Papers by Manuel Alejandro Serra Pérez
Trans/Form/Açao, Marília, v. 45, n. 3, p. 129-152, 2022
One of the causes of the rebirth that the philosophy of being of Thomas Aquinas has been experien... more One of the causes of the rebirth that the philosophy of being of Thomas Aquinas has been experiencing since the middle of the last century is, without a doubt, the impact of the studies carried out on this subject by the French medievalist, Étienne Gilson. Spurred on by the onto-theological critique of M. Heidegger, Gilson and other Thomists, made common cause to clarify the scope of the Heideggerian invective, which judged that Aquinas’s metaphysics of being would also have fallen into an essentialism or reification of being. The proposal of these authors focused on highlighting the original notion of being (actus essendi) in front of interpreters (some from the Thomist school itself ) who would have obscured its meaning, fundamentally its supreme current value. In the opinion of Gilson, Fabro and others, the main cause of this blurring would be the identification of being and existence. My objective in this article is to critically analyze some positions of contemporary Thomism and justify the impossibility of identifying what Thomas Aquinas calls esse by existence.
Tijdschrift voor Filosofie, 85/2023, p. 561-587, 2023
Thomas Aquinas states in several places that forma dat esse, following in this point the Aristote... more Thomas Aquinas states in several places that forma dat esse, following in this point the Aristotelian ontology of substance. Rudi te Velde, following the Aristotelian interpretation of the Dominican Thomistic school, affirms that in Aquinas there is no double order of actuality, as Étienne Gilson and Cornelio Fabro claim, but that the unity of the entity around the form, which is what gives being to the thing, must be maintained. In this article we will study the critique that Te Velde has been launching on the central ideas of Gilsonian and Fabrian Thomism, showing that his arguments are based on a debatable under- standing of the Thomistic esse.
Sophia, 2024
This paper critically analyzes the deconstructive tendency that some authors have shown against t... more This paper critically analyzes the deconstructive tendency that some authors have shown against the so-called Metaphysics of Exodus, promoted by philosophers such as Étienne Gilson. The most original notion in Thomas Aquinas's philosophy is that being (esse) is said to derive not from the Bible as Gilson claims, but from Neoplatonic sources of pagan ambience, such as the author of the De causis (Proclus) or the Dionysius Areopagite. We carry out an analysis of the status quaestionis by showing, contrary to the critics of the 'Metaphysics of Exodus,' that this deconstructive tendency is unfounded and untenable.
Revista de Filosofía Unisinos, 2023
Thomas Aquinas maintains that the entity is constituted by the divine fontal causality, which is ... more Thomas Aquinas maintains that the entity is constituted by the divine fontal causality, which is causa totius esse, but at the same time he warns that the entity is not by the divine Esse, but by its own esse. This double causal aspect that shapes the metaphysical structure of created entities forces us to search for a formula that manages to articulate these two causal aspects, without reciprocal detriment. In this article we propose to find this formula starting from the very nature of causality and its metaphysical foundation.
Rivista di Filosofia Neo-Scolastica, 2023
One of the most prominent debates in contemporary Thomism has been that of the historiography of ... more One of the most prominent debates in contemporary Thomism has been that of the historiography of the Dominican Thomist school. In 1958, Cornelio Fabro wrote a paper explaining the reasons why, in his view, the most famous commentators of this school, among them Domingo Bañez, would have misinterpreted the meaning of the actuality of the esse by identifying
it with existence. Santiago Orrego responded to the Fabriana criticism, thus giving us the opportunity to study both positions and the metaphysical value of this passage from esse to existentia.
Laval théologique et philosophique, 2023
L’expression « virtus essendi » utilisée par Thomas d’Aquin dans certains
passages de ses oeuvres... more L’expression « virtus essendi » utilisée par Thomas d’Aquin dans certains
passages de ses oeuvres a été un des sujets abordés dans le thomisme
contemporain chez les plus importants commentateurs d’Aquin. Étienne Gilson fut le premier des commentateurs qui écrivit des notes explicatives sur son sens, montrant que ce pouvoir dont l’expression parle fait référence à la source d’où provient toute perfection et actualité, l’esse ut actus essendi. De son côté, le dominicain canadien Lawrence Dewan, particulièrement intéressé à montrer que cette « virtus » est partagée par les deux co-principes de l’étant, à savoir, la forme et l’être, considère au contraire que la doctrine thomiste de la « virtus essendi » développe plutôt le thème que la forme est le principe de l’être (principium essendi). Face à ces deux lectures contraires, dans cet article nous proposons d’en faire une analyse systématique et de proposer une possible piste d’investigation qui éclaire le sens de ce que Thomas d’Aquin comprend par l’expression « virtus essendi ».
