I am pleased to announce that Dominik Perler (HU Berlin) will be the speaker at the next virtual colloquium.
Title: “Olivi on Personhood.”
Abstract: Following Boethius, most medieval philosophers defined a person as an individual substance of a rational nature. However, in the late thirteenth century Peter John Olivi presented a new definition, characterizing a person as an entity that “fully returns to itself and abides in itself or that perfectly reflects upon itself.” In my paper I intend to shed light on this new definition. I will first examine Olivi’s account of reflection, analyzing it against the background of his general theory of cognition. I will then look at the role he assigns to the will in the process of reflection, paying particular attention to the function of the will as a self-moving power. My aim is to show that Olivi did not simply give up the Boethian definition. He rather reinterpreted it by giving a new account of rationality: a person is an individual substance of a volitional nature.
Time: Thursday, April 9, 18:00 in Berlin (10am in Boulder).
Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18sZNw8lCVMe3pMWDuAHBB7l2iWHWZOau/view?usp=sharing
I am sorry to say that the recording did not capture the first minute or two of the talk. The handout, available here, sets out the key idea missed in the recording.
In medias PHIL 