Aristotle’s philosophy and Aristotelianism have had a strong and continuous influence on Latin America’s intellectual and academic culture from the colonial period onward, in part because of the close links between scholastic Aristotelianism and the Catholic tradition. By contrast, in much of the English-speaking world, Aristotelianism ceased to be a major intellectual influence in the early modern period and had a relatively slight impact in science or philosophy until its rediscovery by analytic philosophers in the 20th century. The different histories of Aristotelian influence (or lack thereof) in the two traditions create opportunities for conversations that highlight both similarities and contrasts and that shed light not only on Aristotle’s philosophy but also on later historical and even contemporary realities.

The project is meant to foster and support interdisciplinary research and publications focused on the interpretation of Aristotle’s philosophy and its reception in the Americas, with particular interest in ways in which ideas from Aristotle and the Aristotelian tradition have been used and misused in the interpretation and ideological construction of socio-political and physical realities in all parts of the Americas.

Associated Faculty

• Hendrik Lorenz (Philosophy) 
• Joshua Billings (Classics)
• Benjamin Morison (Philosophy) 
• María Elena García Peláez Cruz (Philosophy, Universidad Panamericana)
• Andrea Lozano-Vásquez (Humanities and Literature, Universidad de los Andes)
• Marco Zingano (Philosophy, Universidade de São Paulo)