Rafael Pascual

Aristotle proposed in the famous part of his 6th Book of Metaphysics a triple categorization of speculative sciences (physics, mathematics, first philosophy). Some scholars have considered this classical division as an unlawful and inconsistent Platonic residue of the parallelism between knowledge and reality. Others have numbered Aristotle among the upholders of the scholastic doctrine of the so-called degrees of abstraction. After having profoundly examined texts of the Corpus Aristotelicum (Metaphysics E 1, 1025b 1 - 1026a 32; On the soul A 1, 403a 27 - 403b 19) not only we can refute the accusation of Platonism and the unlawful and anachronistic attribution of degrees of abstraction doctrine to the Stagirite, but principally understand the real importance of Aristotle's proposition. That is to say: its role in determining the epistemic character of the science on which all this deep inquiry takes place: the "filosofia prima".

The volume presents the proceedings of the international symposium, fruit of a common research project engaged in by 48 scholars, that took place in Rome to celebrate the 8th centennial of Saint Bonaventure's birth. The theme, "Deus summe cognoscibilis", could sound, in the contemporary agnostic, secular context, like a provocation. The approach, however, of the symposium was to consider "the current theological relevance of Saint Bonaventure", focusing on thinking with our author about a number of themes: theological method (philosophy, theology and mysticism); revelation (in Scripture and history); creation (in Laudato si' and evolution); Christology (the triplex Verbum and logos of the Cross); ecclesiology and Trinitarian dimensions of sacramental theology; pre-phenomenological Trinitarian theology, and our own divine filiation. An appendix contains a previously unpublished text of J. Ratzinger about Bonaventure's theological method. The volume has also two indexes (authors' names and references to the works of Bonaventure).

Il presente volume, il primo della collana Ricerche di Storia della Filosofia e Teologia Medioevali in onore del Professor Marco Arosio, offre agli esperti e ai cultori degli studi medievali i contributi che - secondo il giudizio della giuria e in accordo con quanto stabilito dal bando del Premio Marco Arosio - sono stati considerati meritevoli di essere pubblicati. Il libro, curato da Marco Martorana, Rafael Pascual e Veronica Regoli, presenta i saggi di otto autori, dei trentuno partecipanti alle edizioni del 2011 e del 2012 del Premio: Andrea Colli, Alfredo Gatto, Andrea Lami, Corrado Maria Malavolta, Lucia Pappalardo, Davide Riserbato, Giulia Sossi, Luca Vettorello.

The doctrine of abstraction is fundamental to the Aristotelian-Thomistic theory of knowledge. The article seeks to present the foundation for this doctrine, from both the epistemological and the ontological points of view, examining the conditions in which abstraction is legitimate, according to its various modes, giving rise to different types of knowledge and grounding the division of the speculative sciences. The analysis is based above all upon the profound analysis of the Angelic Doctor in his commentary on the De Trinitate of Boethius, but also comparing this with other parallel texts in his Opera Omnia.

The aim of this article is to clarify the epistemic status of the Intelligent Design proposal. We can consider it as an updated version of the classical ways of demonstrating the existence of God, in particular of the so-called “fifth way”. As such, it seems to be neither scientific nor properly theological, but rather a proposal at a rational-philosophical level. At the same time, it must also be made clear that the negation of purpose in evolutionary biological processes is similarly a philosophical position, not a scientific one. I propose to acknowledge this state of affairs and to reframe the debate at its proper level. On the argumentative level, it is just as wrong to neglect the controversy as it is to discredit one’s opponent. On the epistemic level, it is a mistake to present Intelligent Design as a scientific replacement for the scientific theory of evolution; it should be considered instead to be a genuine and serious alternative to the quasi-philosophical ideology of evolutionism.

Boethius can be considered as the ideal middleman between the Greek Roman classical world and the medieval one. His influence in the western thought is difficult to gauge. In the article we point out the continuity of thought between Aristotle, Boethius, and successively Thomas Aquinas, in a very important epistemological question: the division of the speculative sciences. Boethius addresses the topic on two occasions: in the first commentary to Porphyry's Isagoge, and in the brief treatise De Trinitate. After presenting both texts, and verifying the different philosophical contexts in which they are, we tackle the disputatio that arose over the illegitimate interpretation of some authors of the text of De Trinitate, based on the doctrine of the degrees of abstraction.

La questione sulla verità del cristianesimo è fondamentale e ineludibile. In essa si trova uno dei filoni fondamentali del pensiero di Joseph Ratzinger – Benedetto XVI. In fondo si trovano coinvolti una serie di argomenti che si possono riassumere nel rapporto tra fede e ragione, tra il Dio della fede e il Dio dei filosofi. Nella visione cristiana ambedue non si contrappongono, ma s’incontrano. La “distinzione mosaica” s’incontra con la “distinzione socratica” . La pretesa di verità del cristianesimo conduce a delle conseguenze sia nell’ambito della religione, sia in quello della filosofia e della morale. Per superare la crisi del cristianesimo abbiamo bisogno di recuperare la fiducia nela ragione e tornare alla ricerca della verità

Dopo aver studiato l’argomento della divisione delle scienze speculative in Aristotele e Boezio, riprendiamo la marcia della nostra ricerca presentando il pensiero di Avicenna al riguardo. Bisogna ammettere l’importanza del suo contributo per lo sviluppo della filosofia, e in modo particolare la metafisica, nell’occidente medievale, senza il quale non si può cogliere la continuità e i cambiamenti progressivi nelle diverse edizioni di questa scienza regina del sapere razionale umano. Avicenna insisterà a ragione nell’importanza del subiectum scientiae per stabilire la divisione delle scienze speculative, e metterà in rilievo il soggetto proprio della metafisica, cioè l’ente in quanto ente. In un altro contesto, vedremo come Avicenna parlerà dei diversi gradi di astrazione nelle varie facoltà conoscitive, ma senza mettere questa dottrina in rapporto con la questione della divisione delle scienze, come invece faranno successivamente altri autori, confondendo forse questi due livelli di riflessione.