Abstract

In his treatise On Intellectual Knowledge, Matteo Liberatore compares some «modern philosophical systems» to the «theory of S. Thomas». However, by examining thoroughly Liberatore's criticisms of the modern doctrine of ideas, his presentation of Descartes, Locke and Kant — the most prominent representatives of modern thought -is shown to be inadequate. Firstly, neither Locke nor Kant accepted Descartes' claim regarding the epistemic primacy of the «I think». Further, it does not seem that ideas, or representations, for either of them did constitute the direct objects of knowledge. Finally, Liberatore is mistaken in maintaining that modern philosophers did not distinguish between intellect and sensibility. As a result, the differences between Liberatore's Neo-Thomism and the modern theory of ideas are less profound than he suggests.