Abstract

"In the Scholastic tradition, the two main positions when it came to the status of artifacts were realism and nominalism. Nominalism stated, briefly, that an artifact was nothing over and above the parts constituting it, while the realists denied this, while differing in what this "over and above" would be. This talk explores Francisco Suárez' (1548–1617) treatment of artifacts in his Disputationes metaphysicae (1597). As will be seen, Suárez basically follows the realist line of reasoning. However, with his novel take on the status of "one-ness" ('unum') as a transendental, and with the assigning of the "over and above" of the artifact to the status of a mode (rather than an accident in the proper sense), Suárez keeps the realism in his position to a minimum. Suárez account of the production of artifacts will also be briefly covered in the end."

This seminar can be followed on zoom as well: 

https://stockholmuniversity.zoom.us/j/67894532199