Unicity of the Intellect

Scholastic Quaestiones and Discussions on the Unicity of the Intellect

Scholastic discussion of the Unicity of the Intellect evolved over the 13^th century, initially concerning Avicenna’s theory of the unified active/agent intellect, and later, with the absorption of Latin translations of Averroes, focusing on Averroes’s theory of the unified passive/potential intellect. It was generally Averroes’s theory that was targeted in late 13^th-century debate and the Condemnations of 1277. Scholastic treatments of the issue commonly take the form of quaestiones in commentaries on Aristotle’s On the Soul; they also appear in quodlibetal quaestiones, and occasionally in commentaries on Peter Lombard’s Sentences. Many of them have been edited. Below are examples from the late 13^th and early 14^th centuries.

Anon.

Quaestiones in libros Aristotelis De anima, ed. Fernand van Steenberghen, ‘Un commentaire semi-averroïste du traité de l’âme’, in Maurice Giele et al. eds, Trois Commentaires anonymes dur le traité de l’âme d’Aristote (Louvain–Paris, 1971), pp. 135-343.

Q. 7. Utrum intellectus sit idem numero in omnibus hominibus (pp. 313-317)

Anon.

Quaestiones on De anima, ed. Bernard Bazán, ‘Un commentaire anti-averroïste du traité de l’âme’, in Maurice Giele et al. eds, Trois Commentaires anonymes dur le traité de l’âme d’Aristote (Louvain–Paris, 1971), pp. 389-514.

Q. 21. Utrum unus intellectus in numero sit in omnibus (pp. 510-512)

Q. 22. Utrum unus intellectus in numero sit in omnibus (pp. 513-514)

Albertus Magnus

De XV Problematibus, in Alberti Magni Opera Omnia (Munster, 1975), 17.1, pp. 31-44.

I. Quod intellectus omnium hominum est unus et idem numero (pp. 31-34)

II. Quod ista est falsa vel impropria: homo intelligit (pp. 34-35)

VII. Quod anima, quae est forma hominis, secundum quod homo, corrumpitur corrupto corpore (pp. 38-40)

De unitate intellectus, in Alberti Magni Opera Omnia (Munster, 1975), 17.1, pp. 1-30.

Bonaventure

Commentaria in quattuor libros Sententiarum magistri Petri Lombardi, in S. Bonaventurae Opera Omnia, 2 (Quaracchi, 1885).

II, D. 18, Art. 2, Q. 1. Utrum animae omnium hominum sint una substantia, an diversae (pp. 444-448)

Brito, Radulphus

Commentary on De anima, III, ed. Winfried Fauser, Der Kommentar des Radulphus Brito zu Buch III De anima (Munster, 1974).

Q. 6. Utrum intellectus sit unus numero vel plurificatus in omnibus hominibus (pp. 156-173)

Buridan, John

Quaestiones on De anima, ed. Benoît Patar, Le Traité de l'ame de Jean Buridan (Louvain-la-Neuve–Longueuil, Quebec, 1991).

Prima lectura, Q. 7. Utrum unus sit intellectus numero in omnibus hominibus (pp. 439-443)

Q. 4. Utrum sit unicus intellectus quo omnes homines intelligent (pp. 669-673)

Secunda lectura (Appendix IV), Q. 5. Utrum sit unicus intellectus quo omnes homines intelligent (pp. 763-768)

Tertia lectura (Appendix V), Q. 5. Utrum sit unicus intellectus quo omnes homines intelligentes intelligent (pp. 820-823)

Burley, Walter

Edward A. Synan, Questions on the De Anima of Aristotle by Magister Adam Burley and Dominus Walter Burley (Leiden–NY–Cologne, 1997).

Q. 3. Utrum intellectus agens sit unus numero in omnibus (pp. 107-125; also touching on Averroes and the unicity of the material intellect)

Francis of Marchia (Franciscus de Marchia)

Reportatio IIA (Quaestiones in secundum librum Sententiarum) qq. 28-49, ed. Tiziana Suarez-Nani, William Duba, Delphine Carron and Girard J. Etzkorn (Leuven, 2012).

Q. 39. Utrum intellectus sit idem numero in omnibus hominibus (pp. 139-142)

Q. 40. Utrum intellectum esse diversum numero in diversis sit demonstrabile naturaliter (pp. 143-153)

Gerard of Abbeville

Quodlibet VIII, ed. Adriaan Pattin, L’Anthropologie de Gérard d’Abbeville. Étude préliminaire et édition critique de plusiers Questions quodlibétiques concernant le sujet, avec lédition complete du De cognitationibus (Leuven, 1993). Previously published by M. Grabmann, “Quaestio de Abbatisvilla de unitate intellectus contra monopsychismum averroisticum”, Acta pontificae academiae romanae S. Thomae Aquinatis et religionis catholicae, 7 (1941), pp. 1-18.

