THE RECENTIOR NOMINALIS OF LEIBNIZ’S DISPUTATIO METAPHYSICA DE PRINCIPIO INDIVIDUI: FULGENTIUS SCHAUTHEET AND HIS CONTROVERSIA AGAINST THE THOMISTIC DOCTRINE ON THE PRINCIPLE OF INDIVIDUATION
THE RECENTIOR NOMINALIS OF LEIBNIZ’S DISPUTATIO METAPHYSICA DE PRINCIPIO INDIVIDUI: FULGENTIUS SCHAUTHEET AND HIS CONTROVERSIA AGAINST THE THOMISTIC DOCTRINE ON THE PRINCIPLE OF INDIVIDUATION

Summary/Abstract: In his Disputatio metaphysica de principio individui (1663),Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) supports his own account ofthe principle of individuation on the basis of the authority of manyNominalistic (the nominales) theologians and philosophers. Amongthem he quotes a recentior nominalis, Fulgentius Schautheet (1623-1708), the author of the Controversiae philosophicae inter scholasticorumprincipes D. Thomam, Ioannem Scotum et Gregorium Ariminensem nominaliumantesignanum (1660). Indeed, in the Preface of his work, Schautheetpoints out that he aims at reconstruct the Scholastic controversies byfollowing in the footsteps of Gregory of Rimini (1300-1358), which isconsidered by him the antesignanus of the nominales. Leibniz refers tothe Fifth Controversy of the second book, where Schautheetaddresses his criticism against the Thomistic account of the principleof individuation. In this article I analyze Schautheet’s Controversia inorder both to reconstruct the theory of the author and to compare itwith Leibniz’s one.

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