The Metaphysical Foundations of Joseph de Finance\u27s Anthropological Reflection. Is classical metaphysics a philosophy of the object or does it encompass the subject with his subjectivity?

U središte svoga filozofskog istraživanja J. de Finance stavlja čovjeka i njegovo djelovanje, proučavajući ga pod vidom odnosa s »drugim« (alius, aliud), s posebnom pozornošću na etičkim implikacijama intersubjektivne relacije. No u pristupu ovim pitanjima polazi od uvjerenja da samo ako je ukorijenjena u određenom metafizičkom kontekstu, – koji prepoznaje u klasičnoj metafizici – antropologija može garantirati cjelovit pristup svim dimenzijama ljudske egzistencije. U ovom prilogu želimo stoga istražiti temeljne odrednice De Financeove metafizike na kojima utemeljuje svoju antropologiju. Perspektiva iz koje ćemo promišljati ovu problematiku može se izraziti pitanjem: je li klasična metafizika filozofija objekta ili dohvaća i subjekt s njegovom subjektivnošću? Polazeći od kritika koje pojedini protagonisti iz konteksta suvremene filozofije stavljaju pred klasičnu metafiziku, spočitavajući joj da je isključivo filozofija objekta i objektivnog aspekta stvarnosti (bitî), te da je kao takva neprikladna uvesti nas u svijet subjekta, pokušat ćemo pokazati kako u njihovoj osnovi stoji krivo tumačenje pojma bitka u klasičnoj metafizici, napose u onoj tomističkog određenja. Na tom tragu ustanovit ćemo da pojam bitka u metafizici Tome Akvinskog, u svom izvornom obliku, može biti ispravno shvaćen jedino kao actus essendi, te da subjekt i subjektivnost predstavljaju autentičan aspekt ovako shvaćenog bitka, što onda otvara realnu mogućnost konstituiranja metafizike subjekta na klasičnim osnovamaAt the core of J. de Finance\u27s philosophical investigation is man and his activity under the aspect of his relationship with „the other“ (alius, aliud), the focus being on the ethical implications of intersubjective relations. In dealing with these issues he begins with the conviction that anthropology can guarantee an integral approach to all dimensions of human existence only if rooted in a particular metaphysical context and this, he claims, is to be found in classical metaphysics. This article seeks to investigate the basic determinants of de Finance\u27s metaphysics which are the basis of his anthropology. The perspective taken in reflecting upon these issues may be expressed by the question: is classical metaphysics a philosophy of the object and does it encompass the subject with his subjectivity? We shall set forth from the criticism directed to classical metaphysics from the context of contemporary philosophy by certain protagonists who denounce it for being exclusively a philosophy of the object and the objective aspect of reality (essence), and that as such it is not a suitable introduction to the world of the subject. We shall attempt to demonstrate that their concept of existence in classical metaphysics contains a fundamentally flawed interpretation, particularly in the Thomistic strand. In light of this we shall establish that the concept of being in the metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas in its original form can be understood correctly only as the actus essendi. Likewise, the subject and subjectivity represent an authentic aspect of being as understood in this way, and so a realistic possibility is opened for the development of a metaphysics of the subject on classical foundation