HomeAquinomix - Thomas Aquinas' economic thought: an interdisciplinary approach

Aquinomix - Thomas Aquinas' economic thought: an interdisciplinary approach

Aquinomix - La pensée économique de Thomas d’Aquin : une approche interdisciplinaire

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Published on Friday, January 31, 2025

Abstract

To mark the eighth centenary of the birth of Thomas Aquinas, the Centre d'études du Saulchoir, a multi-disciplinary research centre run by the Dominicans of the Province of France, and the PHARE research centre at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, which specialises in the history of economic thought, in partnership with the Commissio Leonina, in charge of the critical edition of the works of Thomas Aquinas, and the Société thomiste, intend to offer this conference as an opportunity for an interdisciplinary encounter centred on the economic thought of Aquinas. Honouring an interdisciplinary approach to the economic thought of Thomas Aquinas, the conference will address the historical dimension of the texts and their context, the philosophical and theological dimension, the dimension specific to economic analysis and the practical dimension.

Announcement

Argument

Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274) was born eight hundred years ago, leaving his mark on the history of thought not only in philosophy and theology, but also in economics. While the texts dealing directly with economic issues represent only a small part of his work, they remain the most important of the Middle Ages, both in volume and diversity of subjects, and in terms of their contribution and posterity. Seeking to answer moral and justice-related questions, Aquinas renews and deepens our understanding of the transactions he deals with, thereby advancing our knowledge on the mechanisms we recognise today as economic. In the Summa theologiae, he groups commercial exchanges and loans at interest under the heading of ‘voluntary exchanges’, but throughout his writing he deals with subjects as varied as work and its remuneration, production and its financing, supply, international exchanges, the nature of money, the different exchange ratios, the nature of interest and the just price.

Thomas Aquinas’ economic thought continues to attract the interest of researchers from a wide range of disciplines: philologists, palaeographers and textual historians, who endeavour to edit and comment on the most authentic versions; historians, who relate Aquinas’s writings and life to the economic realities of his time; philosophers and theologians specialising in social ethics, who deal with the justice of economic operations, as well as specialists in fundamental theology, who study Aquinas’s relationship with God and social relations; economists, both to understand the role Aquinas’ thought played in economic thinking in the Middle Ages and to shed light on contemporary economic issues; economic practitioners, for whom Thomas Aquinas’ thought remains a source of inspiration in the conduct of economic operations.  

Many disciplines are thus involved in the study of the same corpus, but opportunities for them to meet and dialogue are rare, often depriving researchers of contributions from outside their discipline, both in terms of methods and results. To mark the eighth centenary of the birth of Thomas Aquinas, the Centre d'études du Saulchoir, a multi-disciplinary research centre run by the Dominicans of the Province of France, and the PHARE research centre at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, which specialises in the history of economic thought, in partnership with the Commissio Leonina, in charge of the critical edition of the works of Thomas Aquinas, and the Société thomiste, intend to offer this conference as an opportunity for an interdisciplinary encounter centred on the economic thought of Aquinas.

Honouring an interdisciplinary approach to the economic thought of Thomas Aquinas, the conference will address the historical dimension of the texts and their context, the philosophical and theological dimension, the dimension specific to economic analysis and the practical dimension. Papers from all disciplines are therefore welcome.

There will also be a visit to the Commissio Leonina and a tour of the medieval Paris of Thomas Aquinas, who wrote almost all his economic writings in the convent and college of Saint-Jacques, in the Latin Quarter, close to where the conference will be held.

Submission guidelines

Papers may be presented in English or French.

Young researchers are warmly invited to submit a paper proposal.

Papers will consist of a 25-minute presentation, followed by 15 minutes of discussion with the audience.

Publishing options can be discussed with the speakers.

Proposals for papers, in French or English, should include the name and affiliation of the speaker, a brief biographical sketch and a half-page to one-page summary of the paper. They should be sent to Pierre Januard and Nadeera Rajapakse at the following three addresses: ces.saulchoir@gmail.com; pierre.januard@univ-paris1.fr; nadeera.rajapakse@univ-paris1.fr

before 1 May 2025.

The scientific committee’s decision will be announced at the end of May 2025.

Useful information

The conference will take place in Paris from 11 to 13 September 2025.

Registration is free, but speakers and participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs.

Conference organisers

  • Pierre Januard, Director, Centre d’études du Saulchoir, Professor aggregatus, Faculty of Social Sciences, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum, Associate Researcher, PHARE, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
  • Nadeera Rajapakse, Associate Professor, PHARE, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
  • Scientific committee
  • Camille de Belloy (President of the Société thomiste; UCLy)
  • Pierre Januard (director of the Centre d’études du Saulchoir; PUST-Angelicum; PHARE-Paris 1)
  • André Lapidus (PHARE-Paris 1)
  • Adriano Oliva (President of the Commissio Leonina; LEM-CNRS)
  • Nadeera Rajapakse (PHARE-Paris1)
  • Jacques-Benoît Rauscher (Centre d’études du Saulchoir; UCLy)
  • Nathalie Sigot (director of PHARE-Paris 1)

Places

  • 43 rue de la Glacière
    Paris, France (75013)

Event attendance modalities

Full on-site event


Date(s)

  • Thursday, May 01, 2025

Keywords

  • scolastique, économie médiévale, Thomas d'Aquin

Contact(s)

  • Pierre Januard
    courriel : Pierre [dot] Januard [at] univ-paris1 [dot] fr

Information source

  • Pierre Januard
    courriel : Pierre [dot] Januard [at] univ-paris1 [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Aquinomix - Thomas Aquinas' economic thought: an interdisciplinary approach », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, January 31, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/137p7

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