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Document Details : Title: Francis of Meyronnes on Beings of Reason Subtitle: A First Approach Author(s): PICKAVÉ, Martin Journal: Recherches de Théologie et Philosophie Médiévales Volume: 87 Issue: 2 Date: 2020 Pages: 393-415 DOI: 10.2143/RTPM.87.2.3289010 Abstract : This article examines two questions from Francis of Meyronnes’s Quodlibet in which he attacks the need for beings of reason (entia rationis) in philosophy and theology and aims to point out severe problems with the very idea of beings of reason. The first part of the article explores what exactly, according to Francis, beings of reason are and what is problematic about them. In the second part, three examples of what are sometimes considered to be merely beings or reason — universals, privations, and impossible beings — are examined and it is discussed why Francis does not think one ought to consider them as such. The article not only provides an introduction into Francis’s own understanding of beings of reason, but also highlights an attack on the necessity of beings of reason from a realist perspective (as opposed to William of Ockham’s nominalist critique). |
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