Aristoteles Magus: Philology and Secrets Sciences In Renaissance Naples

Aristoteles Magus: Philology and Secrets Sciences In Renaissance Naples

Event Description

Donato Verardi: Aristoteles Magus: Philology and Secrets Sciences In Renaissance Naples

When it comes to Aristotelians and Aristotelianism, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the expression ‘thinking in an Aristotelian fashion’, which can differ in certain places and at certain times, depending on which texts are attributed to Aristotle and which, among them, are the specific objects of the discussion. The same clarification is desirable when using the term ‘magic’, an equivocal, complex and liminal term, often attached, in
the early modern period, to other tricky terms, such as ‘natural’, ‘mathematical’ and ‘theurgic’. In its deleterious meaning, magic was also connected to the notion of goëtia, that is, the false theurgy practiced with the help of evil demons. The fact itself that several apocryphal books on topics related to the vast and elusive plan of magic were attributed to Aristotle explains the need to delineate more precisely the role of the philosopher’s authority in these discussions.

This lecture is devoted to Francesco Storella (c. 1529–75), a philologist and a professor of logic in Naples and one of the first teachers of the magus Giordano Bruno (1548–1600). Starting from the important annotated edition of the Secretum Secretorum (1555) produced by Storella, Prof. Verardi reconstructs the relationships between Storella’s attribution of the Secretum and other magical works to Aristotle and his own peculiar conception of logic, considered as an instrument capable of guaranteeing a syllogistic science of ‘singulars’, that is, of those empirical data, even of those unusual and irregular ones, that were the subject of the investigations of alchemist and natural magicians. Verardi contextualizes Storella’s work in the internal debates of the Neapolitan Aristotelian world of the time, and investigates the argumentative strategies implemented by Storella in his justification, in an Aristotelian key, of the seemingly more execrable aspects of magic, such as those inherent in veneficia.

This Lecture is part of the project SECRETS (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions).

Funded by the European Union (GA number: 101148607). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Event Info

Jan 25, 2025 at 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM EST

Online

Guest Speaker