Suárez on Aristotelian Causality

Book excerpt: Suárez on Aristotelian Causality offers the first comprehensive account of Francisco Suárez’s position with respect to the four Aristotelian causes in his Metaphysical Disputations. Suárez deals with these causes in the greater part of Metaphysical Disputations 12–27 approximately a third of his famous work on metaphysics. Nevertheless, no previous attempt at analysis of causality as a part of his overall metaphysical position has been offered. The material, formal, efficient and final cause as understood by Suárez each receives a chapter in this volume just as his general account of causality is considered. This should be relevant to anyone interested in the role and pertinence of Aristotelian causality for Suárez’s metaphysics. Contributors (in order of appearance) are Jakob Leth Fink, Erik Åkerlund, Kara Richardson, Stephan Schmid and Sydney Penner.