A Complete Course of Philosophy According to the Mind of Scotus - Generation, Corruption, the Soul, and Metaphysics, Volume III - John Punch

This third volume continues Punch’s systematic exposition of philosophy in the Scotist tradition of John Duns Scotus, bringing together the study of natural processes, philosophical psychology, and metaphysics into a unified treatment.

The work begins with generation and corruption, examining the coming-to-be and passing-away of natural substances. Punch explains these processes through the principles of matter, form, and substantial change, emphasizing the intelligibility of natural transformation within a structured physical order.

It then turns to the soul, treated as the substantial form of the living body. The text analyzes the powers of the soul, including intellect, will, and sensory faculties, with particular attention to its immaterial operations and its relation to the body. Questions concerning human cognition, volition, and the unity of the person are addressed in a scholastic framework.

The final and most extensive section concerns metaphysics, or the study of being as such. Punch examines being, essence, existence, causality, and distinction, applying Scotist principles of formal analysis to clarify the structure of reality and its most universal features.

Throughout the volume, Punch maintains a rigorous scholastic method, aiming to integrate natural philosophy and psychology within a broader metaphysical system. The result is a comprehensive treatment of change, life, and being that leads from the physical world to the highest principles of intelligibility.