FAQ

 

I’m curious about the name: is Ammonius the founder?
How long has The Ammonius Foundation been in existence?
Who runs The Ammonius Foundation?
What is the Foundation’s purpose?
Does The Foundation support political causes?
I see mention of “God” in your Mission Statement: must funded scholars be theists?
What is your approach to funding?
Can I apply to The Ammonius Foundation for grant money?

 

 

 

I’m curious about the name: is Ammonius the founder?

‘Ammonius’ is not the name of our founder.  The founder of The Ammonius Foundation is Marc Sanders, a successful American businessman, now retired and occupied in writing.  Ammonius was an important 5th-century philosopher, who trained under Proclus at Athens and held the principal chair of Philosophy at Alexandria.  Many commentaries on Aristotle can be traced to Ammonius via students’ published records of his famous lectures at Alexandria, though he is perhaps most readily associated with a large and important commentary on De Interpretatione from his own hand. A founder of what is sometimes called the Alexandrian School of Neoplatonism, Ammonius taught most of the influential Platonists of the 5th century, though he is well-known for his unusual thesis that according to Aristotle God is both the efficient and final cause of the world.  Marc Sanders is not a historian of ancient philosophy, but admires much in Ammonius’ thought that is congenial to his own. Back to top.
      
How long has The Ammonius Foundation been in existence?

Marc Sanders began the organization in 1999 with the creation of the ‘A. M. Monius Institute’, which invited critical reflection by individual scholars on a narrow cluster of topics relating traditional metaphysics to systematic philosophy.  In 2004, the Institute expanded its initiatives to include both research-grant and award programs.  To better reflect its ongoing goals and accommodate anticipated changes in up-coming years, the organization changed its name to ‘The Ammonius Foundation’ in 2007. Back to top. 

 

Who runs The Ammonius Foundation?

In 2004, Marc Sanders stepped aside as principal Director to devote more of his time and energy to writing.  After five years as Administrative Director, Richard Dougherty handed the managerial reins to Rachel Costello in 2008.  The Ammonius Foundation continues to be assisted by a small governing board of legal, business, and philosophical professionals, on which Sanders remains as Chair. Back to top.

 

What is the Foundation’s purpose?

The purpose of The Ammonius Foundation is to stimulate renewed appreciation for systematic philosophy, by materially supporting excellent research and writing on select foundational themes of traditional metaphysics.  The current philosophical environment, now abundantly welcoming to original scholarly work in metaphysics, presents an exciting and important opportunity for philosophers to re-examine the place of metaphysics in philosophy as a whole.  While granting the many virtues of increasing specialization and topical focus, The Ammonius Foundation aspires to encourage practitioners of metaphysics to devote scholarly energies in wider, more systematic directions.  To this end, The Foundation is committed to supporting select research on basic metaphysical themes that in its view hold most promise for positioning metaphysics at the foundations of broader, more systematic philosophical reflection.  For more on The Foundation’s goals, please see our Mission Statement.
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Does The Foundation support political causes?

No.  The Ammonius Foundation is a politically non-partisan entity.  As required by law and adopted by principle, our not-for-profit organization does not support or otherwise endorse any political candidate, party, campaign, or interest. Back to top.

 

I see mention of “God” in your Mission Statement: must funded scholars be theists?

No. Those we have funded in the past, and are willing to consider funding in the future, include non-theists and theists alike. Back to top.

 

What is your approach to funding?

The Ammonius Foundation believes that an important direction for ongoing philosophical reflection will extend research on basic metaphysical topics into more broadly systematic accounts of reality.  This requires engaging individual scholars to work on core themes most likely to intersect and unify what may otherwise remain isolated areas of investigation.  Our broad approach to funding aims to safeguard both philanthropic flexibility and innovative scholarship, while nevertheless strategically targeting those projects best-situated to yield the intersecting and unifying virtues we embrace.  This is a challenging task.  The Foundation sees its involvement with scholars as a genuine partnership: like any funding entity, we are alert to the importance of regularly re-evaluating our initiatives, to ensure that we accomplish as best we can the mutual goals of effective scholarly support and responsible stewardship. Back to top.

 

Can I apply to The Ammonius Foundation for grant money?

The Ammonius Foundation currently awards research funding only to scholars identified and selected by The Foundation, and not by application.  We do conduct and sponsor the Younger Scholars Prize Program, administered by the Editorial Board of Oxford Studies in Metaphysics: this annual essay competition is open to scholars who are within 10 years of receiving a Ph.D. or students who are currently enrolled in a graduate program.  We may begin accepting grant applications in the near future: please check back periodically to this web site for changes or additions to our current grant Programs.

If you have published on one or more topics in metaphysics, are actively working on something that you believe to be especially aligned with The Foundation’s vision and goals, and believe that we would be interested in knowing about you and your research, please feel free to contact us with a brief description of your credentials, your current project, and its likely importance to us. Back to top.