Albertus Magnus on Human Knowledge, Beatitude and Perfection

After long standing in the shadow of his famous student Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), the works of Albertus Magnus (1200-1280) are finally starting to gain the attention they deserve. Our team explores a variety of themes in the universal doctor’s thought, including his views on experience, science as a habitus, the civic virtues, and philosophical and theological contemplation, to name just a few. We also study Albert in conversation (and debate) with his contemporaries.

Prof. Bernhard Blankenhorn is working on the late Albert’s theology of contemplation, his bridal mysticism, and Eucharistic theology. Katja Krause, Professor for the History of Science at TU Berlin and leader of the independent MaxPlanck Research Group, “Experience in the Premodern Sciences of Soul and Body, ca. 800-1650,” at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, is working on Albert’s science as a habitus.

Our project began with the April 2023 colloquium, Albert the Great on the Human Being, of which the acts are forthcoming from Peeters Publishers.
A seminar for specialists and a public colloquium are in preparation for 2025-26, with the theme: Albertus Magnus vs. Thomas Aquinas: Debates between a medieval master and his disciple.