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Document Details :

Title: Gerald Ot (d. 1349) on Prime Matter
Subtitle: With an Edition of his II Sentences, Distinction 12
Author(s): FRIEDMAN, Russell L.
Journal: Recherches de Théologie et Philosophie Médiévales
Volume: 86    Issue: 2   Date: 2019   
Pages: 365-450
DOI: 10.2143/RTPM.86.2.3287116

Abstract :
Gerald Ot is best known for defending interesting and, in the medieval world, unusual views, like atomism. The present article offers a first ever edition of Gerald’s treatment of prime matter in his II Sentences, d. 12. The introduction places the text and the issues dealt with in their historical and intellectual context, with special attention paid to the background to Gerald’s views in Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, and Peter Auriol. Gerald has a Scotistic orientation to his ideas on prime matter, but he offers significant terminological and theoretical nuance to Scotus. Prime matter must have some actuality in its own right, what Gerald calls 'transcendental actuality', which is the disjunctive transcendental that together with 'potency objectively taken' divides all of being. Here as elsewhere Gerald holds unusual views, like the direct inherence of material accidents in prime matter. The article includes an edition of an abbreviation of Gerald’s text made by the Franciscan theologian, Aufredo Gonteri Brito.

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