The Individuation of Angels from Bonaventure to Duns Scotus

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the main positions on the individuation of angels developed between ca. 1250 and 1300. Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Richard of Middleton, Henry of Ghent, Giles of Rome, and John Duns Scotus put forward the main theories that are discussed in the later Middle Ages. Medieval discussions on the individuation of angels focused on the issue of synchronic individuation. Thomas Aquinas developed a remarkably original view on the individuation of angels. Henry of Ghent provided the most elaborate rejection of Aquinas's position, as well as a sophisticated treatment of the individuation of angels, which influenced Duns Scotus more deeply than it may initially appear. Scotus agreed with Aquinas and Henry of Ghent that angels are immaterial. The debate over the individuation of angels provided later medieval philosophers with an exceptional opportunity to spell out their views about the structure of the created world.Keywords:angels; Bonaventure; Duns Scotus; Henry of Ghent; Individuation; Thomas Aquinas