aquinasontruthaboutnonbeongsacpaproc_2006_

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2007, American Catholic Philosophical Association, Proceedings of the ACPA, Vol. 80

Thomas Aquinas on Truths about Nonbeings

Gloria Wasserman

Abstract:In De veritateI.2, Thomas Aquinas claims that to every true act of un-derstanding there must correspond some being and likewise to every being there

corresponds a true act of understanding. For Aquinas, the ratio of truth consistsin a conformity between intellect and being. This account of truth, however, doesnot appear to allow for a certain class of truths, namely those that are about non-beings. Many think that it is true that no chimeras exist, that blindness can becaused by exposure to bright lights, and that evil should be avoided. Yet, in eachof these cases of truth, there does not appear to be a being to which the intellectconforms. In this paper, I will explore the ways in which Aquinass notion of truthas conformity to being is able to accommodate truths about nonbeings.

Thomas Aquinas maintains that truth is found both in the intellect andin things: primarily in the human intellect in so far as it conforms tothings and secondarily, in things in so far as they are apt to produce

a true apprehension of themselves in the human intellect.1 In the De veritate, forinstance, Aquinas writes: to every true act of understanding there must correspondsome being and likewise to every being there corresponds a true act of understanding.2Throughout his works, he claims that the essence of truth of the human intellect

consists in an adequation (or commensuration) of intellect and thing.

3

In the Com-mentary on the Sentences, Aquinas explains that, more precisely, it is the existence(esse) of a thing that enters into the relation of adequation and accordingly, causestruth to reside in the human intellect. He writes:

But since in a thing there is its quiddity and its existence, truth isbased more on the existence of a thing than on its quiddity, just as thename being (entis) is derived from existence (esse); and the relationof adequation in which the nature of truth consists is completed in the

operation of the intellect which grasps the existence (esse) of a thing asit is by a certain assimilation to it. Accordingly, I say that the existenceitself of a thing is the cause of truth insofar as it is in the cognition ofthe intellect.4


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Intelligence and the Philosophy of Mind

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Sm b b w w. I r w, bub (non esse) u , ju b

b b. A rm u b b vr m r , v b k. I r w, [m b] bu u ur , u vr rv u , , rv rm m- u b rm v r rm.15

A , u mu, wu b xm b Aqu m. W r rm mu

b mb rm mu. N-x u mu. Ar, w v rm mu. D w m rm b-, ur v rvv b v mr r.T u ur u r umr w k , wr u mu b m . Tr w b mr bu r.

S b w Aqu k b b r r b r bu b w m ur

m r w ubj v extra animam, qu- w b r w r bu b r rm.

II. T Crm Pr bu Nb

A m ru, Aqu m ur ru qu . Mrvr, De veritate, m vr ru ur r mu rr m b-

.16 Tr r m b k rr v m ru bu b r x m. R Aqu vr ubj r b b r . Iu b ru ru bu b do vv qu w do rr b, m r b. I k, wvr, Aqu wu rj r. T bj u r


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f jc, cy dffc p v f wc c d cf .

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x, plc f l c Gd, f, wld ly l .

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Frm Aqu rm rx bu -x ru, m b rw r b ru bu b r. Tm mr Aqu u r u b r rm qu v b r b w rm. Aqu rm rm r rqur w relata, w r r b. Ar k

b k rm Aqu u rx b rm w b b r k b, bu w b rm b w x. Wu b, wu b b ru rm r k rb bu wu v v wr . Fr r, Aqu , rr x , u rubu b. Y, w b w vr r u ru bu b.

III. T Cu Tru bu Nb

W Aqu x u ru ru bu b, u ru, k mr bu efficientu ru.23 A u rmr ur m r r. I ru bub, x b ru rm rujum, w ru bu b u ru r b rm b b.

Aqu k, wvr, vr r u ru bu b. Au r mu x, Deveritate r r w b b ru ru.

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m -x u ru v r, ju x u ru rmv r.26 I r bj, Aqu mu b m bw w -x x r u ru. H b u ru b . T b rm b b w rm. H r, wvr


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x d f l (extra animam) xpl cf llc.27 A xpl pcpl f k . Id ffc c xc f cly y fc lk xpl p. S A cl x d f lpvd dl f llc c ffc c f .

