主题：Theories of Matter in Later Scholasticism
主讲人：Nicola Polloni
时间：2023年11月28日（周二）上午9:30-11:30
地点：蒙民伟人文楼B206（科学史系系厅）
内容摘要：
Aristotelian natural philosophy prescribed the existence of a persisting substrate upon which the generation and corruption of natural substances could happen. According to medieval scholastic philosophers, this substrate is prime matter, the ultimate constituent, together with the substantial form, of each and any natural thing. Yet what is this prime matter? What features does it have? And how can it work as potential receptacle of forms and enduring substrate of change?
In my lecture, I will examine two case studies of the later scholastic debate on prime matter: Francisco de Toledo and the Coimbran Jesuits. First, I will introduce the main tenets of scholastic hylomorphism (the doctrine claiming that natural substances are compounds of matter and form) and the theory of prime matter. Second, I will examine Toledo’s theory of matter as an entity provided with some kind of actuality and the main functions it carries out in natural change. Third, I will contrast Toledo’s theory with the Coimbrans’ and their perplexing account of prime matter. I will then draw some conclusions on the later scholastic debate on matter.
主讲人简介：
Nicola Polloni is a historian of Western philosophy. He is currently a Marie Curie Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Porto (Portugal) and academic visitor at UCLouvain (Belgium). His MSCA-funded research project, titled “Hylomorphism in a Globalising World: Scholastic Debates on the Ontology of Nature Across Europe, China, and New Spain” examines late scholastic theories of hylomorphism and their impact in Europe, China, and Latin America. Previously, Polloni has worked at KU Leuven (Belgium), HU Berlin (Germany), and the University of Durham (UK). His main research interests are the philosophical and scientific considerations of matter and materiality, the ontology of the natural world, and the cross-cultural exchange of knowledge in premodern times. Polloni has worked extensively on the Western tradition, particularly on Dominicus Gundissalinus (a philosopher and translator from the 12th century), Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon, and on hylomorphism and theories of matter. Polloni is currently the vice-president of the Spanish Society for Medieval Philosophy (SOFIME), the co-editor of the Spanish Journal of Medieval Philosophy (Revista Española de Filosofīa Medieval), and co-editor of the book series Global Perspectives on the History of Natural Philosophy (Routledge). His recent publications include the book The Twelfth-Century Renewal of Latin Metaphysics (Toronto: PIMS, 2020), the volume Ibn Gabirol (Avicebron): Latin and Hebrew Philosophical Traditions (Turnout: Brepols, 2023, edited with Marienza Benedetto and Federico Dal Bo), and the volume The Philosophy and Science of Roger Bacon (London: Routledge, 2021, edited with Yael Kedar).
