History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps HoP 228 - It's All Good - The Transcendentals
Jun 14, 2015
The podcast discusses the concept of transcendentals in medieval metaphysics and aesthetics, exploring the connection between goodness and being and the relationship between transcendental terms. It also explores the concept of transcendentals in medieval philosophy and the definition of beauty as a transcendental and its relation to goodness and being.
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Intentional vs Extensional Distinction
- Intentional content differs from extensional identity: two thoughts can be about the same thing but mean different things.
- Medievals sharpened this distinction and used it widely in analysis of concepts like being and unity.
What Transcendentals Are
- Transcendentals are properties that apply to all existing things, like being, unity, truth, and goodness.
- Medievals treated these as fundamental features that cross category boundaries in metaphysics.
Goodness As Share Of Being
- Medievals followed Boethius and Augustine in holding that whatever exists has some share in goodness, even if imperfect.
- Evil is treated as relative non-being, so existence entails some goodness.