Workshop at the Finnish Institute at Athens
23–24 March 2026
Aristotle’s biology has become a flourishing field of scholarship in recent decades, and its relevance has only increased amid growing concerns over biodiversity loss and reconsideration on the relationship between human beings and other animals. Responding to the growing need for historically and philosophically informed engagement with these issues, the Kone Foundation has awarded a major grant for the translation of Aristotle’s zoological treatises—Historia animalium (Tōn peri ta zōia historiōn), De partibus animalium (Peri zōōn moriōn), De generatione animalium (Peri zōōn geneseōs), and De incessu animalium (Peri poreias zōiōn)—into Finnish, accompanied by scholarly commentary.
This workshop brings together an international group of philosophers and classical philologists. In addition to advancing research on various dimensions of Aristotle’s zoological thought, the event supports the ongoing translation and commentary work on these four foundational treatises.
The workshop is organised by the research project ‘History and Diversity in Aristotelian Zoology’, University of Helsinki, in collaboration with the Finnish Institute at Athens. It is generously funded by the Kone Foundation.
For further details, please contact the leader of the project Dr Mika Perälä, .
To join the workshop via Zoom please register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/nkPGEqygSi-NqyBwkebQBw
Program
Day 1 – Monday 23 March 2026
13.30–13.45 Petra Pakkanen and Mika Perälä: Opening of the workshop
13.45–15.00 Sophia M. Connell: Aristotle on Differences in the Perceptual Organs of Different Animals
15.00–15.15 Coffee
15.15–16.30 Stasinos Stavrianea: The transmission of souls in the Generation of Animals
16.30–16.45 Break
16.45–18.00 Erja Salmenkivi and Mika Perälä: Textual issues in the Parts of Animals
Day 2 – Tuesday 24 March 2026
10.00–11.15 Stavros Kouloumentas and Stasinos Stavrianeas: Aristotle and Anaxagoras on why human beings have hands
11.15–11.30 Coffee
11.30–12.45 Pantelis Golitsis: Soul, heat and teleology in the Generation of Animals
12.45–14.15 Lunch
14.15–15.30 Spyros Rangos: Natural teleology and hypothetical necessity
15.30–15.45 Coffee
15.45–17.00 Harry Alanen: Aristotle on the natural teleology: The dialectical strategy of Physics II.8-9 reconsidered
17.00–17.15 Mika Perälä: Closing of the workshop
18.00 Dinner