Weave-UNISONO

Oxford in the 1330s is known to have paved the way for a novel approach to theories of
motion and the will. This project proposes to investigate two aspects of the novel approach:
voluntarism in the work of Robert Halifax and in commentaries on the Sentences at the
University of Vienna in the early fifteenth century. It intends to edit and to analyze two
questions from Robert Halifax’s question on the Sentences and several questions, which
originated at the medieval University of Vienna.

Research questions / objectives: The main assumptions for conducting this research are the
following three theses: 1) Several particular aspects of the Oxford variety of voluntarism
initiated by Richard Kilvington continued in the work and thought of Robert Halifax. 2)
Robert Halifax enjoyed some popularity at the University of Paris, which can be considered as
the starting point of his reception on the Continent. His influence at some time spread to the
University of Vienna. 3) The Viennese scholars seem to have developed a complex approach
to voluntarism, particularly in commentaries on the Sentences penned at the Faculty of
Theology.

Approach / methods: As the project belongs to the human sciences, it will rely on the analysis
and interpretation of primary sources—mainly handwritten, but also printed—as well as on a
comprehensive review of secondary literature on the topics that our focus intersects.

Level of originality / innovation: The main outcomes of this project—three volumes complete
with critical editions of Robert Halifax’s and Viennese theological questions, and a series of
articles—will all be pioneering studies on the subject. They will enable historians of science,
philosophy, and theology to gain insight into a highly original period in Oxford philosophy
and influential late medieval philosophical ideas and methodology. The critical editions will
contribute to the debate and the writing of the history of philosophy through the creation of
new sources for understanding and deepening medieval philosophy.

Primary researchers involved: Prof. Dr. Monika Michałowska (Lodz, PL) and Dr. Edit Anna
Lukács (Vienna, A)