2. Descartes and the Scotists

Abstract

The teaching at Descartes' Jesuit college, La Fleche, was based on Saint Thomas, and Descartes continued to consult Thomas throughout his life. With the Index scolastico-cartesien as his instrument of research, Gilson proceeded towork on his commentary onDescartes' Discours de lamethode. Immediately, Roland Dalbiez issued a criticism of the commentary. He pointed out that the Thomist doctrine was disputed by many previous thinkers, and especially Scotists. For Thomists, objective being is only a being of reason; for Scotists, it ismore than a being of reason. Dalbiez also discussed an issue that seemed tangential to the debate between Thomists and Scotists about objective being, but was waged within the Jesuit order itself, between two of its greatest metaphysicians, Suarez and Gabriel Vasquez.Keywords: Dalbiez; Descartes; Gilson; Jesuit order; Saint Thomas; Scotists