The Causa Essendi as the Real Metaphysical Cause in the Avicenna Latinus

  • Francisco O'Reilly Universidad de Montevideo
Keywords: Physical causation, metaphysical causation, Latin Avicenna, Medieval metaphysics, causa essendi

Abstract

The Latin Avicenna is recognized as one of the sources of the Latin Scholastic metaphysics of being. In this sense, one of its particular features is the distinction between physical and metaphysical causation. This paper shows Avicenna's radical position on the metaphysical notion of causa essendi, which is fundamental to the creationist approach typical of medieval metaphysics. His radical proposal is revealed in the statement that the father is not the cause of the son, or the architect of the house, because, metaphysically speaking, the cause is the cause of being and not the cause of movement.

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Published
2011-06-06
How to Cite
O’Reilly, F. (2011). The Causa Essendi as the Real Metaphysical Cause in the Avicenna Latinus. Patristica Et Mediævalia, 32, 87-98. Retrieved from http://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/petm/article/view/7785
Section
Critical Notes