Colonial Scholasticism

Interpreting Nature, Society, and Philosophy in Spanish America

Abel Aravena Zamora, Nicola Polloni (Herausgeber)

Buch | Hardcover

220 Seiten

2025
Routledge (Verlag)
978-1-032-59674-7 (ISBN)

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Colonial Scholasticism: Interpreting Nature, Society, and Philosophy in Spanish America explores the enduring influence of scholasticism beyond Europe, tracing its evolution in the intellectual and educational institutions of colonial Latin America.

Far from being a mere extension of European thought, colonial scholasticism developed in response to new cultural, political, and scientific contexts, engaging with both local realities and global philosophical traditions. This volume examines the emergence and adaptation of scholastic philosophy in Spanish America, from the establishment of schools and universities to the development of novel approaches to law, science, and theology. It explores how the works of Aristotle and his ancient and medieval followers continued to shape intellectual discourse in the American world. At the same time, it highlights how these traditions were reinterpreted in dialogue with Indigenous knowledge, social structures, and the challenges posed by colonial rule. Bringing together contributions from leading scholars in the field, Colonial Scholasticism sheds light on a neglected chapter in the history of Western philosophy. It challenges Eurocentric periodisations that confine scholasticism to the Middle Ages and demonstrates its continued relevance in shaping philosophical and scientific thought well into early modernity.

This book is an essential resource for historians of philosophy, scholars of Latin American intellectual history, and all those interested in the global dimensions of scholasticism.

Abel Aravena Zamora is a Senior Researcher and Professor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile. His research explores philosophical activity in colonial Latin America, particularly in Chile, through the study of manuscript records from educational institutions of the time. He has published articles and books on the teachings of various philosophy masters active in Chile from the 17th to the 19th century. Abel is currently the Principal Investigator of a four‑year research project funded by the Chilean agency Fondecyt‑ANID (2025–2028). Nicola Polloni is an Associate Professor of Medieval Philosophy at the University of Messina, Italy. His research focuses on natural philosophy, hylomorphism, and, in particular, premodern theories of matter and prime matter, combining historical, systematic, and comparative perspectives. His publications include The Twelfth‑Century Renewal of Latin Metaphysics: Gundissalinus’s Ontology of Matter and Form (2020) and Hylomorphism into Pieces: Elements, Atoms, and Corpuscles in Natural Philosophy and Medicine, 1400–1600 (co‑edited, 2024).

List of Figures

List of Contributors

0. Introduction

1. Shaping Philosophy in 16th Century New Spain: Sea Explorations, Educational Institutions, and the Case of Alonso de la Veracruz

Virginia Aspe Armella

2. Alonso de la Veracruz’s Take on the Conceivability of Prime Matter

Nicola Polloni

3. The Jesuit José de Acosta’s Epistemological Revision of Scholasticism

Francisco Castilla Urbano

4. Reconstructing Library Collections: Reading Philosophy in Mexico City and Puebla in the 16th and 17th Centuries

Lydia Deni Gamboa

5. Phlegmatic, Melancholic and Sanguine: The Indigenous of Peru in Three ‘Indian’ Texts, 16th-17th Centuries

Germán Morong Reyes

6. Masculinities in Colonial America: Medical, Legal, and Theological Knowledge and the Construction of the Indigenous Male Body During the 16th Century

Alvaro Ojalvo Pressac

7. Dictates on Justice and Law: Classrooms and Manuscripts of the New Kingdom of Granada

Carlos Arturo Arias Sanabria

8. Academic Freedom and Tradition in Philosophy: Miguel De Viñas S.I. Philosopher in Chile in the 18th Century

Roberto Marconi

9. Heavenly Bodies and American Enlightenment: The Case of Manuel Antonio Talavera

Abel Aravena Zamora and Francisco Cordero Morales

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	06.08.2025
Reihe/Serie	Global Perspectives on the History of Natural Philosophy
Zusatzinfo	11 Tables, black and white; 10 Line drawings, black and white; 10 Illustrations, black and white
Verlagsort	London
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 234 mm
Gewicht	520 g
Themenwelt	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Neuzeit (bis 1918)
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Wirtschaftsgeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie
ISBN-10	1-032-59674-0 / 1032596740
ISBN-13	978-1-032-59674-7 / 9781032596747
Zustand	Neuware