Espíritu e inmutación espiritual: desarrollos y problemas en Tomas de Aquino

Abstract

The concepts of spirit and spiritual immutation, although widely neglected, is of great interest for the understanding of Aquinas' theory of perception. In this article it will be argued that on historical as well as systematic grounds in Aquinas the concept of spiritus is ontologically ambiguous being the main question whether it has to be conceived of as something mainly material or immaterial. The ambivalence becomes especially obvious in his treatment of spiritual immutation, A brief outlook to Albert the Great and Roger Bacon aims to show that in the 13th century there were in fact theoretical alternatives to Aquinas' explanation of perceptual processes.