Q. 2. Utrum sit unus intellectus numero indiscretus in omnibus hominibus (pp. 65-87)

Giles of Rome (Aegidius Romanus)

Sentences (reportatio): Reportatio lecturae super libros I-IV Sententiarum, ed. Concetta Luna in Aegidii Romani Opera Omnia (Florence, 2003), 3.2.

II, Q. 56. Utrum intellectus sit unus numero in omnibus (pp. 306-323)

Sentences (ordinatio): In secundum librum Sententiarum quaestiones, 2 vols (Venice, 1581), 2. Available online: https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_hYJJAAAAcAAJ

D. I7, Q. 2, Art. 1. An in cunctis hominibus detur unicus intellectus. (pp. 45-50)

De intellectu possibili, ed. Helda Bullotta Barracco, De plurificatione intellectus possibilis (Rome, 1957). Early edition (Venice, 1502; reprinted Frankfurt am Main, 1982) available online: https://archive.org/details/AegidiusRomanusSuperLibrosDeAnimaDeMateriaCeliDeIntellectuPossibili

Henry of Ghent (Henricus de Gandavo)

Quodlibet IX, ed. R. Macken in Henrici de Gandavo Opera Omnia (Leuven, 1983), 13.

Q. 14. Utrum ex fundamentis Aristotelis possit ostendi quod intellectus in omnibus sit unus numero, et an contrarium possit demonstrari (pp. 246-257)

John of Jandun

Questiones Ioannis Iandoni De anima (Venice, 1501). Available online: https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_zTyJfONDpbkC

Q. 7. Utrum intellectus sit unus numero in omnibus hominibus (ff. 57-60)

Matthew of Aquasparta

Quaestiones disputatae de anima XIII, ed. A.J. Gondras (Paris, 1961).

Q. 7. Utrum sit una anima intellectiva in omnibus hominibus (pp. 117-135)

Natalis, Herveus (of Nedellec)

Commentaria in quatuor libros Sententiarum (Paris, 1647; reprinted Ridgewood, NJ, 1966).

II, D. 17, Q. 1, Art. 4. Quod non sit unus intellectus numero omnium hominum (pp. 251-252)

Nicholas of Oresme

Expositio et quaestiones in Aristotelis De anima, ed. Benoît Patar, (Louvain-la-Neuve–Paris, 1995).

Q. 7. Utrum in omnibus hominibus sit unicus intellectus (pp. 357-366)

Pecham, John (John Peckham)

Quaestiones disputatae, ed. Girard J. Etzkorn, H. Spettmann and L. Oliger (Grottaferrata, 2002); the quaestiones below were previously published in Johannis Pechami Quaestiones Tractantes De Anima, ed. Hieronymus Spettmann (Munster, 1918).

Q. 5. Utrum sit unus intellectus in omnibus hominibus (pp. 365-391; in Spettmann 1918, Q. 4, pp. 38-59)

Q. 6. Utrum aliqua lux sit intellectualis una numero in qua omni intellectualiter cognoscuntur (pp. 392-410; in Spettmann 1918, Q. 5, pp. 59-71)

Q. 7. Utrum ratio superior et inferior sint idem quod intellectus agens et possibilis (pp. 411-416; in Spettmann 1918, Q. 6, pp. 71-75)

Siger of Brabant

Quaestiones in tertium De anima, ed. Bernardo Bazán in Siger de Brabant. Quaestiones in tertium De anima, De anima intelletiva, De aeternitate mundi (Louvain–Paris, 1972), pp. 1-69.

Q. 9. Utrum sit unus intellectus in omibus (pp. 25-29)

De anima intelletiva, ed. Bernardo Bazán in Siger de Brabant. Quaestiones in tertium De anima, De anima intelletiva, De aeternitate mundi (Louvain–Paris, 1972), pp. 70-112.

Ch. 7. Utrum anima intellectiva multiplicetur multiplicatione corporum humanorum (pp. 101-108)

Quaestiones super librum De causis, ed. Antonio Marlasca, Les quaestiones super librum De causis de Siger de Brabant (Louvain–Paris, 1972).

