Some cases of employment of fictional beings in the metaphysical debate between Henry of Ghent and John Duns Scotus

Abstract

The debate between Henry of Ghent and John Duns Scotus about the status of fictional beings has profound repercussions on the overall elaboration of the two thinkers’ metaphysical theories. Different conceptions related to entities such as ‘chimera’ or ‘hircocervus’ are related to more general and different descriptions of creatural essences, and to the dynamics of the divine knowledge of these same essences, involving the determination of speculative concepts such as ratitudo, aliquitas and res a reor reris. This contribution takes into consideration the doctrines on the subject of these two authors, both readers of Avicenna, and the question 17 of the Collationes oxonienses, where a Franciscan influenced by Henry of Ghent and Scotus (or one of his follower) discuss on fictional beings. A new interpretation of the collatio is given, not entirely coinciding with those found in secondary literature.
Keywords: Collationes oxonienses, Essences, Chimera.
Ancient and medieval authors: Aristotle, Avicenna, Henry of Ghent, John Duns Scotus, Richard of Conington.