The German cardinal Nicholas of Cusa is mostly known today for his elaborate philosophical work. As one of the first proponents of Renaissance humanism, he was a key figure of the fifteenth century. In contrast to the traditional medieval Aristotelian cosmology he developed the concept of an â Universum Infinitumö (infinite universe). This leads to the innovative question of which epistemological or historical connections can be discerned to connect his writings to the contemporary beginnings of global explorations that culminated in the discovery of the New World(s). This question was discussed in 2016 during an international workshop at the National Library of Portugal. The interdisciplinary meeting, the results of which are published here, was organized by Thomas Horst (Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon) in close cooperation with Harald Schwaetzer and Matthias Vollet (Kueser Akademie fĂŒr EuropĂ€ische Geistesgeschichte, Bernkastel-Kues). The Editors Thomas Horst works as a postdoc at the Faculdade de CiĂȘncias da Universidade de Lisboa, where he studies cosmographical knowledge and transcultural relations (in particular German-Portuguese networks) in the early modern period._ Harald Schwaetzer, Inhaber der Dozentur fĂŒr Cusanus-Forschung am Institut fĂŒr Cusanus-Forschung an der UniversitĂ€t und der Theologischen FakultĂ€t Trier (2002-2008), Professor fĂŒr Philosophie an der Alanus Hochschule (2009-2014), der Cusanus Hochschule (2015-2019) und der Hochschule Biberach (2020-2022), ist gegenwĂ€rtig Mitglied der Leitung des â Philosophischen Seminarâ , Stuttgart, und hat die akademische Leitung der Kueser Akademie fĂŒr EuropĂ€ische Geistesgeschichte inne. Matthias Vollet works as GeschĂ€ftsfĂŒhrer at the Kueser Akademie fĂŒr EuropĂ€ische Geistesgeschichte and teaches Philosophy at the Philosophisches Seminar of the Johannes Gutenberg-UniversitĂ€t Mainz. His main interests are the thinking of Nicholas of Cusa and of Henri Bergson. |