Workshop: From Life to Mind — The Return of Hylemorphism in Embodied Cognition
I am pleased to announce the international workshop “From Life to Mind: The Return of Hylemorphism in Embodied Cognition”, taking place on September 2–3, 2026 at the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften.
The workshop asks: Can the ancient doctrine of form and matter illuminate the contemporary science of embodied, enactive minds? Bringing together philosophers working in ancient philosophy, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind, the workshop explores whether hylemorphism — the Aristotelian framework of form and matter — offers conceptual resources for understanding cognition, life, and mind in a non-reductive way.
Confirmed Speakers
- Mark-Oliver Casper (Universität Kassel)
- Klaus Corcilius (Universität Tübingen)
- Anna Marmodoro (Saint Louis University / Durham University)
- Erasmus Mayr (Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)
- Gustav Melichar (Universität Heidelberg)
- Tobias Schlicht (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)
- Simon Schüz (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau)
- Vanessa Triviño (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos)
- Barbara Vetter (Freie Universität Berlin)
Registration
Registration is open. Please register via the following link: Register here
Support
The workshop is generously supported by the IDEE Project at the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, the RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, and the Fritz Thyssen Foundation research project “The Nature of Rational Capacities”.
The workshop is co-organized by Simon Schüz (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau) and Gustav Melichar (University Hospital Heidelberg).