History of Philosophical and Scientific Thought

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The research area concerning the history of philosophical and scientific thought includes about 20 professors, researchers, external collaborators, doctoral and post-doctoral fellows.

The researches carried out concern the history of philosophy both in its independent identity and in its relationship with the history of natural sciences (physical-mathematical and biological) and with the history of medicine. The area includes two research groups: one dedicated to ancient and medieval thought, the other to modern and contemporary thought.

History of ancient and medieval philosophy

In the context of the history of ancient philosophy, research is carried out on the philosophy of Aristotle and the first generation of his students, from Theophrastus of Heresus to Stratone of Lampsaco, on themes of philosophy of nature, logic and metaphysics. Similar themes, with special attention to the gnoseological and argumentative aspects, are analyzed in the philosophies of the Hellenistic period, Epicureanism and skepticism in particular.

In the field of the history of ancient science and its subsequent prosecutions, the study of botany and philosophical theories on plants was carried out.

Also with regard to the medieval period, the researches have their pivot in the investigation of the nature and characteristics of scientific knowledge: in particular, the studies focus on the medieval tradition of Aristotle's "Second Analytic", with special attention in recent decades to manuscript texts of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Method problems with respect to scientific investigation have then led to a specific investigation of the tradition of the first book of "De partibus animalium" and, in the last decade, research has also extended to the second part of the fourteenth century and to the developments of Aristotelian tradition in some authors of Humanism.

History of modern and contemporary scientific and philosophical thought

The activity of the Research Group on the History of Modern and Contemporary Scientific and Philosophical Thought (fMOD) extends from the 16th to the 20th century. The activities and participants are presented in detail on the website. Two multi-year research projects are currently underway, "Materialism and scientific naturalism in 17th and 18th century Germany" and "Philosophers and philosophies outside the professional and academic fields, from the beginnings of modernity to the present age". Among the main lines of research are the Kantian and Neokantian philosophy; Leibniz's writings, thought and intellectual relations; the history of Russian philosophy; the history of analytic philosophy; the non-algebraic logics and foundational theories of the nineteenth century. The first activity of the group, however, was an annual seminar of modern and contemporary philosophy, formally aimed at students of the master's degree, but with the participation of doctoral and postdoc students.