Bf c kd w x d f l c xpl c f , w k w A y x- extra animam. I dy f ply , A f d pv x dpd f l (existentes extra ani-mam).28 Ily, A d p x dpd f l dc d pv y plc cp.Ufly, A d ff y xpl f w y

dcp. I f f lkly yp f v l dpd f l c , f c, cly c-dc. Mv, w A clly xp lw. Ic k IV f AlMetaphysics, A xpl d y wy ll w fc f , ly c,wc lf. H y cp f cc clld , wll pv wc pc f cp- . H l y c c clld c f lp c.29 Y, f cz wy wc

c d, k p d f wc dc dcd c wk (debilissimum) dfd, ly d pv, ly v .30 Gv c Ak p w d pv d d f, lkly l pv dc y f p x dpd f l De veritate.

Pp w A y c d pv

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l cpd f c f l . Y, y v f l c f d l. T fundamentum in ref y f f fcl . I pc cc f fundamentum in re fd ccp f pv dlfd v A f f xdpd f l.


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mr xmr u ru. I k, wvr, u . T b rr b k u r r u u w m r .Ar, r r u j r v w r ubj r. Tr w bu b,k , b u ru r um .31T b rr u w m b b k rm ur, r xm, v rm ru N ur x.

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r b xmr u r w v rr mb r m ubj.

IV. Cu

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ly pv cp f c x wld. I w cvy cy cd f c flly dd w wc d dpd lf. W llc cvy f f ccp f wc d x ly, c d w d cly, pp w .

Wl A c llc dd ly w kw , xcp A cl DeVeritate vy c f dd cpd .32 I v , llc cf ly d dpd lf, y w cf l , lck l c f pv c f l c f ff c dl f c

xc. I Sentences, A cl T l f d wc f c cpld p f llc wcp xc (esse) f y c l .33 T c vlv l dc cfy w lxc f jc f pp c y df jc lck lxc. Nvl, pp d cdc cl vy fd cl xc.

I cx f dc cvly f d , A d fc v wd x c p-

pd , llc v c lcl .34 WA cl vy jc f llc d ff dyy f . A w flly fy c l f real being f w kd f vy fd . Y, w lp f lcl l cdd, f, fv vld wc v - v real. N c ly d y llc

, d cly, c ly jc f d dl, cc f l . Ccp f pv pc ccp f l c d. T Sc ld pppcc w l c f . Ev ccp f cf kwld f . Mv, l c c f c l- f ccp f fcl .35 W l d , c c. I pc, c llc d dpd cl xc. I l d vy c f dd c d cpd ,

pp vl .Wl A cl f c llc c-

fy w jcd f lly d cl c llc cfy w the extra-mental world, d llwf , c fwk f ly f c c. I ld l d A vy ccl


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r x ru bu b. Rr , Aqu ru ur b r .Gv bu bk r , b rm rv, , b w r b m. T r , k r r, r b ru w rm r extra animam, rr wr r r b r b .36

University of Notre Dame

N

Tru u r, I rm w Aqu x:Scriptum super Sententis(Sent.), M-M, Pr: 1929; Summa contra Gentiles(ScG),Tur: 1961; Summa Theologiae(ST), Rm: 1888; Quaestiones disputatae de veritate(Dever.), Rm: 1970; De Ente et Essentia(De ente), Rm: 1976; Sententia libri Metaphysicae(Meta.), Tur: 1950. Tr r m w.

1. S I Sent. 19.5.1, De ver. 1.2, STI.16.2.M mmr v rrr w ru ru

ru rv, u Tm m u rm. S,r xm, R. J. MC, S. Tm O Tru, The New Scholasticism 12(1938): 929. I rr v ru, r v rm um . Aqu u r Dv I w u r ru. S r xm De ver. 1.2.

2. De ver, 1.2 .1: qu ub u vr r qu r qu, vr.

3. S, r xm, I Sent. 19.5.2, 2.; De ver1.1, r;

Tm rbu ru I Ir, bu r v b b I. S S. Rb Rm, Verdad, conocimiento, y ser, (Gr:

Mr, 1965), 38 J. T. Muk, I Ir D Tru,Archives dHistoiredoctrinale et littraire du Moyen Age8 (1933): 58.

4. I Sent. 19.5.1, r: Cum um r qu ju uum , vruur r m qum qu, u m b mur; r u r u r qumm mm um,mur r qu, qu r vr. U , qu um r u vr, uum qu u.

J F. W u Tm u rm esse mbuu. I u rr actus essendiuqu Tm m r rr

m x. S Tru Tm Aqu, Review of Metaphysics, 43(1990): 543567, 550555. Er ur rm essew b mb w ur r -b r v actus essendi, r u x.

