Tomaszowy argument „z blokowania” za niematerialnością działań intelektu.

• Authors: Zembrzuski Michał

Title variants

EN

Aquinas’s impediment argument for the immateriality of the intellect

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Argument for spirituality of soul appears in a few places of Aquinas’ text and is sometimes called “the impediment argument”, “the argument for plasticity of intellect”, “the argument from common dimension”. The names differ as far as Thomas did not establish himself any name for his reasoning in this matter. There is no doubt that the argument derives from the Aristotelian On the soul, however, Aquinas does not develop it. The argument is present in four places and its most important presumptions would be summarized as follows: (1) man can cognize the nature of all bodies by his own intellect; (2) that what is able to cognize everything can not in itself have a nature of the cognized object – the nature of body would block a process of cognition; (3) it is impossible for the intellectual principle to be a body – it would not be possible for the principle of intellectual action to act through a bodily part; (4) the intellectual principle which is called the intellect or the mind acts per se does not contain any bodily involvement in its action. Hence, according to Aquinas, soul is something subsisting with regard to actions which are not the acts of body. However, this statement is disturbingly mistaken. In Summa, nevertheless, Thomas develops this issue further. In response to some objections he would emphasize that none of parts (as far as part is understood as a part of a whole) could not exist separately and act separately – neither soul nor body (as well as an eye or a hand). This is for the fact that soul is something subsisting (quod est) and inherited in matter (quo aliquid aliud est). Aquinas tries to explain the status of soul significantly, nevertheless left some questions open to make analysis on a whole human being possible, including body for which soul serves as a form. Thus, through the intellect we would observe a unique characteristic of human soul as a rational being.

Keywords

PL

Tomasz z Akwinu; intelekt możnościowy; niematerialność intelektu; poznanie intelektualne; dusza i ciało

EN

Thomas Aquinas; possible intellect; immateriality; intellectual cognition; soul and body

• Publisher: Naukowe Towarzystwo Tomistyczne
• Journal: Rocznik Tomistyczny
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 6
• Pages: 77-98

Dates

published

2017

Contributors

author

Zembrzuski Michał

• Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie, Wydział Filozofii Chrześcijańskiej