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NB. This is not an Erasmus Course! If you are interested, please contact me: anna.tropia@ff.cuni.cz
General description What does a human being know first? Is our first object of knowledge something universal, such as humanity or animal, or is it a singular thing, such as this particular human being? This seemingly simple question sparked a major debate throughout the Middle Ages. At stake was much more than a technical problem in the theory of knowledge: the answer had important consequences for our understanding of metaphysics, human psychology, and epistemology. The debate gained new momentum in the Renaissance, when medieval positions were revisited, reformulated, and challenged in university classrooms and philosophical texts. Manuscript notes taken by students, as well as printed treatises such as Francesco Zimara’s De primo cognito (1508), bear witness to the vitality of this debate. In this course, we will enter this fascinating debate through the work of Benet Perera, one of the most influential Jesuit philosophers of the sixteenth century. We will read, transcribe, and establish the text of his previously unpublished Quaestio de primo cognito (1565). Working directly with the manuscript (Milano, Biblioteca Ambrosiana D 426 inf.), we will explore how a Renaissance philosopher confronted a question inherited from Aristotle and transformed by centuries of philosophical debate. No previous knowledge Renaissance philosophy is required, but students will have the opportunity to acquire hands-on experience in working with philosophical manuscripts and unpublished texts. Last update: Tropia Anna, doc., Ph.D. (24.08.2026)
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The course offers students the opportunity to work directly with a previously unpublished philosophical text, combining philosophical interpretation with hands-on manuscript work. We will learn to read a sixteenth-century text closely, attending to its terminology, argumentative strategies, and intellectual context, while acquiring the basic skills needed to transcribe a manuscript, assess textual variants, and reconstruct a reliable text. The aim is not to produce a critical edition, but to use the process of textual reconstruction as a way of gaining a deeper understanding of both how philosophical texts are transmitted and how philosophical arguments work. By the end of the course, students will have acquired a first-hand familiarity with the tools and challenges of both historical-philosophical and textual research. Last update: Tropia Anna, doc., Ph.D. (24.08.2026)
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To complete the course, regular and active participation in class is required. A good command of Latin would be helpful, but no specialist knowledge of Latin is required. You do not need to be a Latinist: we will work through the text together, and I will provide you with the necessary tools and guidance to learn how to read, analyse, and reflect on the reconstruction of a philosophical text. Last update: Tropia Anna, doc., Ph.D. (24.08.2026)
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Literature: a selection (all the texts will be accessible on Moodle)
Benet Perera (1564/1565), Quaestio de primo cognito, Milano, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, D 426 inf. Benet Perera (1564), Quaestio de primo cognito, Vatican City, Urb. Lat. 1300 Benet Perera (1564), Quaestio de primo cognito, Rome, Biblioteca Vallicelliana E 50
C. Blackwell, “The Vocabulary for Natural Philosophy: the “de primo cognito” question—a preliminary exploration: Zimara, Toletus, Pereira and Zabarella”, in J. Hamesse (ed.) Lexiques et glossaires philosophiques de la Renaissance, Louvain-la-Neuve 2003, 287-308. C. Blackwell, “Thomas Aquinas against the Scotists and Platonists. The Definition of ens: Cajetano, Zimara, Pererio”, Verbum - Analecta Neolatina, 6/1 (2004), 179-188. A. Blair, “Note-Taking as an Art of Transmission”, Critical Inquiry 31 (2004), 85-107. F. Marrone, “Conoscenza e realtà. Benet Perera e la quaestio de primo cognito”, Quaestio 14/1 (2014), 111-165. C. H. Lohr, Latin Aristotle commentaries. II, Renaissance authors, Florence 1988.
Last update: Tropia Anna, doc., Ph.D. (24.08.2026)
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According to the number of the participants, we will either work together on the text in class or elaborate on another examination way. Last update: Tropia Anna, doc., Ph.D. (24.08.2026)
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