The undefinable First: Avicenna and 13th century Ethics.

BUFFON, VALERIA

Buenos Aires

Congreso; 13° Congreso anual de la Sociedad Internacional de Estudios Neoplatónicos; 2015

Universidad de Buenos Aires

New readers of the Nicomachean Ethics in the 13th century, the Parisian Arts Masters have some expected difficulties in defining several ethical concepts, such as deliberation (consilium), happiness (felicitas) and good (bonum). This last concept, which is considered to transcend categories in the same way that being (ens) does, is identified, in its superlative form, i.e. highest good (summum bonum), with the first principle of existence (Primum). Even if knowledge of the First, or Highest Good, is necessary to the accomplishment of human happiness, this knowledge escapes to concept grasping, not only at the intellectual-seizing level (apprehensio intellectualis), but also and mostly at the scientific level of explanation through causes and definition. Thus, several serious problems of definition arise, such as lack of gender and differentia specifica, which will be dealt with by our masters with the aid of some elements taken (according to our research) from Avicennian developments about the definability of the First (al-awâl) in book VIII of the Metaphysics of his Ðifâ?. We will explore in this paper the possible intermediaries in this text transmission and the cross-references with other neoplatonic sources available to the masters.