Aristotelian Subjectivism: Francisco Suárez s Philosophy of Perception

This monograph presents new material on Francisco Suárez's comprehensive theory of sense perception. The core theme is perceptual intentionality in Suárez's theory of the senses, external and internal, as presented in his Commentaria una cum quaestionibus in libros Aristotelis De anima published in 1621. The author targets the question of the multistage genesis of perceptual acts by considering the ontological items involved in the procession of sensory information. However, the structural issue is not left aside, and the nature of the relationship due to which our perceptions are mental representations of this or that object is also considered.

The heuristic historiographical background includes not only the theories of classical authors, such as Aristotle and Aquinas, but also those of late medieval authors of the fourteenth century. These are headed by John Duns Scotus, John of Jandun, Peter Auriol and Peter John Olivi. Readers will discover the differences between Suárez's and Aquinas's views, as well as other sources that may have served as positive inspiration for the Jesuit's theory. By considering the late medieval philosophy of the fourteenth century, this book helps, to a certain extent, to fill a gap in the historiography of philosophy regarding the link between late medieval and early modern scholasticism.

In the first part of the book, the metaphysics of the soul and powers is considered. Chapters on the external senses follow, covering topics such as the sensible species, the causes of sensation, self-awareness, and the ordering of the external senses. A further chapter is devoted to the internal senses and the author argues that by reducing the number and functional scope of the interior senses Suárez deepens the gap between the external senses and the intellect, but he reduces it through emphasizing the unifying efficacy of the soul.This book brings a synthetic and unifying perspective to contemporary research and will particularly appeal to graduate students and researchers in theology and philosophy, especially philosophy of mind.

Highlights the differences between Suárez's and Aquinas's view and considers other (especially Franciscan) sources of inspiration Examines a range of works including the disputations devoted to the issues of causality and the accidents of relation, quality and action Implements the techniques and doctrines employed in the contemporary philosophy of mind to update Suárez's philosophy First ever monograph on Francisco Suárez's comprehensive theory of external and internal senses

Auteur
Daniel Heider is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Theology, University of South Bohemia in Ceské Budejovice. He is also employed as a research worker at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. His research focuses on early modern scholastic philosophy, especially on philosophy cultivated by Jesuit authors headed by Francisco Suárez. His individual monographs publications include Suárez and His Metaphysics. From the Concept of Being via Transcendental Unity to the Kinds of Transcendental Unity (in Czech), Filosofia, 2011 and Universals in Second Scholasticism. A Comparative Study with Focus on the Theories of Francisco Suárez S.J. (1548-1617), João Poinsot O. P. (1589-1644) and Bartolomeo Mastri da Meldola O.F.M. Conv. (1602-1673)/Bonaventura Belluto O.F.M. Conv. (1600-1676), John Benjamin Publisher, 2014.

Texte du rabat

This monograph presents new material on Francisco Suárez s comprehensive theory of sense perception. The core theme is perceptual intentionality in Suárez s theory of the senses, external and internal, as presented in his Commentaria una cum quaestionibus in libros Aristotelis De anima published in 1621. The author targets the question of the multistage genesis of perceptual acts by considering the ontological items involved in the procession of sensory information. However, the structural issue is not left aside, and the nature of the relationship due to which our perceptions are mental representations of this or that object is also considered. The heuristic historiographical background includes not only the theories of classical authors, such as Aristotle and Aquinas, but also those of late medieval authors of the fourteenth century. These are headed by John Duns Scotus, John of Jandun, Peter Auriol and Peter John Olivi. Readers will discover the differences between Suárez s and Aquinas s views, as well as other sources that may have served as positive inspiration for the Jesuit s theory. By considering the late medieval philosophy of the fourteenth century, this book helps, to a certain extent, to fill a gap in the historiography of philosophy regarding the link between late medieval and early modern scholasticism. In the first part of the book, the metaphysics of the soul and powers is considered. Chapters on the external senses follow, covering topics such as the sensible species, the causes of sensation, self-awareness, and the ordering of the external senses. A further chapter is devoted to the internal senses and the author argues that by reducing the number and functional scope of the interior senses Suárez deepens the gap between the external senses and the intellect, but he reduces it through emphasizing the unifying efficacy of the soul.This book brings a synthetic and unifying perspective to contemporary research and will particularly appeal to graduate students and researchers in theology and philosophy, especially philosophy of mind.

Contenu

Part I: Metaphysics of the Soul and Powers.- Chapter 1. Soul as the Substantial Form of an Organic Body.- Chapter 2. Soul as the Intrinsic Principle of Vital Operations.- Chapter 3. Unicity Theory of the Soul.- Chapter 4. Powers as Really Distinct Entities and the Soul's Causal Efficacy.- Part II: The External Senses I.- Chapter 5. Necessity of Sensible Species.- Chapter 6. Nature and Origin of Sensible Species.- Chapter 7. Cognitive Act as a Distinct Ontological Unit.- Chapter 8. Active Perception: The Causes of Sensation.- Chapter 9. Terminus of a Perceptual Act: Representationalism, or Direct Realism?.- Chapter 10. Intuitive Cognition of Absent Objects?.- Chapter 11. Perceptual Self-Awareness and Perceptual Judgment.- Appendix: Self-Knowledge in Embodied, Separated and Angelic Intellects.- Part III: The External Senses II.- Chapter 12. Ordering of the External Senses.- Chapter 13. Sight.- Chapter14. Hearing.- Chapter 15. The Lower External Senses.- Part IV: The Internal Senses.- Chapter 16. Reduction of the Number of Internal Senses.- Chapter 17. Causes of Imaginative Species.- Chapter 18. Reduction of the Cognitive Scope of Internal Apprehension.- Conclusion. <p