Ideas of Robert Pasnau, by Theme

[American, fl. 2011, Professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.]

green numbers give full details    |    back to list of philosophers    |     expand these ideas

---

1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 1. History of Philosophy

16606

Original philosophers invariably seek inspiration from past thinkers

16604

Philosophy consists of choosing between Plato, Aristotle and Democritus

1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 3. Earlier European Philosophy / b. Early medieval philosophy

16586

The commentaries of Averroes were the leading guide to Aristotle

16568

Modernity begins in the late 12th century, with Averroes's commentaries on Aristotle

1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 3. Earlier European Philosophy / c. Later medieval philosophy

16653

Once accidents were seen as real, 'Categories' became the major text for ontology

16704

In 1347, the Church effectively stopped philosophy for the next 300 years

1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 3. Earlier European Philosophy / d. Renaissance philosophy

16607

Renaissance Platonism is peripheral

16715

Plato only made an impact locally in 15th century Italy

16605

After c.1450 all of Plato was available. Before that, only the first half of 'Timaeus' was known

1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 4. Later European Philosophy / b. Seventeenth century philosophy

16610

Philosophy could easily have died in 17th century, if it weren't for Descartes

16781

The 17th century is a metaphysical train wreck

2. Reason / B. Laws of Thought / 6. Ockham's Razor

16677

Anti-Razor: if you can't account for a truth, keep positing things until you can

7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 1. Grounding / a. Nature of grounding

16598

Priority was a major topic of dispute for scholastics

7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 8. Stuff / b. Mixtures

16727

In mixtures, the four elements ceased to exist, replaced by a mixed body with a form

8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 3. Types of Properties

16732

17th C qualities are either microphysical, or phenomenal, or powers

8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 6. Categorical Properties

16733

17th century authors only recognised categorical properties, never dispositions

8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 8. Properties as Modes

16662

The biggest question for scholastics is whether properties are real, or modes of substances

8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 4. Powers as Essence

16767

There is no centralised power, but we still need essence for a metaphysical understanding

8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 6. Dispositions / a. Dispositions

16788

Instead of adding Aristotelian forms to physical stuff, one could add dispositions

8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 6. Dispositions / b. Dispositions and powers

16738

Scholastics reject dispositions, because they are not actual, as forms require

9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 5. Individuation / a. Individuation

16649

Scholastics say there is a genuine thing if it is 'separable'

9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 5. Individuation / b. Individuation by properties

16785

If you reject essences, questions of individuation become extremely difficult

16680

Scholastics thought Quantity could be the principle of individuation

9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / a. Substance

16617

Corpuscularian critics of scholasticism say only substances exist

16628

Corpuscularianism promised a decent account of substance

16741

Scholastics wanted to treat Aristotelianism as physics, rather than as metaphysics

16777

If crowds are things at all, they seem to be Substances, since they bear properties

9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / c. Types of substance

16615

Scholastics use 'substantia' for thick concrete entities, and for thin metaphysical ones

9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / e. Substance critique

16775

For corpuscularians, a substance is just its integral parts

9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 3. Unity Problems / c. Statue and clay

16769

If clay survives destruction of the statue, the statue wasn't a substance, but a mere accident

9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 2. Hylomorphism / a. Hylomorphism

16602

Corpuscularianism rejected not only form, but also the dependence of matter on form

9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 2. Hylomorphism / b. Form as principle

16612

Hylomorphism may not be a rival to science, but an abstract account of unity and endurance

9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 2. Hylomorphism / c. Form as causal

16613

Hylomorphism declined because scholastics made it into a testable physical theory

16747

Scholastics made forms substantial, in a way unintended by Aristotle

16759

Scholastics began to see substantial form more as Aristotle's 'efficient' cause

9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 2. Hylomorphism / d. Form as unifier

16748

Aquinas says a substance has one form; Scotists say it has many forms

9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 4. Quantity of an Object

16671

Scholastic Quantity either gives a body parts, or spreads them out in a unified way

9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 7. Substratum

16580

A substrate may be 'prime matter', which endures through every change

16579

There may be different types of substrate, or temporary substrates

16584

If a substrate gives causal support for change, quite a lot of the ingredients must endure

16596

A substratum can't be 'bare', because it has a job to do

9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 7. Essence and Necessity / b. Essence not necessities

16749

Aristotelians deny that all necessary properties are essential

9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 6. Successive Things

16694

Typical successive things are time and motion

9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 10. Beginning of an Object

16583

Weak ex nihilo says it all comes from something; strong version says the old must partly endure

14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / k. Explanations by essence

16783

Essences must explain, so we can infer them causally from the accidents

26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / g. Atomism

16609

Atomists say causation is mechanical collisions, and all true qualities are microscopic

26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 7. Later Matter Theories / a. Early Modern matter

16603

In the 17th C matter became body, and was then studied by science

26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 7. Later Matter Theories / b. Corpuscles

16592

Atomism is the commonest version of corpuscularianism, but isn't required by it

16750

If there are just arrangements of corpuscles, where are the boundaries between substances?

26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 2. Types of cause

16722

Scholastic causation is by changes in the primary qualities of hot, cold, wet, dry

26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 8. Scientific Essentialism / a. Scientific essentialism

16760

Substantial forms were a step towards scientific essentialism

27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 3. The Beginning

16581

Scholastic authors agree that matter was created by God, out of nothing

29. Religion / B. Monotheistic Religion / 4. Christianity / b. Transubstantiation

16642

Transubstantion says accidents of bread and wine don't inhere in the substance