medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Gordon,
Here is a fast translation :
“Thomas sometimes quotes Arabs because
Aristotle’s translations came in Europe by them. But I never read him
saying that. It is not his manner of teaching. Even for Aristotle which he
admires for his relevancy and names him the Philosopher, saint Thomas
does not have that type of phrase. In fact, he prefers in philosophy, truth to
the authority of authors. Sometimes, he agrees with the Arabs as is shown in
this quote : “ In fact: it has always been a principle for all
those who would philosophize among the Arabs and the peripateticians (?),
namely that the intellect is not multiplied according to numbers, the same
among the latins. In fact, Algazel was not a latin, but an Arab. And
Avicennae, who was also an Arab, says in his work on The Soul : “
Prudence, stupidity, opinion and other similar things are only in the essence
of the soul. Therefore the soul is not numerically one, but multiple, and one
as a species.”
Sometimes
he does not agree.”
Regards, Georges T.