Res, aliquid and nihil in Suárez and modern philosophy

Abstract

the main relevant philosophical aspect in Suárez’s interpretation of the transcendentals is his doctrine of the notions res and aliquid. therefore, after analyzing the nature and the number of the transcendentals, as well as the relationship between them and the first principles, the article goes into a detailed historical analysis of the notions res and aliquid. With precedents in Avicenna and Duns Scotus, the ens is understood according to Suarez, negatively, as it is not nothing and, in such sense, it is something (aliquid) and, positively, as it has got a quidditas and, therefore, it is res. the question of nothing (nihil) is thus introduced into modern metaphysics. What’s more, the said interpretation is one of the fundamental conditions of the transformation of metaphysics in modern ontology. thus, in the post- Cartesian context of Schulmetaphysik, and its aliquitas (as non-nihil) and its quiditative character (as res) being presumed, the ens will be understood as an intelligible. through that, a Copernican revolution commenced that anticipated Kant himself.