Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Sources of the Translated Texts
- Notes on the Translations
- List of Abbreviations, Symbols, and Conventions
- Introduction:
- 1. Bonaventure (d. 1274), Commentary on the Sentences, book II, d. 24, a. 2, q. 1:
- 2. Albert the Great (d. 1280), Summa theologiae, book I, treatise 3, q. 15, chap. 2, a. 2, c. 1:
- 3. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), Commentary on the Sentences, book I, d. 3, q. 4, a. 2:
- 4. Henry of Ghent (d. 1293), Quodlibet III, q. 14 (excerpts):
- 5. Godfrey of Fontaines (d. ca. 1306), Quodlibet II, q. 4:
- 6. Thomas of Sutton (d. ca. 1315), Ordinary Question 4 (excerpts):
- 7. Peter of John Olivi (d. 1298), Questions on the Sentences, book II, q. 54 (excerpts):
- 8. John Duns Scotus (d. 1308), Commentary on the Sentences (Reportatio A), book II, d. 16:
- 9. James of Viterbo (d. 1308), Quodlibet I, q. 7, doubt 1:
- 10. Durand of St.-Pourçain (d. 1334), Commentary on the Sentences (Third Version), book I, d. 3, part 2, q. 2:
- 11. William Ockham (d. 1347), Commentary on the Sentences (Reportatio), book II, q. 20
- Glossary of Terms
- Glossary of Arguments
- Bibliography
- Index
2. - Albert the Great (d. 1280), Summa theologiae, book I, treatise 3, q. 15, chap. 2, a. 2, c. 1:
How Do the Parts of the Image Relate to the Soul’s Essence?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 April 2025
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Sources of the Translated Texts
- Notes on the Translations
- List of Abbreviations, Symbols, and Conventions
- Introduction:
- 1. Bonaventure (d. 1274), Commentary on the Sentences, book II, d. 24, a. 2, q. 1:
- 2. Albert the Great (d. 1280), Summa theologiae, book I, treatise 3, q. 15, chap. 2, a. 2, c. 1:
- 3. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), Commentary on the Sentences, book I, d. 3, q. 4, a. 2:
- 4. Henry of Ghent (d. 1293), Quodlibet III, q. 14 (excerpts):
- 5. Godfrey of Fontaines (d. ca. 1306), Quodlibet II, q. 4:
- 6. Thomas of Sutton (d. ca. 1315), Ordinary Question 4 (excerpts):
- 7. Peter of John Olivi (d. 1298), Questions on the Sentences, book II, q. 54 (excerpts):
- 8. John Duns Scotus (d. 1308), Commentary on the Sentences (Reportatio A), book II, d. 16:
- 9. James of Viterbo (d. 1308), Quodlibet I, q. 7, doubt 1:
- 10. Durand of St.-Pourçain (d. 1334), Commentary on the Sentences (Third Version), book I, d. 3, part 2, q. 2:
- 11. William Ockham (d. 1347), Commentary on the Sentences (Reportatio), book II, q. 20
- Glossary of Terms
- Glossary of Arguments
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In this text, Albert deals with Augustine’s theory of the image of the Trinity. An examination of this theory leads him to an investigation of the relation between the soul and its powers. Albert contends that the soul and its powers are distinct. He maintains that the soul’s powers are propria, that is, necessary accidents, and following Avicenna he claims that they “flow” from the essence of the soul. In this text, Albert also considers the identity theory, on which the soul and its powers are the same entity but rejects it because it “borders on heresy”. He argues that the identification of the soul and its powers is perilously close to the identification of essence and power in God. Finally, Albert invokes the Boethian notion of a “power-whole” (totum potentiale) to develop his own account of the soul and its powers and to make sense of the Augustinian claim that our rational soul is an image of the Trinity. Albert was one of the main defenders of the distinction theory in the second half of the thirteenth century, and his version of this theory influenced Aquinas.
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- Medieval Philosophical Writings on the Powers of the SoulFrom Aquinas to Ockham, pp. 56 - 66Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025