Q. 27. Utrum intellectus multiplicetur multiplicatione hominum aut sit unus in omnibus (pp. 108-117)

Thomas Aquinas

Many works by Aquinas have been translated into English and are available online: https://dhspriory.org/thomas/

Sentences commentary, II, D. 17, Q. 2, Art. 1, ed. Pierre Mandonnet, Scriptum super libros Sententiarum (Paris, 1929), 2, pp. 420-430; and Commentum in quatuor libros Sententiarum, in Sancti Thomae Aquinatis Opera Omnia (Parma, 1856), 6, pp. 532-536. Available online in text form (1856 edition): http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/snp2001.html

Utrum anima intellectiva vel intellectus sit unus in omnibus hominibus

Summa contra gentiles, in Sancti Thomae Aquinatis Opera Omnia (Rome, 1918), 13. Available online: in pdf http://archive.org/stream/operaomniaiussui13thom#page/n7/mode/2up; and in text form http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/scg2006.html

II, Chs 73 and 75:

Ch. 73. Quod intellectus possibilis non est unus in omnibus hominibus (pp. 459-463)

Ch. 75. Solutio rationum quibus videtur probari unitas intellectus possibilis (pp.473-476)

Compendium theologiae, in Sancti Thomae de Aquino Opera Omnia (Rome, 1979), 42. Available online: in pdf (1979 edition) https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9494h.r; and in text form (1954 edition) http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/ott101.html

I, Ch. 85. Quod non est unus intellectus possibilis in omnibus (pp. 108-110)

Quaestiones disputatae de anima, in Sancti Thomae de Aquino Opera Omnia (Rome–Paris, 1996), 24.1. Available online in text form: http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/qda01.html#64534

Q. 3. Utrum intellectus possibilis, sive anima intellectiva, sit una in omnibus (pp. 22-30)

Sentencia libri De anima, in Sancti Thomae de Aquino Opera Omnia (Rome–Paris, 1984), 45.1. Available online: in pdf (1984 edition) https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k94964.r; and in text form (1959 edition) http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/can3.html#81002 (III, lectiones 8 (last para.)-10)

III, Chs 2-4 (pp. 208-223, esp. 213-223)

Summa theologiae, Pars prima, a Quaestione l ad Quaestionem CXIX, in Sancti Thomae Aquinatis Opera Omnia (Rome, 1889), 5. Available online (1888 edition): in pdf

http://archive.org/stream/operaomniaiussui5thom#page/n0/mode/2up; the quaestiones below are available in text form at http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/sth1075.html and http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/sth1077.html#31754

Part I:

Q. 76, Art. 2. Utrum intellectivum principium multiplicetur secundum multiplicationem corporum (pp. 216-218)

Q. 79, Art. 5. Utrum intellectus agens sit unus in omnibus (p. 269)

De unitate intellectus, in Sancti Thomae de Aquino Opera Omnia (Rome, 1976), 43, pp. 289-314. Available online: in pdf https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9495t.r; and in text form (1954 edition) http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/oca.html

William of Alnwick

Zdzislaw Kuksewicz, ‘Wilhelma Alnwicka trzy kwestie antyawerroistyczne o duszy intelektualnej’, Studia Mediewistyczne, 7 (1966), pp. 3-76.

Q. 3. Utrum ratione naturali potest evidenter ostendi quod anima intellectiva multiplicetur ad multiplicationem corporum humanorum (pp. 58-76)

William of Auvergne

De universo, in Guilielmi Alverni Opera Omnia, 2 vols (Orleans–Paris, 1674; reprinted Frankfurt am Main, 1963), I, pp. 593-1074. English translation: Roland J. Teske (transl.), The Universe of Creatures (Milwaukee, WI, 1998).

Part II.1 (concerning unicity of the agent intellect):

Ch. 10. Destructio erroris Aristotelis, Alfarabij et aliorum qui posuerunt omnes animas separatas unum esse ipsaque separatione a corporibus unam fieri, atque illas uniri (pp. 817-819)

Ch. 11. Adhuc contradicitur errori praemisso propter inconvenientia, qua sequuntur ex illo (p. 819)

Ch. 20. Quod animae humanae, cum separantur a corporibus, non revertuntur ad intelligentiam agentem, ut ab ipsa perfectionem recipient in suo saeculo altiori (pp. 825-826)

Ch. 22. Quod non sit reditus animarum nostrarum ad praedictam intelligentiam, adhuc probationibus declaratur (p. 827)

William of Baglione

‘Utrum in omnibus hominibus sit intellectus unus numero’, ed. Ignatius Brady, ‘Background to the Condemnation of 1270: Master William of Baglione, OFM’, Franciscan Studies, 30 (1970), pp. 5-48, at 35-45.