Francisco Suarez: the Problem of Understanding Separated Substances and the Doctrine of Active Intellect

Abstract

This article deals with the Suarez’ interpretation of the Aristotelian doctrine of the soul. Its originality lies not only in the fact that Suarez admits the active intellect as a naturalability of the soul, and thus the immortality of the soul, but also argues that when the soul is separated from the body (at the time between death and resurrection), it retains its basic functions such as thinking and the ability to comprehend separated substances. This is particularly interesting given the fact that Suarez retains the basic provisions of Aristotelian psychology on the incompleteness of the substance of the soul and its inability to comprehend things that cannot be perceived through sensual experience. Nevertheless, Suarez believes that such entities can be perceived by the “properly equipped” intellect. This article presents a detailed analysis of the functioning of the active intellect and its interactions with other abilities of the soul that allow for the formation of an adequate knowledge of the separated substances.