ESTIMATIVE FACULTY. - It is the inner faculty by which the animal apprehends things useful or harmful to its life, and it corresponds to what in modern psychology is called instinct. The animal, being devoid of reason, cannot form these value judgments by itself, and therefore they must be innate in its psyche and must come into operation immediately upon first contact with the real. Such value relates to things as such and not to their outward qualities: "... sicut ovis videns lupum venientem fugit, non propter indecentiam coloris vel figuræ, sed quasi inimicum naturæ. Et similiter avis colligit paleam, non quia delectat sensum, sed quia est utilis ad nidificandum" (Sum. Theol., 1a, q. 78, a. 4 c). Therefore the e. represents in the animal the highest degree of knowledge because it guides it in the conduct of life. To the e. there corresponds in man the cogitative power. (v.).

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: H. A. Wolfson, The internal sense in latin, arabic and hebrew philosophical texts, in Harvard theological review, 28 (1935), pp. 69-135; id., Isaiah Israeli on internal senses, in George Kohut Memorial, Nueva York 1935, pp. 383-98; id., Maimonides on internal senses, in The Jewish quarterly review, 25 (1935), pp. 441-68.

Cornelio Fabro

@incollection{ec5_estimativa, author = {Fabro, Cornelio}, title = {Estimativa}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {V}, pages = {644--645}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/estimativa} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

Estimative Faculty

About this entry