The Modern Schoolman

Volume 89, Issue 1/2, January/April 2012

The Variety of Second Scholasticism

Roberto Hofmeister Pich
Pages 65-94

Alfonso Briceño (1587–1668) and the Controversiae on John Duns Scotus’s Philosophical Theology
The Case of Infinity

The paper presents some basic tenets of the works by the Franciscan Friar Alfonso Briceño (1587–1668), as well as of his metaphysical thought. After offering the basic structure and purpose of his monumental Controversiae, we focus on a more specific way of seeing his philosophical and theological approach, namely Controversy 5 on the infinity of God. This will allow us to see the structure of his argumentation in philosophy and theology: after putting the formulation of controversial points between the Scotist and the Thomist school, he analyzes arguments against the Thomist position both in the Medieval and Baroque traditions, trying then to defend Duns Scotus’s account by a careful and articulated interpretation of his texts.