PHYSIOGNOMONICA · Physiognomics as Philosophy: Reconceiving an Early Modern Science
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-05-15 → 2023-10-14
- EU contribution
- €183,473
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Physiognomics as Philosophy: Reconceiving an Early Modern Science
Physiognomics is the theory that it is possible to gain access to the interiority of a person – the character, or the soul – by studying the outside, namely the bodily features. The idea of judging people by their appearances is both common practice and a taboo, condemned as superstitious and based on prejudices. And yet, in early modernity – a key formative period for the discipline – physiognomics was not (only) a dubious diagnostic tool, but rather a central philosophical framework for addressing complex body-soul relationships, and for proposing novel theories of the soul. This project thus seeks to position our contemporary judgements within a broader historical and philosophical reconstruction. In particular, it makes extensive use of archival research to try to imagine what physiognomics meant for early modern philosophers who used it and theorised it. Regarded as a valuable tool throughout antiquity, physiognomics stimulated a wealth of debates in early modernity, combining psychology with medicine and anatomy, and with politics, ethics and aesthetics. Can physiognomic analysis help to distinguish between friends and rivals by unveiling a person’s true nature, and should rulers be acquainted with physiognomics in order to tell allies from enemies? Is a beautiful person good, and an ugly person bad? Are signs of good health also signs of moral standing? My project argues that far from simply expressing a superstitious mentality, physiognomics presented itself in early modernity as a ‘total discipline’, capable of synthetising multidisciplinary knowledge, under the guidance of key philosophical principles. The project aims to produce three outputs: a free available anthology of short physiognomic texts in English translation (https://pric.unive.it/projects/physiognomics-as-philosophy/home); a monograph on philosophical physiognomics in early modernity; and the edition of a central, and hitherto unpublished, chirophysiognomic source from the 16th century: Abramo Colorni’s Nova Chirofisionomia.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
My project aims to uncover the hitherto unrecognised centrality of physiognomics within early modern philosophy. Physiognomics is the theory, stemming from Aristotle and other ancient sources, that body and soul are connected in such a way that it is possible to gain access to the soul by learning to read bodily signs. Building on fresh interest in medieval physiognomy, the project focuses on the richest yet least-studied period for the development of the discipline: from the late 15th century, when physiognomic texts started to circulate in print, to the early 17th century, when Cartesian dualism reconceived the body-mind relationship. I will define the corpus of philosophical physiognomic literature, with special attention to Venice and Paris, two fulcrums of the revival, where the majority of my archival research will take place. The project’s objectives reflect the intrinsic interdisciplinarity of physiognomics in the period, investigating its practitioners’ approaches to: 1) the interrelation between science and magic; 2) the differentiation between humans and animals; and 3) the conceptual distinction between mind and body. Topical issues of gender and race in physiognomic theories will be addressed. The outputs will include a monograph, an edition of a primary text, and an online, open-access anthology of sources. This ambitious dissemination plan is enabled by Ca’ Foscari’s programme Marie Curie+1, together with my advanced research skills and publication record. At Ca’ Foscari and during my secondment at the Centre Koyré in Paris I will expand my areas of competence, especially in the history of science and in iconography. I will improve my French, a crucial language for my field. I will develop my palaeographical skills to produce a critical edition that will help to restore physiognomics to the intellectual map of early modernity. The project will thus greatly enhance the independence I need to secure my main career goal, a permanent academic post.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA · VeneziaCoordinatorItaly
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union