The program "Ancient Philosophy and History of Ancient Science" is dedicated to ancient philosophy and the ancient sciences, their methods, their intellectual and philosophical foundations as well as their practical applications in their social and cultural contexts. The main sources are scientific and philosophical texts, but also scientific instruments and other forms of material evidence. Specific philological reading competences and methodological skills for the study of ancient philosophy and the sciences are central components of the program. The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) contributes to the training of PhD students particulary through lecture series, workshops and conferences. The historians of science who work at the institute investigate how categories of thought, evidence and experience have historically developed through interaction between the sciences and the surrounding cultures.

The program is divided into two curricular paths, which are selected before the beginning of the doctoral program: while the path Ancient Philosophy is concerned with ancient philosophy in the stricter sense and with the more general, intellectual and theoretical aspects of the ancient sciences, the path History of Ancient Science comprises the more philological, historical and archaeological aspects of ancient scientific theories and practices and their social and cultural contexts.

A major contribution to the program is made by the DFG funded Research Training Group Philosophy, Science and the Sciences, which is devoted to the dialogue between philosophy and the sciences in Graeco-Roman and Arabic thought and their reception in the modern era.

Members of the managing committee

Prof. Dr. James Wilberding (HU) (chairman)
Prof. Dr. Gerd Graßhoff (HU/MPIWG)
Prof. Dr. Bernd Roling (FUB)
PD Dr. Oliver Overwien (HU) (academic associate)
Dr. Carmen Marcks-Jacobs (coordinator)
Alessia Pilloni (FU) (student representative)
Valery Berthoud Frías (HU) (dep. student representative)

Departments and institutes connected with the doctoral program

Freie Universität Berlin

• Egyptological Seminar
• Institut für Wissensgeschichte des Altertums
• Institute of Greek and Latin Languages and Literatures
• Institute of Jewish Studies
• Institute of Philosophy

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

• Department of Classics
• Department of Philosophy

Information on requirements for admission as a doctoral student in your chosen field can be obtained from the relevant doctoral office (Promotionsbüro) of the relevant faculty (at the Humboldt-Universität) or department (at the Freie Universität). Please bear in mind: the doctorate regulations of the relevant faculty/department determine whether persons chosen to act as supervisor are eligible to serve as reviewers of the dissertation.

You can find more information in the FAQ.