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Thomas White on the Metaphysics of Transubstantiation
Author(s) -
Connolly Patrick J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the southern journal of philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.281
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2041-6962
pISSN - 0038-4283
DOI - 10.1111/sjp.12306
Subject(s) - metaphysics , philosophy , individuation , eucharist , epistemology , white (mutation) , identity (music) , theology , psychoanalysis , aesthetics , psychology , chemistry , gene , biochemistry
This article explores a previously neglected manuscript essay in which Thomas White offers an account of the metaphysics underpinning transubstantiation. White’s views are of particular interest because his explanation employs a broadly mechanist framework, rather than the hylomorphism traditionally associated with Roman Catholic discussions of the Eucharist. The manuscript helps to shed light on a number of topics of importance to early modern philosophy including the reception of Descartes’s views, the relationship between theology and natural philosophy, and mechanist accounts of identity and individuation.