Levels of Abstraction

Natural Philosophy—drawing out the form, recognizing things by way of the senses… without the
object, we would not be able to form a knowledge about a particular thing
Mathematical knowledge—you don’t need the physical object to form a knowledge, but based on matter
Metaphysical Level—ex. hope, love, peace
2 Reasons: No matter and both exist in matter and spirit

Metaphysics—philosophical outlook
 Metaphysics proper, i.e. the study of reality as such (being)
 The metaphysical study of specific aspects or portions of reality

Distinction
Material Object—subject matter... ex. Every real (Biology)
Formal Object—part ng subject matter na pinag aaralan at nag aaral
 Object quo—what part of the intelligence is being used to study the subject matter? What
intellectual part studies the subject matter? Third degree of elevation above matter ex.
Natural Knowledge
 Object quod—the aspect of being as such…
ex. Life

Object of the Metaphysics of Man

What is the end of Man?—the metaphysics of the good of man (ethics) follows from the metaphysics of
man…
 A good definition of man in the light of his end is: a bodily person made to know and to
love

Ancient Greek—God in relation to man (Cosmocentric)

Medieval-Man in relation to God (Theocentric)
Modern-the center is that man is the measure of everything (Anthropocentric)

Traces of man---structure, permanent institution (family, laws, etc.), articulate sound (communication),
phenomenon of religion

Man is spiritual and corporeal being

Spiritual—understanding and making free choices (super material; degree of life na mas perpekto
compare to animals) intellect and will is free from material conditions
Corporeal—the body itself; the actuality of being; not only pure spirit and not only pure matter, but of
both; man is in the midway or gitna ng hierarchy ng beings

“Man must be perfect reason and will”

Order of perfection—wherein the lower is for the sake of the higher—hierarchy of perpetion
Man is in the image and likeness of God. We have the power to know, love and serve God.
Because of spirituality, Man can be elevated to the supernatural life, because of our capacity, i.e.
obediential potency, and man has no capacity to elevate himself but to be elevated by grace. No nature
can rise above itself but man has the power to be raised. This power, however, lies not in the materiality
of man, but in his spirituality.

Man has intellect or intelligence as a power (it is in man mula sa pinanganak hanggang sa mamatay), and
it is distinct from the intelligence in activity (iba ang intelligence ng bata sa matanda, the more knowledge
we have the more responsibility we have)

Since man is not perfect by being a man, he needs to be perfect himself, towards good… towards God,
the perfection or end man must attain.

In the order of grace man has to cooperate. If not he will to reach his perfection. Man is not finished, he
needs to act in order to reach his goal or end (fiinis in latin)

Overview man knows that he knows

Man is purposive
He knows the ability to know the end of things; what they are for.
Ex. Man knows where the spoon to use for
Man is intelligent
He develops agriculture, animal husbandry, industry, commerce, banking, etc. More profound
than animals…
Man is articulate
Man expresses ideas and not only feelings. Animals can’t do that… Man express through speech,
emotions
Man is free-Imago Dei
Man has feelings and emotions, but supposed to be ruled by intelligence. Intellect supplies option
for man to choose towards the good. And the intellect must tell that this is the good.

INTELLIGENCE- object is the being of material things

Material Object-is everything. Pwede malaman ang lahat ng real at nagexist. (if it does not exist, it
cannot be known, therefore cannot be the subject matter)
Formal Object- being of things… what is this? What is it for? Where does it come from?
The senses helps the intelligence to know this thing: what things are (essence) and that things are
Manner—what is the being
Act—existence of being

Proofs of the spirituality of the intelligence

Universal- ex. The concept of horse (it is universal kasi accessible yan sa mga kabayo). It is not bound ng
matter. Opposite of individual.
Reflection- it can turn upon the power of intellect. Ideas. Meditation. Ex. Hindi mo pwedeng tingnan ang
mata mo. You cannot reflect on your own senses kasi material and it reflected outside itself… concept of
a mug, I know because I know that the concept of the mug I have is correct
Abstraction- pabago-bago ang essence ng isang bagay. Since matter is the principle of change.

The concept of a things that tells it universal, reflection and abstraction. Ex. a mug

Note: Souls of animals are immaterial but not spiritual. If an animal dies, also the soul will die because
they are bound to matter.