5. Arm Murr ru w x, Aqu v- rm r Auu Bvur vw ru r rr . Ar Aqu, Surz Dr vw


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f . S S. T d El T, Being and Knowing: Studies in ThomasAquinas and Later Medieval Philosophy, (T: 1990), 4358, 46.

6. H I fllw G P d f p, wc d c pp 2006 f Ac Clc Plpcl

Ac.

7. De ente, c.1: Scd d c VmethaphisicePlp dc, p dplc dc: d d dd p dc , l d dfc pp . H dff cd d pdc lld d ff pp f p, lld clp; p d p dc: dc d f-f pp , d cc cl. Sd p d p dc d ld p; d p d cc d .

S l In V Met. . 896.

8. STI.48.2 d 2: Pp dc , l, cd- d l dc l, vl d l dc , cddd l d.

9. In V Met. . 896: Sd, ld, d , llc cd dd , c d, d d dc d l ccd d, p.

10. STI.48.2 d 2: E c cc dc cl, vl c lpv. E c d l dc .

11. S, f xpl, STI.84.6 d 7.

12. De ver2.15, ply: P dc ff : d p d c c ff, cc ; pvl ld c , dc IV Mpyc., lc p pv, dc d, I Pyc., d d x cp d cc ld, cc pv c.

S l STI.14.10 d 4 d STI.48.1 ply w A cl Gd ckw vl d.

13. ScGI, 71: N c l. Ud cc lp c p df: c ccl p pcp.

14. Id.: Sd dc : dc ld.

S l In IV Met. . 566. O dv f cdl, De ver1.1.

15. De ver3.4 d 6: Ad x dcd, d ld dc dplc. Ud, cd df , c cc dc ; l p ccp l f llc ; d l. Al d, v , v p pv

cld df; c l p , f ccp.

16. S f 2.

17. De ver1.3, ply: V c d llc; d d p, d l dv ; d p v v llc p llc cp ld pp d


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xr mm b, qu rr, r qu qu .Iu um rm qum rrum, b mum r xxr mm, u u quum m b;

18. De ver1.5 b.2. S I Sent. 19.5.3 b. 3. Fr u mv r

rx Wm Crr J D, O S-Ru Sm Tr Tru: A Mv Trm, Vivarium 31:2 (1993): 241266.

19. I Sent. 19.5.1, r STI.16.1 3.

20. De ver1.5 2: U qu u uumqu quur, x , x u, qu rm .

21. Ib.

22. De ver. 1.2, r, S urqu u, rbu rmbu r mb,rur urr, u m r vr rmr.

I , Aqu k bu ru, bu r ru u b r rm r .

23. Aqu rur r r x u ru STI.16.1 3: A rum um qu, vr u r r uur, m rqu r r ru vur r vr, u qu m r ru vur r qum m; vru m m, u, u m, um uvum. E mr r, vr u, u vrm u.U u qu r vr ex eo quod res est, non ex eo quod resvera est.

24. De ver1.8

25. Ib.

26. De ver1.8 b.7

27. De ver1.8 7: A xum um, qu u vrrum vrum qu u; m -rm , qu xr mm; u xr mm x, u vr m, qu xmr. Ob um rb u .

28. De ver1.8, .: S v rv x xr mm bqum rmm, r qum v mur xmr r v, v r u m u um; qu quur u, x r u, qu rumr r.

29. Meta., 4.1, . 11.

30. Meta., 4.1, . 12: Sum m qu r m quur -u ru. Nm uum rum qu bmum, um r, rv, qum mu r , qu r ur qu qubum

bu, um rm v qu.31. T , ur, ur v b

r r m m k rm r . M w u rb m w b k r ubj u m. I vru u bw b m ubj I m m b b xmr u ru.


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32. De ver. 1.2 d 1: d cl llc v p d pd ld, cv.

33. I Sent. 19.5.1, ply: p p llc ccp c p d l d p, cpl l d, c

v.

34. STI.16.3 d 2: Ad cd dcd d dcc, d cc llc fc lld ccl. Ud vfd , dd , pp clc . S l De ver. 1.1 d 7.

35. S, f xpl, De Ver, 19.1, ply: Ud c llcl f d v cp x l px; c cp f x px ld .

36. I fl Sp D d M. J Wppl f lpfl c l df f pp, wll G P w cd 2006 f A.C.P.A. I pclly kfl J OCll f fl c- d dc d De veritate p f 2006 f

wc pp w lly w.

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