasoning, but also in philosophical theory-building. But their role remains largely unacknowledged, leaving unarticulated models to control the shape of debates from the background. Historians of philosophy, Therese Cory suggests, have an especially important role to play in bringing to light the extent to which models inform philosophical thinkingnot only in comparing sources, but also in illuminating the extent to which the models of the present are implicitly dominating readings of texts from the past. In this presentation, she considers the case of "modeling the mind" and shows how the widespread use of visual, tactile, and containment imagery has been an impediment to understanding a group of philosophical thinkers from late antiquity into medieval Scholasticism, who adopted what she calls a "metaphysical model of mind."

Address
Harnackstraße 5, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Room
Villa, Room V005/Seminar Room
Contact and Registration

Any questions you might have about this or further sessions can be addressed to Maria Avxentevskaya.

About This Series

Premodern Conversations is a monthly seminar on pre-modern and early-modern topics, aiming to offer researchers informal space to discuss their work-in-progress. Our sessions take place in Room V005, the seminar room of the Villa, Harnackstraße 5. If you have not visited us before, the Villa is 2 minutes walk from the back entrance of the MPIWG. The seminar room is on the ground floor on the right-hand side through the glass fire door.

2019-05-09T15:30:00SAVE IN I-CAL 2019-05-09 15:30:00 2019-05-09 17:00:00 Modeling Premodern Theories of Mind Models play a role not only in scientific reasoning, but also in philosophical theory-building. But their role remains largely unacknowledged, leaving unarticulated models to control the shape of debates from the background. Historians of philosophy, Therese Cory suggests, have an especially important role to play in bringing to light the extent to which models inform philosophical thinking—not only in comparing sources, but also in illuminating the extent to which the models of the present are implicitly dominating readings of texts from the past. In this presentation, she considers the case of "modeling the mind" and shows how the widespread use of visual, tactile, and containment imagery has been an impediment to understanding a group of philosophical thinkers from late antiquity into medieval Scholasticism, who adopted what she calls a "metaphysical model of mind." Harnackstraße 5, 14195 Berlin, Germany Villa, Room V005/Seminar Room Maria AvxentevskayaKatja Krause Maria AvxentevskayaKatja Krause Europe/Berlin public