SUMMER SCHOOL
Dates: 24–30 June 2024

Summer school will be held 24th to 30th of June 2024 in Italy on the coast of the Ionian Sea.

Availability: open to everyone.
Location: Santa Caterina dello Ionio CZ, Italy.
Airports: Lamezia Terme International Airport (SUF) or Crotone Airport (CRV).
Deadline for applications: 1st of April, 2024.
Total Fee: 1000 EUR

The fee covers: registration deposit, classes and seminars, accommodation in a shared room, breakfast, opening reception, farewell drinks and snacks, local transportation. Limited number of single rooms is available upon request.
The reservation fee is required (non-refundable): 250 EUR payable at the time of registration.
We offer discounts for groups of students with supervisors. For more information, please contact us directly.

CLASSES
1. Plato seminar. Reading of selected dialogues.
Professor Dr Michael Shaw, Utah Valley University.
This seminar investigates select Presocratic influences on Plato’s Meno and Phaedo. Direct references to Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and Philolaus, as well as indirect references to Pythagorean beliefs, permeate the two works in important ways. From effluvia and Mind to recollection and reincarnation, the dialogues show Socrates presenting his own arguments through continuous engagement with these thinkers. We will carefully examine these dialogues, while seeking to identify the implications of their Presocratic influences. While sometimes critical, Socrates often shows support for the theories he engages. To what extent do these self-referential dialogues affirm or reject any of the Presocratic positions they consider? How does Pythagoreanism inform Socrates’ discussions in these dialogues, including the critique of Anaxagoras? This seminar emphasizes Socrates’ investment in, more than critique of, his ancient influences.
2. The Ancient Greek concept of Harmony.
Associate professor Dr Jonas Ciurlionis, Vilnius University.
This course will examine the mathematical principles of harmony. Mathematics for the ancient Greeks consisted of four pillars - Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy. We will examine how the same mathematical patterns were applied throughout all four disciplines. We'll see how geometric theorem of Pythagoras is also the theorem of music. We will show how the Pythagorean idea of 'Harmony of the Spheres' is grounded in mathematics. And we will continue to reveal how the notion of Harmony was applied widely in ancient philosophy, arts and sciences.
3. Neoplatonic studies.
Dr Sebastián F. Moro Tornese, Royal Holloway, University of London.
This course proposes to embark on a journey, akin to that of Ulysses, where the understanding of beauty transcends the mere external and extends to the inner realms of the soul and the presence of a creative force of life, producing cosmic order: the natura naturans of the World-Soul. Across four lectures, the course unfolds a philosophical tapestry and symphony woven in the counterpoint of key Neoplatonic figures-Plotinus, Iamblichus, and Proclus-exploring their insights on art, aesthetics, and the metaphysical foundations of the three Hypostases that underpin the beauty, interconnectedness, and unity of all life. Emphasizing the significance of symbolism and non-discursive language, this journey seeks to reconnect participants with the profound unity of being, encouraging a deeper understanding of the symbolic language that bridges the gap between the visible and the invisible aspects of existence.