Aristotelian Subjectivism: Francisco Suárez’s Philosophy of Perception, 1st ed. 2021 Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind Series, Vol. 28

This monograph presents new material on Francisco Suárez?s comprehensive theory of sense perception. The core theme is perceptual intentionality in Suárez?s theory of the senses, external and internal, as presented in his Commentaria una cum quaestionibus in libros Aristotelis De anima published in 1621. The author targets the question of the multistage genesis of perceptual acts by considering the ontological ?items? involved in the procession of sensory information. However, the structural issue is not left aside, and the nature of the relationship due to which our perceptions are mental representations of this or that object is also considered. 

The heuristic historiographical background includes not only the theories of classical authors, such as Aristotle and Aquinas, but also those of late medieval authors of the fourteenth century. These are headed by John Duns Scotus, John of Jandun, Peter Auriol and Peter John Olivi. Readers will discover the differences between Suárez?s and Aquinas?s views, as well as other sources that may have served as positive inspiration for the Jesuit?s theory. By considering the late medieval philosophy of the fourteenth century, this book helps, to a certain extent, to fill a gap in the historiography of philosophy regarding the link between late medieval and early modern scholasticism. 

In the first part of the book, the metaphysics of the soul and powers is considered. Chapters on the external senses follow, covering topics such as the sensible species, the causes of sensation, self-awareness, and the ordering of the external senses. A further chapter is devoted to the internal senses and the author argues that by reducing the number and functional scope of the interior senses Suárez deepens the gap between the external senses and the intellect, but he reduces it through emphasizing the unifying efficacy of the soul.This book brings a synthetic and unifying perspective to contemporary research and will particularly appeal to graduate students and researchers in theology and philosophy, especially philosophy of mind.

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Part 1 Introduction

1.1 Philosophy of Perception and Suárez’s Commentary on Aristotle’s On the Soul

1.2 State of Research

Part 2 Metaphysics of the Soul, its Parts and Powers

2.2 The Soul as the Intrinsic Principle of Vital Operations

2.3 The Rational Soul as “Semi-Person”

2.4 Unicity of the Soul and the Formal Inclusion

2.5 Indivisibility of the Soul and Its Holenmeric Character

2.6 The Powers as Really Distinct Entities

2.7 The Soul’s Efficiency and Natural Resulting of the Powers

Part 3 External Senses I

3.1 Necessity of the Sensible Species

3.2 Nature and Origin of the Sensible Species and the Agent Sense

3.3 The Perceptual Act as a Distinct Unit

3.4 Moderately Active Perception: The Causes of a Perceptual Act

3.5 Endpoints of Perceptual Acts and the “Representationalism vs. Direct Realism” Issue 

3.7 Perceptual Self-Awareness

3.8 Sensible Objects, Perceptual Judgment and Errors of Sense

Part 4 External Senses II

4.2 Sight

4.2.1 Suárez’s Naturalistic and Qualitative Concept of Light

4.2.3 Adequate Object of Vision

4.2.4 Extramission, Intromission and Spatial Perception

4.3 Hearing

4.3.1 Nature, Cause, Subject and Medium of Sound

4.3.3 Organ of Hearing

4.4 Smell

4.4.2 How Odour Affects Medium and Power

4.4.3 Organ and Act of Olfaction

4.5.1 Nature and Kinds of Sapour

4.5.2 Object of Touch: The Problem of Corporeal Pain

4.5.4 Organ of Taste and Touch: The Problem of Medium

Part 5 Internal Senses

5.1 Objects and Sensible Species of Internal Senses

5.2   Number of Internal Senses

5.2.1 Criteria for the Multiplication of Internal Senses

5.3 Reduction of the Internal Sense’s Cognitive Functions

5.3.1 Cogitative Power

Part 6 Conclusion

6.2 Elements of Modal Ontology in Suárez’s Theory of Perception

6.3 Historical Significance of Suárez’s Theory of Perception: The Emergence of Aristotelian Subjectivism

Bibliography

Daniel Heider is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Theology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. He is also employed as a research worker at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. His research focuses on early modern scholastic philosophy, especially on philosophy cultivated by Jesuit authors headed by Francisco Suárez. His individual monographs publications include Suárez and His Metaphysics. From the Concept of Being via Transcendental Unity to the Kinds of Transcendental Unity (in Czech), Filosofia, 2011 and Universals in Second Scholasticism. A Comparative Study with Focus on the Theories of Francisco Suárez S.J. (1548–1617), João Poinsot O. P. (1589–1644) and Bartolomeo Mastri da Meldola O.F.M. Conv. (1602–1673)/Bonaventura Belluto O.F.M. Conv. (1600–1676), John Benjamin Publisher, 2014.

Highlights the differences between Suárez’s and Aquinas’s view and considers other (especially Franciscan) sources of inspiration

Examines a range of works including the disputations devoted to the issues of causality and the accidents of relation, quality and action

Implements the techniques and doctrines employed in the contemporary philosophy of mind to update Suárez’s philosophy

First ever monograph on Francisco Suárez’s comprehensive theory of external and internal senses