La triade dell'essere in Giovanni Scoto Eriugena

In John Scottus Eriugena’s Periphyseon, one can find several references of the essentia – virtus – operatio triad; an analysis of those mentions shows that it has a basic (but often hidden) function in his metaphysical doctrine. The triad appears to be the fundamental ontological structure of the whole cosmos, eternal and unalterable in the Divine Word, but, at the same time, in constant flux in the Creation. However, since the triad is not found in God, it can only be considered metaphorically in Him. Eriugena uses the triad’s theory in his anthropology to explain the soul’s motions, in his knowledge theory to clarify the essence of the number, and in the doctrine of the reditus, disclosing how everything will return to God, even in its preserved, specific nature.