CFP: Cosmologie “eterodosse”. Astronomia, etica e critica dei modelli cosmologici nella tradizione filosofica non occidentale.

The role of astronomy as a “practical” discipline in the ancient world and in Greek culture is a historically and philosophically recognised phenomenon. Even the earliest thinkers, such as Thales and Anaximander, were cosmologists before being philosophers. The study of astronomy – understood as the analysis of celestial bodies and their motion – was also practised by so-called “minor” thinkers, such as Eudoxus of Cnidus, Eratosthenes of Cyrene, Heraclides Ponticus, and Claudius Ptolemy.

Moreover, in Plato’s Academy, mathematics and astronomy were preparatory sciences leading to true philosophical knowledge (Resp. V, 527–530). Alongside the Republic, Plato’s Timaeus is commonly acknowledged as a dialogue that inspired much of Western thought concerning its diverse insights in cosmology, anthropology, and even physio-biological domains. Ethically, the Timaeus also represents a pivotal point in Platonic reflection regarding the concept of eudaimonia, connected to the movement of the stars and the regularity of the cosmos.

The purpose of this issue is to investigate the role astronomy assumed as a totalising form of knowledge – from a quantitative-mathematical, ethical, physico-cosmological, and even magical-religious point of view – beyond the boundaries of Western philosophy. No philosophical tradition has ever entirely abandoned a cosmological model or even an allegorical reference in order to explain how reality functions. Very often, the stars served as “physical” figures to represent the gods, who in turn had an impact on human life. The aim is to focus mainly on traditions not strictly Western – such as the Arab, Jewish, or even Asian or African traditions – to explore how cosmology played a significant role in the development of entire philosophical systems or, at the very least, in influencing certain aspects of human life.

Possible areas of interest include:

• Astronomy and cosmology in Jewish and Arab traditions: analogies, differences, influences;
• The reception of Greek astronomy in non-Western contexts;
• Cosmological models;
• In which respect have celestial bodies played a role in shaping human experience in non-Western traditions?
• Cosmology and religion: a surviving model?
• Renaissance interpretations: from the School of Chartres to Isaac Newton;
• Stars and cosmology in the Renaissance and modern era;
• Aside from Blanqui: stars and human life in the contemporary world.

The response to this CFP must be preceded by the submission of an abstract, which will be submitted to prior evaluation by the editorial staff, on the basis of its relevance to the theme, as it has been listed in the Call.

Final deadline for sending the abstract (approximately 2000 characters, spaces included): 15th September 2025. The outcome of the assessment will be transmitted after the expiry of the time limit.

Final deadline for sending the full paper (20,000 – 60,000 characters, spaces included): 15th December 2025.

Contributions should be unpublished and must not be simultaneously undergoing evaluation on the behalf of other journals.

Languages accepted: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish.

The journal uses a double-blind peer-review system; therefore, the author’s name and membership, if any, must appear only once, under the title of the article. Papers, in full, must be complete with an abstract in English (max. 1500 characters, including spaces) and 5 keywords in English.

Editorial rules can be found here: https://poireview.com/norme-editoriali/.

Submissions should be sent to the email address: [email protected]