New edition of Aristotle's De Anima
The basic idea of the project "Text and Idea of Aristotle's Science of Living Things" (TIDA) is to break with the interpretive approach that governed research on Aristotle’s so-called ‘psychological’ writings, and in particular on his famous treatise ‘On the Soul (De Anima)’, for more than half a century. According to that approach, De Anima presents us with Aristotle’s ‘philosophy of mind’.
Against this trend, TIDA aims to show that De Anima is not concerned with the philosophy of mind as such and that such a philosophical project would be alien to Aristotle’s way of thinking; rather, what De Anima is concerned with is the definition of the first principle of a much more comprehensive science of living things in general. Klaus Corcilius and his team want to point out how De Anima and other treatises on this topic interact in the scientific explanation of living things, and – most importantly – what the resulting scientific theory of living things then has to say about the issues of the philosophy of mind.
“TIDA wishes to bring out how Aristotle understands the issues and problems of the philosophy of mind from a biological perspective”, says Corcilius. TIDA’s methods are decidedly philosophical-cum-philological. Two objectives are pursued, both of which will be achieved in tandem: subjecting Aristotle’s treatise on the soul, De Anima, and related treatises, to a new and comprehensive philosophical interpretation, while making available the original Greek text in a way that complies with the standards of contemporary textual criticism.
TIDA will produce a reliable critical edition of De anima in print and digital format – so far, such an edition does not exist. As the constitution of the text will crucially depend on the philosophical evaluation of alternative manuscript readings, the closest collaboration between textual critics and philosophers is necessary. The goal are improved original texts and a new and more informative philosophical perspective on Aristotle’s views on the mind. The interdisciplinary five-year research project TIDA is designed to give a new and lasting foundation to future philosophical and philological work on Aristotle’s science of living things.
Klaus Corcilius studied philosophy and Greek philology at the universities of Hamburg and Dublin. After receiving his PhD from Humboldt-Universität Berlin he stayed there as research assistant and then took on a Deputy Professorship at Concordia University Montreal, Canada, in 2008. From 2009 until 2011 Corcilius was a Junior Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Hamburg before becoming Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley for five years. In 2016, he was appointed to the professorship of Ancient Philosophy at University of Tübingen.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Klaus Corcilius
Department of Philosophy
klaus.corciliusspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de