Proceedings of the Second Symposium of the Dionysius Circle: “Participationes tripliciter considerari possunt” : The Absolute Notion of Esse in Aquinas’s Commentary on the Divine Names
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: In this paper, I argue that, for Aquinas, esse commune is the absolute notion of esse . It is absolute, moreover, precisely in the Avicennian sense insofar as it is the consideration of esse as abstracted from intelligible and material modes of being. First, I clarify Dionysius’s distinction between the two senses of per se theonyms, focusing on the Procline provenance of adverbs like ἀπολύτως and ἀρχηγικῶς in the Divine Names . Second, I defend Aquinas’s interpretation and development of Dionysius’s distinction, higlighting his reliance on Avicenna’s threefold consideratio in his account of per se theonyms as absolute natures. I will conclude with suggestions for further research.
Author: Conor Stark
Institution: Catholic University of America
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4404641840