Welcome to the website of the Modern Greek Philosophy Research Centre, which operates as part of the Section of Philosophy of the Department of Philosophy, Paedagogy and Psychology of the University of Ioannina. The position of Research Centre Director has been held by Assoc. Professor of Philosophy Konstantinos Th. Petsios since 2003, following the decision of the Department of Philosophy, Paedagogy and Psychology.

The Centre houses self-contained collections of rare historical-philosophical evidence, pertaining to the life and works of all Modern Greek Philosophers, old prints, manuscripts and visual material, which has already been entered into an electronic database and is at the disposal of researchers, informed citizens, pupils and students. The complex data- and meta-data base as well as the digital Library have been made possible through the implementation of the Project «Development and internet display of integrated primary collections of historical-philosophical content: “Hellenomouseion”», which was funded within the framework of Invitation 65 of Measure 1.3 (Documentation, exploitation and showcasing of Hellenic Culture. Action Line 1. Education, Culture) of Operational Programm «Information Society». The ultimate beneficiary of the action [which was funded at 75% by the ERDF (Eurorean Regional Development Fund) and 25% by the Ministry of Finances (through national resources)] was the University of Ioannina, which safeguards its viability and provides the prerequisite technical support for the operation of the Centre’s webpage.

A significant requisite is addressed though the implemented project with research self-sufficiency and scientific autonomy, in that Modern Greek Philosophy is showcased and highlighted in its diachronic dimension both to the Greek and to the international community, thus validly revealing an aspect of the History of the Modern Greek intellect which had remained -to a great extent- obscure.

The website of the Centre incorporates approximately 34,500 work and biographical entries, which are complemented by a solid corpus of historical-philosophical, literary and palaeographical documentation, information about 12,500 authors and in excess of 150,000 digitised pages of old texts and articles (in .pdf form). Old prints and articles that make up the digital library are easily accessible, due to appropriate treatment. Each text is supplemented by a detailed Table of Contents, which have been typed in order to facilitate study by researchers.

For a large number of documents, visitors can access Contents and Abstracts, most of which are written in English. In addition, Greek summaries are provided for texts written in other languages. These have been typed using the polytonic Palatino Linotype (Unicode–UTF 8) typeface, in order to enable keyword-based searching. A substantial and constantly expanding number of passages is supplemented by digitised documents (in .pdf format), which are available free of charge. The indication «digital format» (in bold) can be located at the bottom of every electronic form.

Particular units sketch out the History of Modern Greek Philosophy in its diachronic dimension (from the mid-15th century to the present date) and present aspects of Modern Greek thinking supplemented with relevant literature. A decision was made to present the fundamental aspects of Modern Greek Philosophy and the most prominent Modern Greek philosophers in a timeline divided by centuries for reasons of method, because we believe the evolution of Modern Greek philosophical thought is best tracked thus. At the same time, the systematic exposition of the philosophical issues within this timeline enables the webpage visitors to formulate a lucid view about the intellectual activity of the era and about the work of the intellectuals who held pivotal roles in it. Every passage is signed by its author.

Due to the nature of the evidence, the polytonic orthographical system (Palatino Linotype font/Unicode–UTF 8) was used to store the texts in the database and make them available in the internet. Free access to the website content is facilitated by a multifaceted but also user-friendly «search» function, where the requested information may be entered in polytonic and monotonic orthographical system and of course in all European languages.

KONSTANTINOS TH. PETSIOS
ASSOS. PROFESSOR
OF HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY