: Following Aristotle, medieval natural philosophers believed that knowledge was ultimately based on perception and observation; and like Aristotle, they also believed that observation could not explain the "why" of any perception. To arrive at the "why," natural philosophers offered theoretical explanations that required the use of the imagination. This was, however, only the starting point. Not only did they apply their imaginations to real phenomena, but expended even more intellectual energy on counterfactual phenomena, both extracosmic and intracosmic, extensively discussing, (...) among other themes, the possible existence of other worlds and the possibility of an infinite extracosmic space. The application of the imagination to scientific problems during the Middle Ages was not an empty exercise, but, as I shall show, played a significant role in the development of early modern science. (shrink)

According to the argumentative theory of reasoning, humans have evolved reasoning abilities for argumentative purposes. This implies that some reasoning skills should be universals. Such a claim seems to be at odd with findings from cross-cultural research. First, a wealth of research, following the work of Luria, has shown apparent difficulties for illiterate populations to solve simple but abstract syllogisms. It can be shown, however, that once they are willing to accept the pragmatics of the task, these participants can perform (...) at or near ceiling. Second, historical, sociological and anthropological research has been used to claim that some Eastern cultures have not developed argumentation. These claims are the result of oversimplifications and of a selective view of the data. A closer looks reveals instead very elaborate forms of argumentation, in Chinese culture particularly. Third, cross-cultural psychologists have carried out an extensive research program aimed at showing that Easterners do not rely on the principle of non-contradiction and that they use holistic rather than analytic thinking. A review of these experiments shows that no qualitative difference emerges in the way Easterners and Westerners deal with argumentation and that in the proper context both populations can easily have recourse to holistic or analytic thinking. It is possible to conclude from this critical review that the reasoning skills involved in argumentation seem to be universal even though they can be used in different ways in various cultural contexts. (shrink)

“Renaissance concept of space” harbors surely some definite bonuses for anybody embarking on a study of the inventive role that philosophy has had, in its happiest moments of life, for human cognition. First, the new suppositions related to physical space emerge in the Renaissance as derivative from the theological-philosophical assumptions of the era: what Renaissance space is can be enunciated quite convincingly on the basis of the intellectual collisions that the era was allotted to deal with. Thus, as a re-generator (...) of classical culture, the Renaissance had to a degree dug up the finite substructure of ancient thinking; however, as an inheritor of the Middle Ages, it had been requested to square finitism with transcendency. Second, much of what we can today fit under Renaissance space is in fact delivered to us in the artistic form of painting, which means that, in addition to the challenge set by philosophy to the spatial knowledge of the era, there was postulated as well a mediatory agency of art in the realization and conveyance of this new knowledge. Thus we can suppose that the solution offered by Renaissance art to the problem of space on its fictional plane comprised the germ of some modern knowledge about space in reality. (shrink)

In this paper, I will argue that the Twelfth Century spiritually -oriented texts present an important, but often neglected instance of natural theology. My analysis will show that in the texts of Hugh of St. Victor and his student Richard of St. Victor we find a Christian Neo-Platonist variant of natural theology. The elements of natural theology form a central part of their larger spiritual programmes, which in turn are meant to guide the human being in her ascent into divine (...) realities and thereby offer immediate experience of the presence of God. I will give special attention to Hugh’s treatise _De Tribus Diebus_, as it explores both the manifestations of the Trinity in the created world as well as the beauty of all created objects. Hugh’s account will be supplemented by an exposition of Richard’s idea of experience as a vital means for all knowing. (shrink)