New insight?
What role does the intellect play in memory? How do ancient and medieval philosophical approaches shape our understanding of this, and what links these ancient theories to the modern debate on consciousness? In his research, philosopher Martin Klein explores theories of memory and consciousness in the Middle Ages, focusing in particular on the history of the philosophy of mind in the 13th and 14th centuries.
In his research, Martin Klein examines the close links between memory and consciousness, which play a central role in both ancient and medieval philosophy. He focuses in particular on the connection between memory and self-awareness, understanding the latter as a person’s awareness of themselves and their mental processes. According to Martin Klein, there is a persistent notion that the concept of consciousness is one that only emerged with Descartes or in the early modern period. Yet thinkers were already discussing very similar topics in the Middle Ages. And if one examines these more closely, says Klein, there are theories of consciousness that can be compared with contemporary approaches.
A forthcoming volume (Theories of Memory: Texts on a Medieval Debate, Klostermann Verlag) deals precisely with this topic. In it, Martin Klein, together with Dominik Perler, aims to demonstrate how the works of the Arab philosophers Averroes and Avicenna provided an important foundation for medieval thinkers such as Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas to engage with Aristotle’s theory of memory. In addition, Augustine was an important source for the medieval debate. This synthesis was the subject of intense discussion at medieval universities. Later, John Duns Scotus in turn formulated a theory of memory in which the question of personal identity and the significance of memory for this identity is already raised, thus already showing the beginnings of an early modern theory by John Locke.
Martin Klein also incorporates these historical perspectives into his teaching by presenting medieval thought against the backdrop of ancient philosophy and highlighting its influence on the early modern period. In doing so, he also places great emphasis on establishing systematic links to current philosophical and psychological debates and presents philosophical controversies in order to make different perspectives and schools of thought visible to his students.
Martin Klein studied philosophy, history and theology in Berlin, Toronto, Groningen and Rome. He completed his doctoral thesis at Humboldt University in Berlin on the philosophy of mind in the late Middle Ages, which was later published by Brill, and in the following years undertook study and research visits to Toronto and Paris. Since autumn 2025, he has been Professor of Ancient and/or Medieval Philosophy at the University of Graz.