A Complete Course Of Philosophy According To The Mind Of Scotus - Metaphysics, Part I, Volume IV - Bartolomeo Mastri

This fourth volume begins Mastri’s treatment of metaphysics, the highest and most universal branch of philosophy in the Scotist tradition rooted in John Duns Scotus. Having completed logic and natural philosophy, the course now turns to being as such and the principles that underlie all reality.

In this first part of metaphysics, Mastri lays the foundations for the science of being by examining core concepts such as being, essence, existence, and the fundamental divisions of reality. He develops the structure of metaphysical inquiry with characteristic Scotist precision, emphasizing formal distinctions and the objective intelligibility of beings as they are in themselves.

The volume also introduces central metaphysical themes such as the transcendentals (unity, truth, goodness), the distinction between finite and infinite being, and the basic framework for understanding causality and dependence. Throughout, Mastri remains faithful to the scholastic method, presenting metaphysics as a rigorous science grounded in first principles rather than abstraction alone.

This work serves as the essential starting point for the deeper metaphysical analyses that continue in the subsequent volumes of the series.