Revista de Hispanismo Filosófico, 2023
Domingo Báñez was one of the most outstanding Thomists who belonged to
what is known as the ‘Scho... more Domingo Báñez was one of the most outstanding Thomists who belonged to
what is known as the ‘School of Salamanca’, a focus of authentic humanist and Christian culture that radiated throughout Western civilisation, especially in Spain and Iberoamerica. Recent studies, led by the French medievalist Étienne Gilson, confirm that the role of the Salamanca Dominican in the history of Thomism has had a more than notable weight. Opposing this position is the Italian philosopher Cornelio Fabro, who maintains, contrary to Gilson, that Báñez is responsible for the deviation of the main theses of the Thomistic philosophy of being. Be that as it may, his figure has become highly topical and valuable for researchers into the history of Thomism.
Revue philosophique de la france et de l´étranger, 2023
As opposed to a conception of the Thomistic act of being (esse) seen as the mere existence, there... more As opposed to a conception of the Thomistic act of being (esse) seen as the mere existence, therefore, without any causal or foundational value of the entity, in this paper I try to show that, in the genuine Thomistic conception of being (esse), Thomas Aquinas gives this a double condition, immanent and transcendental at the same time with respect to the entity, something not easy to show but which, nevertheless, is crucial to do justice to the originality of the Thomistic position.
Convivium, 2021
In the second book of the Physics Aristotle seems to establish that the ordering of beings to the... more In the second book of the Physics Aristotle seems to establish that the ordering of beings to their end has nature as its only intrinsic cause; however, careful study of this question in light of the doctrine of the Unmoved Prime Mover in Phys. VIII and Metaph. Λ 6, 7 and 10, could suggest the existence of a dual foundation, one immanent (nature) and another transcendent (PMI). My work will consist of trying to give an answer to this question, synthesized in Metaph. Λ 7, 1072b 13-14 “on such a Principle, heaven and nature depend”, from a metaphysical analysis of both types of texts.
Cauriensia, 2023
The issue of education continues to be one of the most worrying issues today. That is why it has ... more The issue of education continues to be one of the most worrying issues today. That is why it has been the object of study by a large interdisciplinary group that brings to-gether different areas. In our case, we want to contribute, through this article, a study that can shed light from a triple perspective that synthesizes the metaphysical, ethical and theological foundation, mainly of the medieval tradition and, specifically, of Thomas Aquinas and his doctrine de las passiones animae and, more recently, Veritatis Splendor, where John Paul II tries to highlight the ethical aspect of Fides et ratio, where he analyzes the rational valence of the Christian proposal.
Carthaginensia, 2024
In recent decades, some of the approaches that have taken into consideration the doctrine of the ... more In recent decades, some of the approaches that have taken into consideration the doctrine of the Thomistic act of being (actus essendi) have reached sometimes drastic conclusions regarding the originality of what is the most important teaching of Thomas Aquinas. Indeed, his philosophy of being is based on the act-potency relation between form and being, as well as on the real distinction of essence and being, derived from it. In this study we would like to face a double challenge: that of justifying why an act of being is necessary in Thomistic metaphysics, and that of showing why this actuality (esse) is not identified with the existence or being of the thing, as the Thomistic school has pretended during its trajectory.
Revista de Filosofía Aurora, 2023
This paper aims to explain how the relationship between formal causality and esse in the stages o... more This paper aims to explain how the relationship between formal causality and esse in the stages of the constitution of the entity according to the thought of Thomas. Aquinas is to be understood. Forma and esse, which are act in their respective order, are related as act and potency, which requires a detailed analysis that explains how this relation is and how its interpretation conditions the way of understanding the metaphysical constitution of the entity. We will carry out this purpose by dividing the paper into two main sections: In the first we will deal with the relationship between form and esse as Aquinas explains it in chapter fifty-four of the second book of the Summa contra gentiles. In the second we will attempt to articulate the causal relation between form and esse from a metaphysical point of view on the basis of the teachings obtained in the previous section. Our aim is to provide a response that mediates between the two traditional positions that have interpreted Thomistic philosophy either by emphasizing the role of esse over form or, conversely, form over esse. This work enters into one of the most debated aspects in contemporary Thomism, which is the understanding of the causality of esse with respect to entity and form. The first thing he defends is that esse is true cause, something that Cornelio Fabro has only timidly brought to light. Then, after justifying this major thesis, he proposes concretely the way in which this causality must be understood, especially with respect to form. In short, it is a matter of an articulation between the two types of causality of form and esse, saving the primacy that Aquinas gives to the latter.
