CFP: Pseudo-Paracelsus: Alchemy and Forgery in Early Modern Medicine and Natural Philosophy
25–28 July 2016, Villa Vigoni, Italy
The production of forgeries under Paracelsus’s name was an integral part of the diffusion of Paracelsianism. Many of those forgeries were widely read and extremely influential, not only in the fields of medicine and “chymistry” (alchemy/chemistry), but also in cosmology, anthropology, theology and magic. For example, the famous “Philosophia ad Athenienses” included the dangerous idea on the uncreated “prime matter” of the world, while the “De natura rerum” described how to create a homunculus. Those were clearly alien to Paracelsus’s own philosophy but were taken at face value by both Paracelsians and their opponents. A number of other apocryphal works are no less interesting. All of them have yet to be studied in their own right.
The present conference aims to put together the knowledge of scholars with diverse backgrounds. Studying the content, sources, topics, potential authorship and dating of pseudo-Paracelsian treatises, it will reveal their distinctive and common features, their mutual connections, their kinship in style and content with the genuine works of Paracelsus.
Proposals for papers are welcomed, and the participation of postgraduate students and junior researchers is particularly encouraged. All papers should be 20 minutes long and in English.
Please send your proposal (300 words max) along with your short CV by 1 January 2016, to the organizers.
For more information, please visit the conference website.
