Self-Knowledge in Petrus Hispanus’ Commentary on the De anima

  • Celia López Alcalde Universidade do Porto
Keywords: Commentaries on the De anima, Sententia cum questionibus in libros De anima I-II Aristotelis, Petrus Hispanus, Knowledge, Self-knowledge, Soul

Abstract

In the Sententia cum questionibus in libros De anima I-II Aristotelis (c. 1240), attributed to Petrus Hispanus, the recovered Aristotelian understanding of the soul does not completely replace the old Neoplatonic frame. Indeed, the commentary holds the existence of self-knowledge from the very beginning of the existence of the soul, before the acquisition of species. The aim of this paper is to describe Sententia’s view on self-knowledge analysing it in the context of its eclectic psychology and epistemology. I will attempt to demonstrate that, although the commentary is set in an explicit Neoplatonic framework, Petrus Hispanus seems to be quite uncomfortable within this framework and becomes increasingly committed to the Aristotelian doctrine and its vision of science.

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Published
2020-12-09
How to Cite
López Alcalde, C. (2020). Self-Knowledge in Petrus Hispanus’ Commentary on the De anima. Patristica Et Mediævalia, 41(2), 71-102. https://doi.org/10.34096/petm.v41.n2.8364
Section
Articles