10th International Meeting on the History of Thought

Dialogues on Human Dignity, Person, and Nature in the Philosophy and Culture of the Renaissance and the Spanish Golden Age

On 11–12 April 2024, the city of Salamanca hosted the 10th International Meeting on the History of Thought, under the title “Dialogues on Human Dignity, Person, and Nature in the Philosophy and Culture of the Renaissance and the Spanish Golden Age”. The event was held in a hybrid format, bringing together scholars from the University of Salamanca, the Pontifical University of Salamanca, the International University of La Rioja, the Portuguese Catholic University, and the Theological Institute of Cáceres.

This tenth edition centred on the notion of human dignity and the relationship between nature and freedom, key concepts in the Hispanic humanist and scholastic traditions. The discussions explored the premodern articulation of nature and self-determination in personal life, the relational dimension of the human person, and the moral and anthropological implications of classical and Christian thought in early modern philosophy.

Throughout the sessions, participants examined metaphysical and anthropological issues and revisited the contributions of major thinkers such as Francisco de Vitoria, Bartolomé de Las Casas, Juan Luis Vives, Luis de Molina, Domingo Báñez, and Francisco Suárez, situating their ideas within the broader context of Renaissance and Golden Age philosophy.

The meeting was coordinated by José Luis Fuertes Herreros, M.ª Idoya Zorroza, Manuel Lázaro Pulido, and Ángel Poncela González, with the scientific support of the Institute of Ecclesiastical History and Sciences (UPSA) and the Institut d’Estudis Hispànics en la Modernitat (IEHM).

The event was organised in collaboration with Revista Cauriensia, Editorial Sindéresis, and UPSA Ediciones, and was associated with the research project “The Vitorian Understanding of the Person: Study and Edition of ms. 85/3 in Relation to His Works and the Fundamental Texts of His School. Its Projection in Economic Thought” (PID2021-126478NB-C21), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, as well as with the research group Iure hominis. Human Rights: Foundations and Juridical-Political Protection (International University of La Rioja).