Avicebron - A Giant of Circumstances in Existential Metaphysic

• Authors: Milcarek P.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Avicebron deserves the appelation 'a giant of circumstances in existential metaphysics' because he neither proposed to hold a distinction between essence and existence, nor did he try to abolish it. In this sense his teaching was impoprtant but adventitious for the history of some philosophical ideas. Avicebron made an important contribution to the creation of a new theory. His original and controversial thought was frequently discussed by Franciscan theologians of Paris and seemed to be of interest to Thomas Aquinas. The inventive aspect of his thought consisted in the proposal to challenge the idea that potentiality is indistibnguishable from matter, or, in more concrete terms, that potentiality was to be identified with bodies. Avicebron put forward that potentiality can also reside in angels and in rational spirits. However, this assumption in turn led him, along with a number of his followers, to the belief that there existed various kinds of non-corporeal matter. This specific assertion drew attention of Thomas Aquinas who observed that the concept of potentiality is wider than the concept of matter, and, consequently, some form of potentiality may have nothing to do with matter at all. Furthermore this proposal was complemented in Aquinas with two theses - first, that, as can be found in Avicenna, existence is different from essense, and secondly, that, as had been upheld by Aristotle, actuality is different from potentiality. By combining these three beliefs Thomas Aquinas could formulate a thought which proved fundamental for the entire Christian philosophy that God as the essence of being by possessing full being wheras other things exist only by participation in him. In this way Avicebron helped in the formulation of the most important metaphysical thesis of Thomas Aquinas.

Keywords

EN

AVICEBRON; ESSENCE -EXISTENCE RELATION; METAPHYSICS; THOMAS AQUINAS

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Przegląd Filozoficzny. Nowa Seria
• Year: 2007
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 1(61)
• Pages: 123-137
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Milcarek P.

• P. Milcarek, Uniwersytet Kardynala Stefana Wyszynskiego w Warszawie, ul. Dewajtis 5, 01-815 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

08PLAAAA03827653