„Дали ангелският или човешкият интелект е активен с оглед на причиняването на интелектуалните действия?“ Окам относно волевото задвижване на мисълта
“Whether the angelical or the human intellect is active with respect to the causation of the intellectual acts?” Ockham on the wilful movement of thought

Summary/Abstract: The current paper is part of a larger project, that is devoted to exploring the connection between the will and epistemology in the texts of several Franciscan authors. Ockham is an author who stressed the freedom of the will, its self-movement and self-reflection to an extreme. Concerning the theory of the activity of the intellect, he was rather a sceptic. Denying the basic arguments for a natural activity of the intellectus agens, Ockham tries to solve an epistemological issue. There are different steps of an epistemological process, which do not involve a complete knowledge of the examined object. Doubt or probability are certain moments of an epistemological process that can be explained only if we introduce an extra faculty besides the intellect. This has to be a faculty that – unlike the intellect – does not move necessarily as a natural faculty would do, but is contingent, can activate itself and move itself freely and spontaneously. Since the will is the only faculty that suits the description, Ockham tries to make the argument that the will plays a role in the epistemological process of acquiring knowledge. The different levels of concentration, the ability to intensify or even to retract a certain act of the intellect is according to Ockham the direct influence of the activity of the will. The current paper tries to elaborate on this issue.

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