February 8, 2022
Object of Intelligence—proportionate or appropriate to man as body and soul composite (earthly life)
Being of Material things: development of the sensibility of a child (senses)

Process of Understanding
Simple Apprehension: part of the abstraction process; looking at the essence (Concept of sun, bright,
love)
Judgement: reflecting on your own concept (own knowledge); Proposition/statement | ex. The sun is
shining. (There is affirmation and negation)
Reasoning: drawing conclusions | Argument—Therefore it will not rain.

Intelligence as a Potency | Act (existing) and Potency (capable of acting)

The truth of the mind is the effect of the truth of being: it is true therefore it is knowable; things tell
you that it is true…
Truth is the agreement of the mind with reality: act of understanding, our mind is capable of knowing
things according to the manner of our thinking, as God knows Himself perfectly for He is perfect
indivisible

SIMPLE APPREHENSION
Sensitive Knowledge Intellective Knowledge
Object---5 External Senses----------4 Internal Senses----Phantasm---Active Intel.---Passive Intel.--Idea
Function End
Apple Sight (color) To see--red Common Sense end point Abstraction Contemplation an apple
Hearing Memory (Image) -essence remains -name a things
Touch Imagination -removes the individuating notes

-reproductive
-creative
Taste Vis Estimativa
Smell (instinct)-nag-act
-Good object
-Bad object
Percept- collecting of all individuating notes
Ideogenesis—the birth of Idea
Agent intellect—power to abstract, cannot understand
Possible intellect—power to understand—produced the Idea/Concept

External Senses
Senses—Function | Organ | Object
Sight—to see | Eyes | Color/Light
Hearing—to hear | Ear | Sound
Touch—to feel | Skin | Texture
Smell—to smell | Nose | Odor
Taste—to taste | Tongue | Flavor

Internal Senses
Coordinating sense/Consciousness—(sensus communis) perceives the totality of an object
Memory—power to recognize past sense
Imagination—reproductive (reproduces image)/creative (creates new image)
Instinct—estimative sense (leads animals to react)/cogitative sense (leads man to react)
Phantasm- end product of the sensitive knowledge na magkakaroon ka ng isang image
Common sense- to make the whole thing whole
Age of Reason—about seven years old
Human Development

Tabula Rasa—blank slate | no innate or inborn ideas

Substance and Accidents

Essential vs. Incidental
Accidents—sensible accidents, do not exist by themselves
Substance—intelligible being, can exist by itself
Sensible experience—sensible experience that the intel. grasps the being of things
Intelligible—intel penetrates into the essence of things, purely trans-sensible

Abstraction- from the sensible to the intelligible

Agent intellect (acts like a light) | not understand
Possible intellect (acts as mold) | receives the impression in itself and the final product is the concept

Impression of the intelligible form on the intellect

Intelligible Species-the impression being impressed on the intellect (likeness)
Intellectual Memory—capable of storing
Intentional Presence—(in-tendere=to point to) in-forming it, i.e. putting forms in it

The Act of Understanding

Act of two potencies:
Potency of the thing to be known by the intelligence
Potency of the intelligence to know the thing
In-forming the Intelligence
Dependence of intelligence on Reality
Image- the product of sensitive knowledge, sensible, individual (ex. Color), material (attached to matter)
Concept-intelligible (grasped the essence by intellect, universal (property could be seen to anywhere),
immaterial (concept has no matter)

Concept and reality

Species-likeness that signifies
Concept-conception | like a child of the mind—specie pf reality or a sign that points to reality

Reality is the cause so that we can form a concept (through experience),

Concept allows us to express it through sensible form/language (meaning na binibigay natin sa bagay-
bagay)
No reality, no knowledge

Characteristics of Human Concepts

They are universal, while things are individual
They are abstracted, because they are the product of separation of accidentals to what is the essence
They are immaterial or spiritual, it transience space and time

We never know reality, completely

Knowledge of the Singular

Direct object of the intelligence is the universal concept (the essence stripped of all individuating notes)
Concept is abstracted by from singular
Conversion ad phantasmata—returns to the original experience and the universal on the concrete beings

Sensible knowledge-begins with the senses and returns to the senses “Act of being”

