Vivarium 46 (3):232-252 (2008)
Abstract |
Albertus Magnus favours the Aristotelian definition of the soul as the first actuality or perfection of a natural body having life potentially. But he interprets Aristotle's vocabulary in a way that it becomes compatible with the separability of the soul from the body. The term “perfectio” is understood as referring to the soul's activity only, not to its essence. The term “forma” is avoided as inadequate for defining the soul's essence. The soul is understood as a substance which exists independently of its actions and its body. The article shows that Albertus' terminological decisions continue a tradition reaching from the Greek commentators, and John Philoponos in particular, to Avicenna. Albertus' position on another important issue is also influenced by Arabic sources. His defense of the unity of the soul's vegetative, animal and rational parts rests on arguments from Avicenna and Averroes. It is shown that Averroes' position on the problem is not clearcut: he advocates the unity thesis, but also teaches the plurality of the generic and individual forms in man. This double stance is visible in the Latin reception of Averroes' works, and also in Albertus, who presents Averroes both as supporter and opponent of the plurality thesis.
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Keywords | AVICENNA ARABIC PHILOSOPHY AVERROES PHILOSOPHY OF THE SOUL ALBERTUS MAGNUS DE ANIMA MEDIEVAL LATIN PHILOSOPHY |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1163/156853408x360902 |
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References found in this work BETA
Essence and Existence.John F. Wippel - 1982 - In Norman Kretzmann, Anthony Kenny & Jan Pinborg (eds.), Cambridge History of Later Medieval Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 385--410.
Two Early Oxford Masters on the Problem of Plurality of Forms. Adam of Buckfield — Richard Rufus of Cornwall.Daniel A. Callus - 1939 - Revue Néo-Scolastique de Philosophie 42 (63):411-445.
Das Lehrstück von den vier Intellekten in der Scholastik - von den arabischen Quellen bis zu Albertus Magnus.D. N. Hasse - 1999 - Recherches de Theologie Et Philosophie Medievales 66 (1):21-78.
Citations of this work BETA
Influence of Arabic and Islamic Philosophy on the Latin West.Dag Nikolaus Hasse - 2009 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Aquinas and Aristotelians on Whether the Soul is a Group of Powers.Nicholas Kahm - 2017 - History of Philosophy Quarterly 34 (2):115-32.
Mirum Est Si Intellectus Noster Omnem Scientiam Accipiens Ex Phantasmate.Ile Vlad - 2021 - Bochumer Philosophisches Jahrbuch Fur Antike Und Mittelalter 23.
Transcending Natural Philosophy or Disregarding Metaphysics? : Albert the Great on Humors, Reason and Intellect.Vlad Ile - 2020 - Bochumer Philosophisches Jahrbuch Fur Antike Und Mittelalter 23 (1):117-140.
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