Caterina Pello
Visit: February 11-20, 2022
Discipline: Ancient Philosophy
Project Title: The Presocratics on Life and Death: Ancient Origins of a Modern Debate
I am an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Greek and Latin at University College London. I studied Philosophy in Milan and Durham and I completed my PhD in Classics at the University of Cambridge. I was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Humboldt University Berlin, a Bye Fellow, Teaching Associate, and Director of Studies at Downing College and St John's College Cambridge, and an Associate Lecturer in St Andrews. I have been a Visiting Researcher at the Foundation Hardt in Geneva and the Harvard Centre of Hellenic Studies.
My primary research areas are Presocratic philosophy and the study of women in the history of philosophy. My PhD thesis, which I am currently developing for publication, focuses on the Pythagorean women. My current project focuses on early Greek philosophy of life and death. I am especially interested in the Presocratic theories of the beginning of life and living things, the interactions between ancient Greek philosophy and medicine, and the resonance of Greek biology in contemporary ethics of life. Together with Katharine O’Reilly (Ryerson University), I am also co-editing a book titled Ancient Women Philosophers: Recovered Ideas and New Perspectives, which focuses on women’s contributions to the history of Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese philosophy.
Host: Sean Kelsey