Christoph Scheibler’s Stand with Francisco Suárez Against Supertranscendentality

Abstract The present essay considers Christoph Scheibler’s response to the supertranscendental metaphysics of Clemens Timpler. Drawing from much Jesuit metaphysical thought, especially that of Pedro da Fonseca and Francisco Suárez, Timpler departs from the arc of their thinking when he identifies omne intelligibile , which includes not only real being but also beings of reason and negations, as the object of metaphysics. This stands in contrast to earlier metaphysicians, such as Suárez, who limited metaphysics to the study of “real being” ( ens reale ). When Scheibler develops his own account of metaphysics, it is largely inspired by Suárez and directed against the supertranscendental doctrine that Timpler advances. Thus, when Scheibler transmits his own metaphysical thought to subsequent generations of those within the Schulmetaphysik , he passes on not only a system of thought inspired by Suárez but also one that remains committed to a study of real being.