Ens Primum Cognitum in Thomas Aquinas and the Tradition

Download or read book Ens Primum Cognitum in Thomas Aquinas and the Tradition written by Brian Kemple and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-08-21 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ens Primum Cognitum in Thomas Aquinas and the Tradition presents a reading of Thomas Aquinas’ claim that “being” is the first object of the human intellect. Blending the insights of both the early Thomistic tradition (c.1380—1637AD) and the Leonine Thomistic revival (1879—present), Brian Kemple examines how this claim of Aquinas has been traditionally understood, and what is lacking in that understanding. While the recent tradition has emphasized the primacy of the real (so-called ens reale) in human recognition of the primum cognitum, Kemple argues that this misinterprets Aquinas, thereby closing off Thomistic philosophy to the broader perspective needed to face the philosophical challenges of today, and proposes an alternative interpretation with dramatic epistemological and metaphysical consequences.