GIORDANO BRUNO'S PHILOSOPHY AND MEDICINE

This essay examines the long-standing issue of the relation between philosophy and medicine as discussed in Giordano Bruno's De la causa, principio et uno. Three main points are considered. First, it addresses the connection between philosophy, medicine and knowledge of languages "focusing on Bruno's appreciative reference to Paracelsus. Second, it investigates the difference between the philosophical and medical consideration of "matter" and illustrates Bruno's comparison between Paracelsus's "medical philosophy" and Galen's "philosophical medicine". Third, it discusses Bruno's use of the analogy between "the study of different philosophies" and the approval of different medical methods". By analysing the specific lines of reasoning followed in the dialogue, this essay seeks to outline the role of medicine in Bruno's reform of knowledge as well as to shed new light on his concern with some aspects of Renaissance medical debate.