Book contents
- AQUINAS ON METAPHYSICS AS A SCIENCE
- AQUINAS ON METAPHYSICS AS A SCIENCE
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Editions and Translations
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1The Problem of the Leaky Hull
- Chapter 2Aquinas on Scientia
- Chapter 3Aquinas on the Subject of Metaphysics
- Chapter 4Aquinas on Metaphysical Properties
- Chapter 5Aquinas on Metaphysical Principles
- Conclusion
- References
- Index
Chapter 1 - The Problem of the Leaky Hull
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 August 2026
Book contents
- AQUINAS ON METAPHYSICS AS A SCIENCE
- AQUINAS ON METAPHYSICS AS A SCIENCE
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Editions and Translations
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1The Problem of the Leaky Hull
- Chapter 2Aquinas on Scientia
- Chapter 3Aquinas on the Subject of Metaphysics
- Chapter 4Aquinas on Metaphysical Properties
- Chapter 5Aquinas on Metaphysical Principles
- Conclusion
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter motivates the central problem of the book from within the broadly Aristotelian tradition. Every Aristotelian science must have (1) a clearly delineated subject-matter about which its inquiry proceeds, (2) identifiable properties that can be demonstrated to belong to that subject-matter, and (3) principles to which the science’s practitioner can appeal in demonstrating that those properties belong to that subject. But even a cursory glance at the Peripatetic tradition shows that it is no easy task to state what metaphysics is about, what properties should count as metaphysical, or what principles metaphysicians should invoke when doing their work – let alone to make those answers harmonize.
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- Aquinas on Metaphysics as a Science , pp. 6 - 28Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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