POSTESTAS ESSENDI
Premodern Philosophy across Matter, Nature, and Worlds
Potestas essendi is a website devoted to medieval philosophy, with a particular focus on metaphysics, natural philosophy, and the history of hylomorphism. Across its pages, readers will find research materials, texts, videos, teaching resources, and tools designed for different audiences, from specialists and students to more curious visitors. Much of this work centres on matter, prime matter, materiality, and the transmission of knowledge, but the site also opens onto wider philosophical and intellectual concerns.
Alongside these core research interests, the website brings together the main dimensions of my academic activity, including publications, teaching, guides for students and early-career researchers, public outreach, and initiatives connected with medieval philosophy in Messina. It offers an organised point of access to the different forms my work takes across research, teaching, collaboration, and communication, while also providing a clearer sense of how these activities relate to one another.
About the editor of this website
Since its creation in 2016, Potestas essendi has been edited by Nicola Polloni. More information about my research, teaching, and academic activities is available here.
An Overview
This page gathers the main dimensions of my academic profile, from research and teaching to publications and ongoing projects. It is meant to help readers move across the different areas of my work, identify the materials most relevant to their interests, and trace the shape of my scholarly trajectory and the questions that have accompanied it over time. It also provides a broader view of the intellectual commitments that unite these different activities.
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Publications
This page offers a chronological overview of my academic publications. It is intended as a clear point of reference for those interested in the development of my research over time. Taken together, these works also sketch the broader contours of the questions, traditions, and lines of inquiry that have shaped my scholarly work. They reflect a sustained engagement with medieval philosophy, especially in relation to metaphysics, natural philosophy, and hylomorphism.
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Teaching
Teaching and research stand at the centre of my academic work. In keeping with the disciplinary tradition of the history of philosophy, my classes combine inductive and deductive approaches. My teaching is also shaped by the principles of active learning and universal design for learning (UDL), with particular attention to the different ways in which students can engage, respond, and develop their understanding.
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Science Communication
We live in a deeply compartmentalised world, where knowledge is often treated as a series of separate domains, consulted only when needed. Part of my work has therefore been directed towards forms of outreach that make philosophy and its history more accessible across contexts. The activities presented on this page reflect that commitment: they are meant to widen access, communicate the significance of these disciplines, and connect scholarly research with a broader public conversation.
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Medieval Philosophy in Messina
This page brings together the main activities through which I have sought to cultivate the study of medieval philosophy in Messina, across teaching, events, collaborations, and shared resources. It grows out of the hope of creating an open space in which students, colleagues, and interested readers can encounter medieval thought as a living field of inquiry. The materials gathered here reflect a broader commitment to fostering forms of exchange in which research becomes a shared intellectual experience.
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Next Events
Each year, several events and meetings on medieval philosophy are organised in Messina. The list below offers a quick overview of upcoming activities. More information is available by clicking on the images, while past events can be found in the website’s Dazibao.
Potestas essendi 