Introducción al problema del hombre en el pensamiento de Alberto Magno

Abstract

The way in which the soul and the body are related is a matter that has been studied by many thinkers through out time. In the case of Albertus Magnus, a scholastic, the focus of study is the ontological status of the soul and the way it is linked to the body. Albertus’ anthropological position varies between a posture closer to Aristotelianism, which understands the soul as a part of the body, and a Platonic posture that underlines the substantiality of the soul. Hence, Albertus seems to advocate that soul and body form a substantial unit, in which both of them are “parts” of an only substance. At the same time, he holds that the soul constitutes a complete substance composed of metaphysical principles, separate (separata) and separable (separabilis) from the body, that unites accidentally and intrinsically with the body. However, the variation between postures seems to lean towards the Platonic line of dualist nature, where Albertus forgoes the substantial unit soul-body in favor of the separability and complete substantiality of the soul.