Philosophy and Science Meet at Humboldt University Berlin
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Philosophy and Science Meet at Humboldt University Berlin Giouli Korobili Gonzalo Gamarra Jordan Juliane Küppers Benjamin Wilck PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE MEET AT HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY BERLIN A new program at Humboldt University Berlin encourages academic discussion about Greek, Roman and Arabic models of knowledge and the intersection of philosophy and science. Georgia-Maria (Giouli) Korobili, Benjamin Wilck, Gonzalo Gamarra Jordan and Juliane Küppers are some of the brilliant doctoral students taking part in the program, which was officially established in October 2014. Philosophy and Science today are two very ideas developed in different cultural contexts distinct academic disciplines, but they are (e.g. Greek, Roman, Arabic). For instance, founded upon a set of the same fundamental ideas in astronomy could be analysed in ideas developed in ancient Greece, Rome relation to the philosophical notions of and later in the Arabic world. In fact, the ancient philosopher Aristotle, who was many established scientific theories were correct to argue that the Earth was spherical, developed from philosophical principles while his theory that everything in the introduced by philosophers from the most Universe revolved around Earth turned out prominent ancient civilisations. Examples to be false. include the concept of mind and body duality, or theories on the force of attraction There are numerous possible subjects to between atoms. explore, as many of the scientific disciplines we know today were developed in times of Academic settings that encourage multi- vital occupation with ancient philosophical disciplinary research and discussion are principles and spirited debates on how to still somewhat rare, but can be extremely apply and advance them, such as during the valuable: they can help to expand height of Arabic philosophy or in the early our knowledge and understanding of modern European period. fundamental ideas, by encouraging scholars to consider new perspectives that link The doctoral program, led by Professors CREDIT: Christoph Geiger notions from different disciplines together. Jonathan Beere and Philip van der Eijk, started in October 2014 and is funded by and Cambridge. Conversely, students from The Philosophy, Science and the Sciences Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). partner universities can take part in the doctoral program at Humboldt University Teaching staff includes professors at activities in Berlin and attend a broad variety of does exactly this – bringing together Humboldt University and the Free University courses, reading groups, tutorials, workshops philosophers, classicists, Arabists and Berlin, as well as distinguished international or short courses, all of which are taught in science historians to discuss their research scholars who travel to Berlin. New doctoral English. Dissertations are written in both in different disciplines, and prompting them students are accepted into the program German and English, covering a wide range to develop new perspectives on how these every year and from October 2017, additional of philosophical or philological topics. Every might be connected. Scholars in the program funding by the German Academic Exchange doctoral project focuses on a specific area of contribute to the current understanding of Service and the Einstein Foundation will dialogue between philosophy and the sciences the relationship between scientific concepts offer further scholarships for the course. and students are encouraged to communicate and philosophical ideas developed in the The program is integrated within the with their teachers and each other in order to Roman, Greek and Arab worlds. Berlin Graduate School of Ancient Studies situate their work within a larger framework. (BerGSAS). The trainee research group is encouraged Giouli Korobili, Benjamin Wilck, Gonzalo to explore the connections or differences Those who become part of the training group Gamarra Jordan and Juliane Küppers are four between different philosophical and scientific are automatically part of an international students who are currently taking part in the theories of the past. This is done through network of partner universities, where program. Their dissertation projects explore sharing ideas and discussing possible doctoral students can spend a semester different aspects of philosophy and science, interactions between different methods abroad. These include the Classics and ranging from ancient Greek philosophical for finding knowledge, as well as between Philosophy departments at Princeton, strategies for refuting or establishing different disciplinary fields (e.g. philosophy, Harvard, McGill University, New York mathematical principles to early modern mathematics, medicine, astronomy, etc.) or University, the University of Chicago, Leuven theories on particle physics. WWW.SCIENTIA.GLOBAL proceedings of this conference are to be published by De Gruyter in the series ‘Topics in ancient philosophy’. Juliane Küppers: Ancient Atomic Theories and the Development of Particle Physics During the Early Enlightenment Juliane Küppers recently began her third doctoral semester and is working on a research project analysing 17th century works published in Latin that discuss particle physics and atomic theories. In particular, she will focus on the writings of the French philosopher Pierre Gassendi, mainly his Philosophiae Epicuri Syntagma and his Syntagma philosophicum, who – in a time when the idea of atoms as the indivisible ‘building blocks’ of matter was not The Charité building, CREDIT: Uta Kornmeier widely accepted – advanced ancient atomic theories and refined them. In particular, his Giouli Korobili: Aristotle’s Work on Youth, and medicine. In the analysis section of concept of atoms banding together through Old Age and Death her thesis, Korobili seeks to establish the constant movement, basically tiny vibrations, relevance of the ideas put forth in these texts to form matter was an influential notion Giouli Korobili’s research project explores to earlier and contemporary biological and that would be adapted into later theories the ideas discussed by Aristotle in the last medical theories, such as those constructed on the force of attraction. However, most of part of the Parva Naturalia, entitled On by Presocratic philosophers, Plato and his writings have not yet been translated or Youth and Old Age, on Life and Death, on Hippocratic writers. systematically commented on, and Küppers Respiration. Her thesis aims to provide a believes that further analysis of his views new English translation and commentary of While working on her doctorate, Korobili would prove to be a valuable contribution to these texts, while also critically analysing the was offered the opportunity to become part the field. issues discussed within them and identifying of an outreach project visualising ancient potential medical and earlier philosophical Greek medical and philosophical ideas about In her work, Küppers will also show where influences on Aristotle’s thought. body, soul, and their interaction. The aim certain atomist theories originated and of the project, directed by Professors Philip refer back to the extant fragments from A considerable number of scholars have van der Eijk and Thomas Schnalke, was to the writings of the hellenistic philosopher previously questioned the unity of the work, hold an exhibition open to the public in the Epicurus and the 1st century BC poem putting forward the claim that the first six Berlin Medical History Museum of the Charité De rerum natura by the Roman Lucretius. chapters so clearly comprise a self-contained (Berlin’s Medical School) in the central These texts outline basic ideas about the piece of work (i.e. On Youth and Old Age, on room housing the 19th century physician fundamental elements of matter, proposing Life and Death) that they must be treated as and pathologist Rudolf Virchow’s specimen that atoms are the particles that make up all separate or in isolation from the remaining 21 collection. The exhibition was entitled ‘The things in the Universe. chapters (i.e. On Respiration). In her doctoral Soul is an Octopus. Ancient Ideas of Life research, Korobili argues the opposite, which and the Body’ and was accompanied by Küppers is currently spending the autumn is that chapters 1–6 pave the way for the rest an illustrated catalogue (to which Korobili term 2017 as a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard of the work in that they seek to establish contributed) guiding the audience through GSAS Department of the Classics. At Harvard, the basic principle that runs throughout the fascinating world of ancient anatomy, she plans to explore a number of aspects the whole treatise, namely, that the soul physiology and medicine. of her project, including computational lies in the heart, in the middle of the body methods of analysing natural philosophical (cardiocentrism). As part of her work within the program, and scientific treatises. Korobili and Dr Roberto Lo Presti organised She argues that the whole treatise comprises an international conference ‘Nutrition ‘With my dissertation, I hope to not only 27 chapters, in which Aristotle places and the Nutritive Soul in Aristotle and add to the reception history of Lucretius’ De particular emphasis on the localisation of Aristotelianism’ at Humboldt University rerum natura in my original field of study. I the soul within the living body, the critical Berlin. The 3-day conference brought also want to contribute to interdisciplinary factors ensuring life, and the importance