Intellectual self-knowledge in Latin commentaries on Aristotle’s De anima from 1250 to 1320
Qualitative and quantitative analyses
Public Defence of PhD thesis by Michael Stenskjær Christensen.
The dissertation analyses the question “how can reason reflect on itself?” in the medieval interpretations of Aristotle’s De anima. It provides an overview over the included Latin commentator’s philosophical arguments concerning intellectual self-reflection and the development of the problem from antiquity until the Middle Ages. It also presents methods for qualitative and quantitative interpretation of text networks that have not previously been applied within the subject.
Afhandlingen præsenterer en filosofihistorisk analyse af spørgsmålet “hvordan kan fornuften reflektere over sig selv?” i den middelalderlige fortolkning af Aristoteles' Om sjælen. Analysen giver et overblik over de latinske kommentatoreres filosofiske argumenter vedrørende intellektuel selvrefleksion, samt problemets udvikling frem til middelalderen. Desuden præsenteres metoder til kvantitativ og kvalitativ fortolkning af komplekse tekster som ikke før er anvendt inden for emneområdet.
Download dissertation (pdf)
Assessment Committee
- Associate Professor Heine Hansen, chair (University of Copenhagen)
- Associate Professor Susan Brower-Toland (Saint Louis University)
- Professor Jack Zupko (University of Alberta)
Moderator of the defence
- Associate Professor Thomas Heine Nielsen (University of Copenhagen)
Copies of the thesis will be available for consultation at the following three places:
- At the Information Desk of the Library of the Faculty of Humanities
- In Reading Room East of the Royal Library (the Black Diamond)
- At the Saxo Institute, Karen Blixens Plads 8
