Avicenna and the problem of the subject-matter of metaphysics

the hypothesis of the causes

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2023.1.44458

Keywords:

Aristotle, Arabic philosophy, Metaphysics, Aitiology.

Abstract

An issue the readers of Aristotle’s Metaphysics must deal with is the delimitation of the subject-matter of the wisdom. An attempt to answer this problem was proposed by Avicenna (10th Century) in his metaphysical treatise On Divine Things (Ilāhiyyāt). In its first book, the philosopher investigates each one of the three candidates for the position of the subject-matter of this science (i.e., God, causes, and being). Having in mind the difficulties of this topic, the following analysis is limited to the second hypothesis, namely, if the first philosophy is the science of the causes (an aitiology). I will start contextualizing the Ilāh. I since it precedes the analysis of the hypothesis of the causes. Then, I will discuss the hypothesis of the causes and show Avicenna’s arguments against it. Finally, I will conclude this investigation discussing briefly the relation between causes and being in view of Avicenna’s ontological answer to the main problem and the problems emerging from it.

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Author Biography

Meline Sousa, Professora da Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, Brasil.

Graduated in Philosophy from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (2011), a Master's degree in Philosophy from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (2013) and a PhD in Philosophy from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (2016). She is currently a professor at the Federal University of Lavras. He has experience in the area of ​​Philosophy, with an emphasis on Medieval Philosophy. Member of the Société Internationale pour l’Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale, the GT on the History of Philosophy of Nature and the Research Group on Metaphysics and Politics. She is coordinator of the Center for Studies in Arab Philosophy (UFLA).

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Published

2023-11-13

How to Cite

Sousa, M. (2023). Avicenna and the problem of the subject-matter of metaphysics: the hypothesis of the causes. Veritas (Porto Alegre), 68(1), e44458. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2023.1.44458

Issue

Vol. 68 No. 1 (2023): Single Volume

Section

Varia

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