Research field & Background. Ancient philosophy is a field of research in continuous growth, and Italy has played a pioneering role in its development. Italian scholarship is characterised by bringing rigorous philological and historical skills to the task of philosophical elucidation. Methods developed especially in Anglophone scholarship, mainly related to the analysis of argumentative structures, have been progressively integrated, but what is still lacking is a focused methodological discussion on the relation between these different approaches, on the extent to which this interaction is important and on how to exploit this interaction in order to train the next generation of scholars and to get grants for research.
Aims & suitability. The project has two aims. The scientific aim is to identify research imperatives for future work in ancient philosophy, and the means to address them: the project will encompass theoretical reflection and practical outcomes, the former being targeted at detecting new research paths and the methods to be applied to them. The strategic aim is to promote Turin's place as a leading international hub in the study of Ancient Philosophy by encouraging applications for scholarships, fellowships and grants across Europe and North America. The project is conceived in such a way as to maximise some unique strengths of the partner groups. The Ancient Philosophy Group of the University of Turin, also contributing to the interdepartmental group TEAMPhil (Turin Enquiries in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy), is committed to a strategy of internationalization, which encompasses collaborations with Cambridge University Press and other European institutions such as the DCAMP (Durham Centre of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and the De Wulf-Mansion Centre (Leuven); however, no institutional collaboration with American Institutions has been established yet, especially due to the lacking of suitable funding. The University of Toronto, on the other hand, hosts the most active, large and attractive ancient philosophy group in North America and an outstanding collaborative programme in ancient and medieval philosophy: scholars forming the group are among the most influential scholars in our field. In brief, both groups would profit from the establishment of a connection, which would also pave the way for future collaborations (see below). In addition, both groups share specific interest in themes at the leading edge of our subject, which offer promising test cases for the methodological research we are planning. More specifically, Federico Petrucci and George Boys-Stones have been working on post-Hellenistic Platonism, and their current research is focused on the crucial passage from the Hellenistic to the post-Hellenistic age. This is an understudied topic, though its impact on history of thought was massive: we observe here the rethinking of Stoicism and its reception in Rome; the return to dogmatic Platonism will anticipate the success of this movement in Late Antiquity; the 'rediscovery' of Aristotle's school writings and the production of first commentaries on them is at the basis of the philosophy of Late Antiquity and of the Middle Ages. In brief, both centres can provide expertises that are rarely found together, and their collaboration will allow a pioneering rediscovery of this fundamental philosophical context.
Actions. All this provides the framework for the strategy we are planning to enact (see also the relevant section below).
a) Work in Progress & Grant seminar in Turin: some sessions will envisage students and PhDs of both institutions presenting their current research and open it to collective discussion; other sessions will be devoted to the elaborations of projects to be submitted at multiple levels, from PhD scholarship to major grants for senior scholars.
b) Residential Turin-Toronto Ancient Philosophy seminar in Greece on Panaetius' fragments and reception (Panaetius and the so-cal