BrainMap

Constantin Ionut Mihai

- UNIVERSITATEA "ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA" IASI

Researcher

Expertise & keywords

Medicine and philosophy in ancient protreptic literature: socio-cultural contexts, dialogue and polemics Call name: P 1 - SP 1.1 - Proiecte de cercetare Postdoctorală
PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2019-0519 2020 - 2022

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA "ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA" IASI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA "ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA" IASI (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA "ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA" IASI (RO)

Project website: https://www.uaic.ro/ancient-protreptic-literature/

Abstract:

This project is intended to be a personal contribution to the contemporary discussion on ancient medicine and its relation with philosophy. While inspired by recent scholarship, my research distinguishes itself from existing studies to the extent that it explores the points of contact between ancient medicine and philosophy by paying attention, primarily, to the writings belonging to the protreptic genre. Three major working hypotheses will guide my research: a) authors of philosophical protreptics (including Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus) used a wide range of medical concepts and analogies as rhetorical devices to attract people to philosophy and promote their discipline over other competing technai; b) conversely, there are some important medical texts, many of them preserved in the so-called Hippocratic Corpus, which display features characteristic to philosophical protreptics; c) both medicine and philosophy have provided a specific vocabulary, style, and literary topoi which have been used in works of protreptic intent, other than those of ancient medicine and philosophy: Clement of Alexandria’s Protrepticus to the Greeks could be a good case in point.

Research objectives: O1: Analyze the medical concepts and analogies used in ancient philosophical protreptics; O2: Interpret the Hippocratic treatises On the Art, On Ancient Medicine and On the Nature of Man in the light of the categories of the protreptic genre; O3: Assess the extent to which the tradition of the philosophical protreptic has exerted an influence upon Galen’s Protreptic to Medicine; O4: Analyze the use and functions of the medical imagery and protreptic arguments in Clement of Alexandria’s Protreptic to the Greeks. Through my research I intend to address several controversial issues in recent scholarly literature (e.g. the reconstruction of Aristotle’s Protrepticus, the dating of some Hippocratic treatises), advancing new answers to old questions and taking part in contemporary scholarly debates.

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List of research grants as project coordinator or partner team leader
Significant R&D projects for enterprises, as project manager
R&D activities in enterprises
Peer-review activity for international programs/projects