Anuario Filosófico, 2023
In this research we inquire into the accuracy of the Dominican Lawrence Dewan's critique of wheth... more In this research we inquire into the accuracy of the Dominican Lawrence Dewan's critique of whether Étienne Gilson undervalues the metaphysical value of essence and its role in the constitution of the entity.
Ideas y Valores, 2024
The new millennium has left behind a century that has seen the rebirth of Thomas Aquinas’s philos... more The new millennium has left behind a century that has seen the rebirth of Thomas Aquinas’s philosophy of being. Some of the most prominent commentators of him have challenged the traditional interpretation of the Dominican Thomist school. This article tries to confront a recent contribution whose author seeks to justify the traditional position of Thomism regarding the notion of esse ut existentia. In front of it, another will be presented that highlights the original status of the esse ut actus essendi, in the light of what Aquinate affirms in c.g. i, c. 28, n. 2
Metaphysica, 2022
For one of the current scholars of Thomism, Serge T. Bonino, research on Thomas Aquinas’ philosop... more For one of the current scholars of Thomism, Serge T. Bonino, research on Thomas Aquinas’ philosophy of being has polarized into two tendencies, the axis of which is the Dominican Thomistic school. One of them is represented by the harsh criticisms that the French medievalist Étienne Gilson made of the positions of this school. The second, on the other hand, is characterized by a staunch defense of the theses of the main commentators of this school. During the 20th century, one of Gilson’s students, the Canadian Lawrence Dewan, openly opposed Gilsonian Thomism on the basis of the traditional interpretation. Today, some of his students consider this Dewanian proposal as a “nouvelle métaphysique thomiste,” assuming that it is a movement that brings a genuine renewal. In this article we will show that this movement, although it claims to be a novelty, is nothing more than the revitalization of the formalist theses of the Dominican school, and therefore cannot be considered a valid inter...
La historia del pensamiento filosofico es testigo de como el hombre se pregunta por el sentido de... more La historia del pensamiento filosofico es testigo de como el hombre se pregunta por el sentido de todo lo que le rodea, recurriendo a diversos paradigmas y puntos de vista. Mas alla de todo lo particular existente en cada tradicion filosofica, la pregunta que subyace siempre y esta debajo de todo constructo ontologico es por que el ser y no mas bien la nada. Es el interrogante que le adjudican al filosofo Leibniz, y que el aleman Martin Heidegger recupero con toda la fuerza posible. Si los siglos XVI hasta el XIX fueron testigos de lo que se ha venido conociendo como la «muerte de la metafisica», el siglo XX vio nacer, perplejo, el pensamiento de un filosofo, no perteneciente a una tradicion religiosa, sino en plena inmersion en la filosofia del padre de la ontologia occidental, el filosofo ateniense Aristoteles. Heidegger, para asombro de todos, fue el causante de que la vieja Europa, cansada de si misma y de su propia criatura cultural, haya visto como, de repente, se volvia a la ...
Acta Philosophica, 2023
A norma del codice civile italiano, è vietata la riproduzione, totale o parziale (compresi estrat... more A norma del codice civile italiano, è vietata la riproduzione, totale o parziale (compresi estratti, ecc.), di questa pubblicazione in qualsiasi forma e versione (comprese bozze, ecc.), originale o derivata, e con qualsiasi mezzo a stampa o internet (compresi siti web personali e istituzionali, academia.edu, ecc.), elettronico, digitale, meccanico, per mezzo di fotocopie, pdf, microfilm, film, scanner o altro, senza il permesso scritto della casa editrice. Under Italian civil law this publication cannot be reproduced, wholly or in part (including offprints, etc.), in any form (including proofs, etc.), original or derived, or by any means : print, internet (including personal and institutional web sites, academia.edu, etc.), electronic, digital, mechanical, including photocopy, pdf, microfilm, film, scanner or any other medium, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Alpha: Revista de Artes, Letras y Filosofía, 2022
El pasado siglo XX ha sido testigo de un renovado interés por los planteamientos de la filosofía ... more El pasado siglo XX ha sido testigo de un renovado interés por los planteamientos de la filosofía aristotélica, especialmente de la mano del filósofo alemán Martin Heidegger. Pues bien, junto a esta vuelta al estudio de la filosofía peripatética, ha surgido como en paralelo un nuevo interés por la filosofía del ser de Tomás de Aquino, particularmente por su noción de esse ut actus essendi. Esto ha desembocado en diversas líneas de investigación, a veces confrontadas, que han versado fundamentalmente en la cuestión de la recepción tomasiana de la noción de ente y los aspectos en ella implicados. En este trabajo se procurará dar a conocer algunos aspectos importantes de esta recepción, así como de esas distintas líneas de interpretación confrontadas.
