Per cognitionem visualem. The Visualization of Cognitive and Natural Processes in the Middle Ages

Acts of the XXV Annual Colloquium of the Societe Internationale pour l'Etude de la Philosophie Medievale, Porto, 14-15 and 21-22 June 2021

Edited by Jose Higuera Rubio

Book cover: Per cognitionem visualem. The Visualization of Cognitive and Natural Processes in the Middle Ages

Extent: 377, 377 pages

Publisher: Brepols Publishers

Subjects: Earth & Life Sciences , Medieval Studies, Philosophy

Series: Rencontres de Philosophie Médiévale

Series volume number: 27

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(August 2023)

ISBN: 9782503603407

Price: $94.00

In stock

The purpose of this volume is to deepen our understanding of medieval visual tools that represented and demonstrated philosophical and scientific knowledge and, to an extent, the accumulation of empirical data with a focus on the Latin, Arabic and Jewish tradition.


Visual representations were deeply involved in medieval traditions related to the dissemination and teaching of philosophy and science. Consequently, they were not only examples of theological or philosophical interpretation, but rather brought together manifold intellectual activities, illuminating various perceptual, cognitive, and spiritual concerns. Visual tools, which appear frequently in medieval manuscripts, have often been considered as “illustrative material” intended to facilitate the comprehension and interpretation of texts. These “visual aids” offer something more than a straightforward correspondence between a conceptual interpretation and its figurative depiction. They are, in fact, key to understanding the methods of acquiring and shaping knowledge through visual frameworks with didactical, disputational or heuristic purposes. The aim of this volume is to deepen our understanding of medieval visual tools that represented and demonstrated philosophical and scientific knowledge and, to an extent, the accumulation of empirical information.

  • Edited by Jose Higuera Rubio