Abstract
The present work is a metaphysical analysis of the relation between the intellect and the
will, starting from the solution offered by Saint Thomas Aquinas to the intellectualist and
voluntarist proposals of his time. Through the application of the doctrine of the act and
power discovered by Aristotle, and with the important elements that Christianity had
contributed by the thirteenth century, St. Thomas solves the problem of the production
of universal concepts in an environment of concrete material realities. The contribution
of St. Thomas consists in having achieved a moderate intellectualism, granting each
faculty the value and preeminence that corresponds to it, avoiding relativistic voluntarism
and reaching a depth that is unique in metaphysical realism in the history of thought.
Keywords
Intellect – will – act – potential – intellectualism – voluntaris
