Ens reale / Ens rationis. Le mental et le réel dans le formalisme scotiste du XVI siècle

This paper focuses on the formulation of the concept of ‘reality’ between the XV and the XVI centuries by investigating the classification of being of reason and its distinction from real being in the scotistic tradition. The paper is divided into three main parts. Firstly, it shows how the notions of reality and existence cease to coincide. Secondly, it aims at highlighting the importance of the notion of esse obiectivum within the frame of the late scholastic thought. Thirdly, it demonstrates how the late scholastic theory of being of reason allows to better understand the relation between the ‘mental’ and the ‘real’ at the dawn of the modern age. The authors considered are Antonio Trombetta, Francesco d’Arezzo, Jean Du Douet.