Judgment—second act of the mind

-the mind begins to grasp the composition of being
Ex. You know the elephant and you know that it is existing “is” |you know what cat is | There is a cat that
-the order of beings to one another or how they are related to one another

Simplicity of the Act of Judgment

-in a single act of understanding, that the mind grasps the unity of many elements
-the simplicity is in the act, not in the content
-a complex act, but still one act
-ex. Nantz is handsome. (Concept of handsome, concept of the identy of Nantz)

Truth and falsity

-depending on whether it agrees with reality or not.
Simple Apprehension (true or it can never be no)
Judgement (true or false)

Possibility of error
-there is possibility of error or falsehood, because it states a relationship to reality

Truth and certainty

-truth should not be confused with certainty,,, dapat sigurado ka
Truth is the property of being and reality
Certainty is subjective, to our disposition to our attitude

Certainty and Belief—disposition of the mind

Evidence—direct, demonstrable (subject to proof)
Authority—of witness who deserves our trust

Human Faith-natural
Act of Human Faith—ex. The day and place you were born (you put your faith in your parents)
Free and Reasonable
-Free for there is no logical compulsion
-Reasonable based on good grounds (rational) ex. Birth certificate

Which is more certain?

Evidence-based or witness-based
Humans are fallible, so evidence are more weight that witness

Discursive Process of Reasoning

-discursus—running along a course | (body) Discursive Knowledge—reach the truth through reasoning
process (ratio)
-intus-legere—to read into | (spiritual) intuitive knowledge—reach the truth directly without any process
(intellectus) (aha! moment)

Man as ‘rational animal’

-uses ratio ordinarily, rather than intellectus
-intellect is use in some specific cases, like those of immediate or direct evidence (induction)
-
Truth is not the conformity of the mind with the object
However, it is the mind with the thing

Thing—the act of being, essentia and esse

Object—thrown before the mind, it is already in the mind

Information—mere accumulation of data

Not knowledge
-without seeing the inference of premise and mere accumulation data
-paano ito nabuo o paano nabuo ang conclusion
-manipulation of information and not generation of a new knowledge
Knowledge—it is rooted in reality that leads to wisdom

Human formation and Education

-since man is not an angel, he needs formation

Ultimate criterion of Truth

-go from one truth to another
-if the judgment is correct and the linking is correct
-errors in reasoning when false judgment even if the reasoning is correct
-reality check is the key

Self-knowledge, Consciousness and Reflection

-simple but complex in part (the simplicity lies in one act)

Consciousness—conscientia (cum scientia = what goes with knowledge)

-knowledge of causes—by explanation
-the implication is the conscious
-external senses are in contact with the reality, you are aware of our subjectivity
-coordinating sense (common sense)—amalgamation (union) of sensation

Sleep
-the interruption of this operation of the coordinating sense, so you’re not conscious
-having lost contact with the reaity
-totally wala but gumagana ang vis estimative and memory and imagination
-they fly into the unreality of dream and you do not have control in it

Conscious and Unconscious

-conscious—we know and we know that we know
-unconscious—asleep (dreaming), awake (day-dreaming or absent-minded), we do not advert (focus) to
it, we are not aware of our acts.
Key: awareness of reality
Act of consciousness—it is not a potency, it is an act power of man, because you are aware of what you
are doing ‘I am eating’
-validate knowledge through experience

Consciousness is not a potency but an act

Conscience
-moral consciousness
-aware na good or bad ang isang bagay

Self-Consciousness
-power of perfect reflection

Concomitant—an actu exercito

-I know that I know

Explicit—in actu signato

-I know myself as knowing
-you try to express it, you are reflecting on the things that you are doing, looking upon the act of knowing

Interior Life
-inwardness or inner life of man
-proper knowledge of who you are
-explains by power of reflection and self-consciousness

The perfection of creature lies in achieving its end

Conclusion:
Knowledge as enrichment of being
Order of actuality—climbing up, the more you know, the more you actualize
Enrichment of being—what we know should direct towards our perfection and the actuality of God
Uppermost limit—it is God—to attain perfect knowledge of God—must be improve or increase
Lowermost limit—it is the prime matter, staring from the actuality of things, from there we can go up
towards God as the fullness of actuality (our perfection)

Spiritual-liberates man (beauty, art, God)