The University of Notre Dame Australia will host a A$3.5 million share of a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant in its Centre for the History of Philosophy (CHOP) for a project examining methods of logical argumentation across the Abrahamic philosophical traditions (Jewish, Christian and Islamic).
Newly appointed Professor of Medieval Arabic Philosophy, Professor Tony Street, will lead the project. Professor Street is widely recognised for foundational work in Arabic logic, including his recent annotated translation of Najm al-Din al-Katibi’s al-Risalah al-Shamsiyyah [The Rules of Logic] (New York University Press, 2024).
The funding forms part of the ERC Synergy project Logic in Reverse Redux: Illegitimate Argumentative Moves in the Arabic, Byzantine, Hebrew, and Latin Medieval Traditions (RevLogRedux), a €9.97 million (A$16.3 million) international collaboration led by the National Centre for Scientific Research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS), with partners including Université de Genève, Université de Lille, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Södertörn University and McGill University.
The University’s role in the RevLogRedux project places it among a select few Australian institutions to receive ERC Synergy Grant funding and represents one of the most significant research achievements in Notre Dame’s history.
Vice Chancellor, Professor Francis Campbell, said ERC Synergy Grants support ambitious, multi-team projects at the highest level.
“Hosting this funding and welcoming Professor Street and his team is an outstanding opportunity and achievement and a significant endorsement of our growing international research reputation,” he said.
CHOP Co-Director, Professor David Bronstein, said the grant aligned directly with the Centre’s research strengths in philosophy in the Abrahamic traditions.
“RevLogRedux ranges over a long history of Jewish, Christian and Muslim intellectual exchange and the project will make a major contribution to CHOP’s specialization in Abrahamic philosophical traditions.
“The grant allows us to build a strong team, support early career researchers and make a major contribution to the Australian humanities.”
Professor Tony Street said he is delighted to be joining Notre Dame and to bring RevLogRedux to CHOP.
“What excites me most is the chance to study logic as a shared intellectual project across Arabic, Hebrew, Latin and Byzantine traditions, and to show how Jewish, Christian and Muslim thinkers shaped one another’s reasoning in the medieval world.”
Notre Dame’s ERC funding will support a multi-year research team across the Arabic/Islamic and Hebrew/Jewish traditions, alongside affiliated international collaborators.
