THE COSMIC SOUL

The Cosmic Soul: Renaissance Humanism and Natural Philosophy

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'I am proposing to spend two years at the Center for the History of Philosophy and Science (CHPS) at the Faculty of Philosophy of Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands). There, I propose to carry out a large research project and at the same time to acquire a number of new skills in the domains of teaching, editorship, organization and research methodology. I have good reasons for believing that my planned publications, together with my expanded curriculum, will allow me to compete successfully for a university position in Europe at the end of my fellowship. My research project, which will culminate in my third book-length monograph, aims to investigate the impact of Renaissance humanism on the development of natural philosophy (a traditional discipline that included physics, biology, astronomy, etc.) in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In particular, I shall investigate Renaissance and early modern ideas concerning the provenance of life and their link to notions of universal animation, of the ‘world soul’, and of celestial as well as divine causation. Although the history of this ‘cosmic dimension of the soul’ is not only a fascinating subject, but also very central to our understanding of early modern thought, it has been strangely neglected in the available scholarship. My proposed research topic requires an interdisciplinary approach, as it involves the histories of philosophy, of science, of theology and of medicine. The CHPS at Nijmegen is, in Europe, probably the best place for such a project, because of the presence of eminent historians of both philosophy and science in its staff. My proposed sojourn at the CHPS will combine the research just sketched with the acquisition of skills that are strictly related to my research.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A Marie Curie Fellowship project investigated the impact of Renaissance humanism on the development of natural philosophy. Researchers took an interdisciplinary approach, since this area of interest involves the histories of philosophy, science, theology and medicine.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The project 'Renaissance humanism and natural philosophy' (THE COSMIC SOUL) covered two major objectives. The first was to examine Renaissance and early modern conceptions of the soul and of the principle of life in its cosmic dimension. The second was to evaluate the impact of philosophical debates amongst Renaissance humanists on the evolution of natural philosophy in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Researchers explored a wide range of source materials within the framework of the project, and discovered a number of hitherto unstudied Latin sources from various European academic backgrounds. These are posited as likely having exercised an intellectual influence on the evolution of scientific thought.

One area of research in particular focused on the recovery and translations of ancient Greek and Latin sources and medical texts by medical humanists, medical doctors and humanist philologists. The intention was to study how they conceptualised celestial influences on conception, generation and reproduction.

Other areas of THE COSMIC SOUL's focus included the evolution of traditional notions of celestial influence and the emergence of alternative scientific explanations. Project findings have been presented in books, articles, papers and seminar lectures, in Europe and beyond. Plans exist to synthesise the various lectures and papers in a book aimed at a broader, non-specialised readership.