Jussi Varkemaa on Summenhart

Jussi Varkemaa, a theologian from Helsinki, has finished his doctoral thesis on late fourteenth century theologian Conrad Summenhart. The topic is Summenhart’s theory of individual rights and its medieval background. Summenhart, who was one of first professors theology in the University of Tübingen. Summenhart has been considered as an important figure in the development of modern theories of rights. Until now Summenhart’s views have been studied only superficially, but Varkemaa discusses them thoroughly and situates them appropriately in the context of late medieval discourse. For more information, see the abstract of the dissertation here (scroll down for an English version).

Research seminar in Helsinki

From the website of the research group “Philosophical Psychology, Morality and Politics”:

Spring 2009

Friday, 30 January, 12-15 (Auditorium IX, Main Building, Unioninkatu 34, 3rd floor)

Imagination from Aquinas to Hobbes
Pekka Kärkkäinen
Juhana Lemetti

Friday, 27 February, 12-15 (Auditorium IX, Main Building, Unioninkatu 34, 3rd floor)

Madness and Morality
Vesa Hirvonen
Timo Kaitaro

Friday, 20 March, 12-15 (Lecture room 6, Aleksanterinkatu 7, 6th floor)
Christopher Shields (Oxford), Aquinas’s moral psychology

Thursday, 16 – Friday, 17 April

Sources and resources of political life in early-modern Europe
Quentin Skinner (keynote speaker), Ronald Asch, Martin van Gelderen, Mark Goldie, Catherine Larrère, John Robertson, Richard Serjeantson, Sari Kivistö, Virpi Mäkinen, Sami-Juhani Savonius-Wroth, Mikko Tolonen.

Friday,15 May, 12-15 (Auditorium XI, Main Building, Unioninkatu 34, 3rd floor)

Tobias Hoffmann (CUA), Free decision in Aquinas
Taina Holopainen

The seminar is open.

Updates in Renaissance commentaries pages

I have recently added several items on the “Medieval and Renaissance Psychological Sources” -page and also to the pages on Renaissance ethics, economics and politics. The additions to the latter pages are visible in the comments, which are located the the bottom of those pages.

Theories of Perception

A volume recently edited by Simo Knuuttila and myself needs to be mentioned here. It deals with philosophical theories of sense perception from medieval (and even ancient) theories until early modern authors such as Locke and Malebranche. More information on the volume is available here. Here is a quotation from the cover text:

“The aim of this collection is to shed light on the developments in the theories of sense-perception in medieval Arabic and Latin philosophy, their ancient background and traditional and new themes in early modern thought. Particular attention is paid to the philosophically significant parts of the theories. The articles concentrate on the so-called external senses and related themes. Many of the central ideas are discussed, although the collection is also meant to shed light on less studied subjects.”