Aristotle’s De anima at the Faculties of Arts (13th-14th Centuries)

• Aristotelian Philosophy and Aristotelianism
• Faculties of Arts

“Bernardini shows an impressive mastery of the relevant scholarly publications ranging from the nineteenth century to today, and often turns to information from manuscripts that are not yet or just partially published. Her treatment covers the period from the first appearance of the Latin translation in the mid-twelfth century through the fourteenth century, while also hinting at the impact that the medieval debate had on Renaissance and early-modern philosophers like Pomponazzi and Descartes. In doing so, she judiciously compares and assesses the available evidence and opinions of her predecessors. Thus, Bernardini’s work magnificently accomplishes the series’ purpose “to make the Faculty of Arts known to a broader public, outside the circle of specialists.” Indeed, her book provides interesting and even essential background reading for many medievalists, not just for historians of theology or philosophy. Bernardini succeeds in both brushing the broad lines and sketching the finer details of a conceptual change that affected numerous aspects of medieval thinking. She does so with a thorough knowledge of the original texts and the scholarly literature, while she admirably keeps the narrative accessible to students and generally interested readers. Specialists will appreciate the bibliography of primary and secondary sources that contains a wealth of useful references. The book is easy to handle for its small size, and its reasonable price should allow access for a wide readership.” (Pieter Beullens, in The Medieval Review, 25.11.36)

“Bernardini is a reliable guide to the historical landscape and has an impressive knowledge of the primary and secondary literature. Because Bernardini has divided the book into clearly titled subsections and listed these subsections in the table of contents, it will be easy for readers to scan the table of contents for the subjects most relevant to their interests. Despite its introductory nature, this is not a book for nonspecialists; historical and historiographical categories that will be familiar only to medievalists (e.g., the English Nation at the University of Paris are sometimes alluded to without further explanation, Latin quotations are sometimes left untranslated (e.g., 15), and the summaries of scholastic doctrines, though helpful and illuminating for specialists, assume a high level of familiarity with the subject matter. However, this book will be a valuable resource for specialists in medieval philosophy and theology seeking an introduction to aspects of the De anima commentary tradition in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.” (Jordan Lavender, in Speculum, 100:4 (2025), p. 1123)

“Aristotle’s De anima at the Faculties of Arts. 13th‑4th Centuries, by Paola Bernardini, constitutes a valuable reconstruction of the intellectual milieu of the Faculties of Arts, and it does an excellent work in introducing the readers to complex debates that they might not be well acquainted with. (...) To conclude, Bernardini’s book is both convincing and rigorous. It is an excellent tool to navigate to some of the most theoretically intricate debates of the history of philosophy in their medieval versions, such as the problem of the intellect or the question surrounding the nature of the body‑oul relationship. More than that, the book is enriching both in its content and approach, which is intellectually honest and methodologically sound. Threads carefully where there is a lack of historical evidence, and in doing so, clears the path for further research.” (Gabriel Andrés Molero, in Chora, 23 (2025), p. 365-368)

Paola Bernardini (Volterra, 1973) studied Philosophy at the Universities of Siena and Florence. Her main research interest is the History of Medieval Philosophy, especially the early reception of Aristotle’s De anima in the Faculties of Arts (1240-1260) and its manuscript witnesses. She is currently Associate Professor of History of Medieval Philosophy at the Department of Historical Sciences and Cultural Heritage, University of Siena.