Maria Eduarda Machado

My Ph.D. project, with the supervision of Professor Paula Oliveira e Silva, focuses on the problem of the order of the universe and the principle of this cosmological unity in Thomas Aquinas’ work. According to Aquinas, this principle is God as the ultimate efficient cause of the universe. His action results in creation, which is rational and free - creation is an action of intellection and will. Therefore, in Thomas' metaphysical model, to explain the beginning and order of the universe, it is necessary to clarify how God knows the world he will create. However, this poses a question since God is one in his essence, and the world is multiple in its manifestations. Clarifying this aspect supposes understanding how Thomas explains the possibility of the divine intellect being one and identical to its essence while simultaneously possessing a multiplicity of ideas through which the world will be created. To explain this aspect of Thomas' metaphysics, this project proposes to analyze the process of divine knowledge concerning the created world. As a result of this analysis, it is hoped to achieve Thomas' answer to the problem of the rational foundation for the universe’s structure, order, and unity.

Beyond the metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas, my principal interests lie in the study of metaphysical and epistemological models and how they can provide approaches to possible explanations of the genesis and nature of reality as well as consciousness.

Host: Thérèse Cory

Affiliation: FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology), Institute of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto