Does the History of Medicine Begin where the History of Philosophy Ends? An Example of Interdisciplinarity in the Early Modern Era

Abstract

A popular saying attributed to Aristotle states that ‘medicine begins where philosophy ends’—but this principle does not seem entirely valid for the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, when medicine and philosophy were considered to be integral parts of the same branch of knowledge. For this reason, although today medicine and philosophy are clearly distinct disciplines, historians of ideas cannot study them entirely separately. Indeed, since the early modern era was a period of profound revision of knowledge, probably only a truly interdisciplinary investigation can identify the conceptual shifts and transfers capable of reinstating medicine in its fundamental role in the development of civilisation and modern thought, in particular as a model of a rational knowledge aimed at improving the social good through a fitting interpretation of experience. This article intends to offer arguments in support of such a historiographical approach, and to illustrate certain interesting methodological ideas that emerge from a study in which the history of philosophy and history of medicine cross-pollinate.     

Passive Control of Steel Storage Racks for Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese under Seismic Accelerations

Recent earthquakes in Italy resulted in the collapse of steel storage racks for aging Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, damaging a huge number of cheese wheels. In order to improve the seismic performance of surviving racks with low-budget solutions, when replacement cannot be considered, we investigate the possibility of using viscous dampers that connect the racks to a surrounding structure. Time-history analyses with natural and spectrum-compatible artificial accelerograms allow one to determine the optimal damping factor that reduces both the stress in the rack and the actions transmitted to the constraining structure. Results confirm the noteworthy benefits of the proposed retrofitting system.     

How faculty recruitment shaped economic culture: the case of Italy 1900–1942

This article belongs to the area of university policy, viewed as an important example of the relationship between culture and power. As a case study, it utilizes the competitive exams for university chairs which took place in Italy for economic disciplines between 1900 and 1942. Interpreting the rules, the criteria and the outcomes of faculty recruitment, the article reconstructs an overall picture of the actors, themes and orientations, as well as the channels used to spread ideas. In this way, it clarifies important aspects of the influence exercised by the political sector over economic culture prior to and during fascism, in particular, in the formation of a consensus for government intervention in the Italian economy.     

The Geopolitics of International Reconstruction: Halford Mackinder and Eastern Europe, 1919–20

This paper aims to reassess the role played by Sir Halford Mackinder (1861–1947) in the reconstruction of Eastern Europe after the First World War, highlighting a key issue behind the formation of his popular geopolitical ideas about the Eurasian ‘heartland’. Influenced by the democratic spirit of the early inter-war years, Mackinder used his geographical expertise in support of a loose federal reorganisation of the vast region between Germany and Russia, hoping to create a new, balanced international system capable of guaranteeing freedom and stability on the European continent. In 1919–20, this ambitious design became the basis of a short diplomatic mission to South Russia, where Mackinder tried to create a large regional defensive alliance against the Bolshevik regime externally supported by the Western powers. But the military weakness of local anti-Bolshevik forces and the political inconsistency of the British government led to the complete failure of this great imaginative project, revealing all the strategic limits and ideological flaws of Mackinder's geopolitical views on Eastern Europe.     

From huey altepemeh to civitates christianae: Considering a Franciscan collective agency project on Indian cathedral cities in post-Tridentine Central Mexico (1567–1585)

In this paper, we suggest a new analytical approach on a less-known and poorly investigated topic about early Church history in New Spain: the will to develop an institutionalized regular diocesan machinery in order to rearrange a Franciscan missionary Indian project with Tridentine Catholic ecumenical outcomes. To achieve that, we both report and analyze a wide spectrum of European and New Spain archival, documentary, and bibliographical sources related to the main Indian settlements, urbanism, and populations; Seraphic authorities, and civil vice-regal and royal officers. Preliminarily, we hypothesize that Indian ciudades were assumed to be the principal laboratories of this Seraphic-led project to strengthen friars’ traditional preeminence in a highly disputed colonial Christian theatre.