PIETRO D'ALVERNIA. — A disciple of s. Thomas in Paris, he was initially a master in the Faculty of Arts; he then Enrico di Gand (v.) and Goffredo di Fontaines. A master of theology around 1296, at that date or not long thereafter he disputed his Quodlibeta. Bishop of Clermont from 1302, he died in 1304.
He completed s. Thomas’s commentary on the De caelo, the Politica, and, in part, the Meteora. But he also wrote his own commentary on the Politica as a master of arts. He was furthermore the author of Quartiones in Metaphysicum and on the Parva naturalia. In this first period of his teaching, he came under Aristotelianism (v.). In a second period, Thomistic influence was partly neutralized by that of his teachers of theology, especially Goffredo, for example, with regard to the principle of individuation (v.), the distinction between essence and existence, and the relation between intellect and will (v.).
In agreement with other thinkers of the Avicennian-Augustinian school, he posits in man a twofold agent intellect: one intrinsic to the soul and multiple, and another separate and one. He is not an original thinker, but is inclined to examine the opinions of others in depth and reconcile them.