Cognitive Intuition of Singulars Revisited: (Matthew of Aquasparta versus B. J. F. Lonergan)

COGNITIVE INTUITION OF SINGULARS REVISITED (Matthew of Aquasparta versus B. J. F. Lonergan) I. Introduction Thirty-five years have passed since Fr. Sebastian J. Day, O.F.M., published Intuitive Cognition. A Key to the Significance of the Later Scholastics.1 In that book, based on a critical study of John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham, the following conclusions were reached: (?) Intuitive cognition is a fact; (2) Exclusive abstractionism has been disproved; (3) Intuitive cognition explains the possibility of an immediate knowledge of singulars, including material singulars; (4) Singulars are first known in the order of generation of knowledge; and (5) By eliminating (Ockham) media between intellect and object (such as species intelligibiles) , intuitive cognition eliminates skepticism by grounding knowledge on the safe basis of an immediate contact with reality.2 It is not surprising that the welcome accorded the book by Thomists was less than enthusiastic. For "Neo-Thomists," it was a "terrible book." "Transcendental Thomists" found the theses to be no less unsatisfactory. Unfortunately, the book went unnoticed by the wider philosophical community. Much of the hostile reaction can be attributed to the fact that Intuitive Cognition of Singulars is not an Aristotelian doctrine. If truth is, and must be, confined to Aristotle, denunciation does not have to be burdened by argumentation. The fact is that the doctrine stems from St. Augustine. For that reason, it is remarkable that this doctrine was espoused by Duns Scotus, who is commonly believed to have been more Aristotelian than Augustinian,3 and by Ockham, who is generally portrayed as a consistent follower of the "real" Aristotle.4 1 St. Bonaventure, N.Y. 1947, hereafter cited as Day. 8 Day, Chap. IV, p. 207-214, passim. 8 For a balanced account, cf. E. Bettoni, "The Originality of the Scotistic Synthesis" in John Duns Scotus Z265-1965, edited by Ryan and Bonansea, Washington, D.C. 1965, p. 28-44. 4 Day, n. 8, p. 211, where he notes, contra E. A. Moody, that Ockham specifically relies on St. Augustine. Cognitive Intuition of Singulars Revisited347 It was originally Fr. Day's intention to write an extensive historical study of the doctrine of intuitive cognition from its origins.6 Unfortunately, no one since has attempted this desirable task. A complete history of the doctrine would demand the labor of a lifetime. Therefore, this study will be based on an exposition of the pure Augustinianism of Matthew of Aquasparta. Matthew of Aquasparta presents an anomaly. His writings have been comparatively little studied, but he is uniformly the recipient of high praise. Prof. Gilson praises him as having a "clear mind" "in his admirably constructed disputed questions."6 For M. De Wulf, Matthew yields nothing to any of his contemporaries with regard to profundity of thought.7 According to F. Ehrle, in none of the older scholastics, not even excepting St. Thomas Aquinas, is there as much fullness and eloquence in diction and lucidity in exposition.8 Most to the point with respect to this study is the fact that Matthew excelled in knowledge of St. Augustine.9 Matthew of Aquasparta's discussion of the cognition of singulars, which will be the foundation of this article, principally is found in the question: "Utrum Intellectus Humanus Intelligat Singularia."10 It is the thesis of this article that the teaching of Matthew of Aquasparta 8 Day, p. xi. 8 History of Christian Philosophy, Random House, 1955, p. 341. ' Matthew of Aquasparta: Quaestiones Disputatae de Incarnatione et de Lapsu, Quaracchi, 1957, ?· 2> P- 9> quoting Histoire de la philosophie médiévale, Louvain 1912, p. 381: "Il se révèle comme un écrivain de grand talent, au style sobre, clair et précis, et par la profondeur de la pensée, ne le cède en rien aux plus célèbres de ses contemporains." 8 Ibid., n. 4, p. 8, noting Zeitschr. f. kath. Theol., VII, 1883, p. 46: "Bei keinem der alteren scholastischen Auetoren—selbst den hl. Thomas nicht ausgenommen —finden wir in den für die Schule bestimmten Schriften jene Fülle und Beredsamkeit der Diction und jene Klarheit der Darlegung, wie wir sie zumal in den zahlreichen Quaestiones disputatae des gelehrten Cardinais bewundern." * Matthew...