John Constance Parnis

John Constance Parnis (1695–1735) was a major Maltese mediaeval philosopher who specialised mainly in metaphysics, physics, and logic.

His name at that time was John Baptist, and between 1712 and 1715 he followed courses given by Constance Vella at the Franciscans’ College of Philosophy and Literature at Rabat, Malta.

At 35 years of age, in 1730, Parnis was elected Provincial Minister (or general superior) of his religious order for Sicily and Malta.

This is the Amalthéa Aristotelico-Scoticos (A Compendium of Aristotelian-Scotist Philosophy), and still exists in manuscript form at the Franciscan Archive in Valletta, Malta (unmarked).

Despite the fact that he divides his work in a traditional manner – that is, in Disputations, Questions, and Treatises – Parnis does not limit his comments with any conventional modes of analysis.