The Aristotelian principle «esse in subiecto» in the demonstration of the immortality of the soul. The «De immortalitate animae» of Saint Augustine

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14422/pen.v80.i311.y2024.034

Keywords:

Saint Augustine, immortality of the soul, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Esse in subiecto

Abstract

Saint Augustine’s encounter with Aristotelianism had two paths: on the one hand, the Latin translations of the commentators, who sought the integration of Plato and Aristotle, although they pointed out the primacy of the Athenian; thus, Aristotelianism reached a new rise, but under the conceptual direction of Neoplatonism. On the other hand, the reading of the Categories, in some of the Latin translations that were circulating at that time. In this double framework of reception, we postulate the presence of the Aristotelian principle esse in subiecto, in the argument about the immortality of the soul, and we discern the consequences of this resource. Although the theory of reminiscence explained the origin of knowledge as the truest memory, it was an insuperable difficulty for a creationist mentality; we consider that the Aristotelian element acts on this Platonic structure: the experience of things is not memory, but evocation. Using the Aristotelian principle, Saint Augustine transmutes the immateriality of the Platonic-Aristotelian soul into spirituality.

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Published

2025-03-06

How to Cite

Calabrese, C. C. (2025). The Aristotelian principle «esse in subiecto» in the demonstration of the immortality of the soul. The «De immortalitate animae» of Saint Augustine. Pensamiento. Revista De Investigación E Información Filosófica, 80(311), 1791–1809. https://doi.org/10.14422/pen.v80.i311.y2024.034