Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit and the Principle of Sufficient Reason: On the Metaphysics of Ground in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period

In this conference, we wish to trace the history of two of the most famous principles of metaphysics, the ex nihilo nihil fit principle (NIF for short) and the principle of sufficient reason (PSR). We will discuss their interrelation, beginning with medieval metaphysics through to early modern metaphysics, and approach the theme from historical, systematic, analytic, comparative, and contextual perspectives. We will ask how representatives of the NIF and the PSR in the Medieval and Early Modern period legitimized, restricted, and applied these principles. In this context, we will examine the concepts of reason, nothing, being, becoming, and ground. Is there such a thing as nothing, and what do we mean by “nothing”? Could nothing ever be something? Could we say something comes from nothing? Is all of existence and every being intelligible in terms of a reason or ground, and if so, in what sense? When posing these questions, we will discover that the different conceptions of the NIF and the PSR circle around a determination of what is intelligible and what is not. As a common thread running through the conference, we will thus ask which accounts of the NIF and the PSR remain philosophically compelling today, and why?

Speakers: Fatema Amijee · Kübra Bahçi · Sebastian Bender · Julia Borcherding · Jon Bornholdt · Clara Carus · Michael Della Rocca · Samuel Levey · Jeffrey McDonough · Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra · Sonja Schierbaum

For the full program and registration (by 14 July 2026, 23:59 CEST), please visit: https://shorturl.at/3o33o

The conference is generously supported by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.

We warmly invite you to attend in Hamburg in person or virtually.

Organized by Clara Carus (Heidelberg) and Stephan Schmid (Hamburg).

Associated CFP: We're pleased to announce that we will edit a special issue of the journal History of Philosophy and Logical Analysis on the same topic. For further information and to submit a paper, please visit: https://brill.com/view/journals/hpla/hpla-overview.xml?contents=editorialContent-135986