Gaspar da Madre de Deus: a Brazilian Confronted with Aristotelianism and Anti-Aristotelism in the 18th Century

Abstract

This paper examines how the local reception of philosophies spread throughout the world took place in the work of Brother Gaspar da Madre de Deus, an 18th-century Brazilian philosopher, particularly in his reflections on the concepts of noun, verb, and sentence, as presented in the manuscript Philosophia Platonica. Although the title suggests a certain Platonism, the analysis reveals a theoretical commitment to Aristotelianism and, simultaneously, a dialogue with Iberian anti-Aristotelian authors, such as Soares Lusitano and Arriaga, whose thought Friar Gaspar critically rethinks within the scope of Colonial Scholasticism.