Anales del Seminario de Historia de la Filosofía, 2021
Durante prácticamente toda su carrera filosófica, Étienne Gilson sostuvo que las cinco vías se ap... more Durante prácticamente toda su carrera filosófica, Étienne Gilson sostuvo que las cinco vías se apoyaban en la original doctrina tomasiana del esse. En cambio, hacia el final de su carrera, cayó en la cuenta de que esta tesis acarreaba graves problemas de fundamento, lo que le llevó a desecharla y defender lo contrario, que el esse está ausente en todas ellas. Por su parte, A. L. González, en su estudio de la cuarta vía, puso en entredicho este argumento. En el presente estudio pretendo confrontar ambas posturas y justificar la validez de la posición gilsoniana.
Scripta Fulgentina, 2020
Uno de los filósofos más influyentes en el pensamiento filosófico occidental del siglo XX fue Mar... more Uno de los filósofos más influyentes en el pensamiento filosófico occidental del siglo XX fue Martin Heidegger1. Una de sus conferencias más citadas se titula “El olvido del ser”, donde acusa a la metafísica occidental de haber oscurecido el verdadero sentido del ser. A primera vista, parecería que el filósofo alemán reclamaba una vuelta al estudio metafísico del ser, sin embargo, su crítica exponía justo lo contrario. Como uno más en la grande lista de filósofos que se iban adhiriendo a la ejecución de la metafísica tradicional, Heidegger proponía una ontología del ser que se desmarcara definitivamente del marco habitual que había tenido. Paralelamente a este panorama, Étienne Gilson2, bastante menos conocido en el círculo intelectual de Heidegger, habiendo partido del mismo suelo filosófico en los albores de su formación, corrió en cambio por derroteros muy diversos. La razón es ésta: haberse encontrado con Tomás de Aquino, el autor cuyo pensamiento e influjo, en el ámbito filosófico de entonces, equivale al que ha podido tener Inmanuel Kant en la modernidad. ¿Qué podría aportar Tomás hoy si pudiera estar entre nosotros, en relación con el eterno problema de qué es el ente? Étienne Gilson responde con la fiabilidad de ser considerado como uno de los intérpretes más célebres del pensamiento tomasiano.
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Papers by Manuel Alejandro Serra Pérez
it with existence. Santiago Orrego responded to the Fabriana criticism, thus giving us the opportunity to study both positions and the metaphysical value of this passage from esse to existentia.
passages de ses oeuvres a été un des sujets abordés dans le thomisme
contemporain chez les plus importants commentateurs d’Aquin. Étienne Gilson fut le premier des commentateurs qui écrivit des notes explicatives sur son sens, montrant que ce pouvoir dont l’expression parle fait référence à la source d’où provient toute perfection et actualité, l’esse ut actus essendi. De son côté, le dominicain canadien Lawrence Dewan, particulièrement intéressé à montrer que cette « virtus » est partagée par les deux co-principes de l’étant, à savoir, la forme et l’être, considère au contraire que la doctrine thomiste de la « virtus essendi » développe plutôt le thème que la forme est le principe de l’être (principium essendi). Face à ces deux lectures contraires, dans cet article nous proposons d’en faire une analyse systématique et de proposer une possible piste d’investigation qui éclaire le sens de ce que Thomas d’Aquin comprend par l’expression « virtus essendi ».
what is known as the ‘School of Salamanca’, a focus of authentic humanist and Christian culture that radiated throughout Western civilisation, especially in Spain and Iberoamerica. Recent studies, led by the French medievalist Étienne Gilson, confirm that the role of the Salamanca Dominican in the history of Thomism has had a more than notable weight. Opposing this position is the Italian philosopher Cornelio Fabro, who maintains, contrary to Gilson, that Báñez is responsible for the deviation of the main theses of the Thomistic philosophy of being. Be that as it may, his figure has become highly topical and valuable for researchers into the history of Thomism.