The transcendentals in the middle ages: An introduction

Although most predicates may be truthfully predicated of only some beings, there are others that seem to apply to every being. The latter, including being itself, were known as the transcendentals in the Middle Ages and gave rise to the much disputed doctrine of the transcendentals. This article explores the main tenets of the doctrine and the difficulties that they face, the reasons why scholastic authors were interested in these issues, and the origins of the doctrine.I am grateful to Jan Aertsen, Kenneth Barber, Michael Gorman, and Scott MacDonald for their suggestions concerning this paper.