The "First Notions" of Avicenna as Source of the Doctrine of the Transcendentals in Thomas Aquinas
Abstract
The doctrine of transcendentals in the Middle Ages implies that there are certain concepts primarily conceived by the intellect and common to all things. Avicena is one of the major sources of this doctrine and his influence in Thomas Aquinas' conceptualization of the doctrine is decisive. To show this influence, in the present paper we establish a few theses from the epistemological, logical and ontological point of view that are implied in a doctrine of first concepts. Then we discuss Aertsen's position, according to which there is not any doctrine of transcendentals in Avicenna, due to the lack of a conceptual relation among the primary notions. Our aim is to espouse the same position as Aertsen but because of different reasons.Downloads
References
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