Introduction to Thomistic Metaphysics III: Being and Entity

I present the third volume of the Introduction to Thomistic Metaphysics. This time, we will deal with Being and Entity. The metaphysics of the Universal Doctor follows Aristotle but is not exhausted in him. He articulates his Aristotelianism with the contributions of Saint Augustine and, through him, of Neoplatonism; the contributions of Boethius and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite; of his medieval Christian predecessors and of the Jewish (mainly Maimonides) and Islamic (Averroes) philosophers. Manser Gallus already taught that "the problem of being was and will remain the great problem of philosophy, the axis around which everything turns". In this sense, Saint Thomas surpassed the Stagirite. He gave way to an existential conception of Being. From an essentialist point of view, he opened the way to a reflection on existence as a full and perfect dimension of the Being. And from the Aristotelian First Immobile Mover, he passed to God, the Esse subsistens, the One who is, whose essence and existence cannot be distinguished, the pure Act. Who creates and involves himself providentially in his creation. There are many differences between Thomas and the Greek Genius. The Being par excellence is God. Everything else participates in his Being. In this sense, Thomas solved the problem of Being and reflected on Being as such and not only on the entity. The work is divided into 19 chapters. Namely: 1-The problem of Being - Part I: Being in Greek philosophy. 2-Heraclitus: pure becoming without being. 3-Parmenides: being without becoming. 4-Plato: the being in the ideas. 5-Aristotle: The being and the entities. Second part: Being in Saint Thomas. 6-Aristotle and Saint Thomas. 7-Epistemology. 8-Hylomorphism. 9-The being of entities. 10-Originality of the Thomistic doctrine of being. 11-The entity. 12-Being and participation. 13-Being and life. 14-The order of entities. 15-Being and acting. 16-The Transcendentals. 17-The entity is one. 18-The entity is true. 19-The entity is good. An epilogue in the form of questions and answers. And the Notes. Certainly, there is still much to say and think about this very universal notion we call Being. We do not pretend to have exhausted all its riches. Later, God willing, we will complete the exciting task of unraveling its mysteries.