Final causation is often pointed to as one of the main dividing lines between Early Modern philosophy, on the one hand, and medieval or Aristotelian philosophy, on the other. However, there is no continuous story about the concept of final causation spanning both of these philosophical traditions.
This conference aims to bridge that gap. The concept of final causation will be treated in later medieval as well as in Early Modern thinkers. What was the fate of the concept of final causation in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, up until the 16th century? And what was truly new in the treatment of it in the philosophy of the 17th century?
Clarifying these questions will also be a step toward writing a more continuous history of philosophy of these centuries at large.