«Universale latissimae universalitatis»: origine della creazione e natura del fluxus nel De causis di Alberto

Abstract

Among the authors of the 13th century, Albert the Great is perhaps - together with Thomas Aquinas - the one who chose to confront more closely the metaphysical instances of the Liber de causis. The anonymous work, an original readaptation of Proclus’ Elementatio theologica, not only found in Albert one of its most passionate interpreters, but also profoundly shaped his thought. It is difficult to establish whether it was more the Liber de causis that modelled Albert’s philosophical and theological reflection, or Albert’s reading of it that profoundly influenced the posterity of the De causis. One of the best known aspects of Albert’s thought is undoubtedly his metaphysics of flow, and more particularly his attempt to harmonise the Christian doctrine of creatio ex nihilo with the Neoplatonic model of procession and emanation. In this article I jointly analyse: (i) Albert’s definition of the flow; (ii) the way he describes the process of creation by the First Cause; (iii) the different definitions he offers of the first product of the First Cause. In this way, I hope to show that the nature of the flow - considered in its moment of origin (which coincides with the origin of the entire creation) - can be more adequately understood if considered in its relationship to that of the first created product, and vice versa.