Francisco Suárez on the object of the metaphysics

Milidrag, Predrag (2013) Francisco Suárez on the object of the metaphysics. Theoria, 56 (2). pp. 61-86. ISSN 0351-2274 eISSN 2406-081X

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Abstract

For Suárez, the object of the metaphysics is being insofar as it is real being (ens reale). In order to explain this, the author analyzes Suárez’s notions of formal and objective concept (conceptus formalis, conceptus objectivus). Suárez finds that the primary feature of the objective concept of being is its unity; nevertheless that does not imply the univocal concept of being because the objective concept of being is applied on its instances on diverse ways. When considering what is being (ens), Suárez makes the difference between being taken as a noun and being taken as a participle. The later one signifies everything actually existing; being as a noun signifies everything which have the real essence (essentia realis), with actual existence or without it. The real essence he defines as something that is not repugnant to actual existence and which is not a figment of mind. The objective concept of being is a result of precisive abstraction and encompass all real essences, actual as well as non-actual. As such, for Suárez, it is the object of the metaphysics as a science.

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