Two sixteenth-century Coimbra commentaries on 'De anima': Pedro da Fonseca (attr.) and Cristóvão Gil. 'On the soul' and 'On the immortality of the soul'

Abstract

This paper analyzes the questions on the science and the immortality of the soul in two 16thcentury commentaries on Aristotle's De anima which subsist in manuscript form from the teaching of philosophy in Coimbra. The positions of the two commentators - Pedro da Fonseca (attr.) and Cristóvão Gil - are totally opposed in relation to both the commentary tradition on Aristotle's De anima they follow and the theories on the soul they assume. Focusing on less-known sources, this study brings to light some innovative aspects of the teaching of philosophy in Coimbra in the 16th century, aiming at contributing to a better understanding of both the transformations of Aristotelianism at the time and the intellectual context in which theses transformations were produced.