Aquinas on the Soul

Aquinas on the Soul:

Aquinas taught that, like all material beings, humans are composed of matter and form (more on this when we look at “permanence and change”)

·  matter is the “stuff” of which we are made

·  form is the nature or set of characteristics which define us as human

·  Aquinas would equate the human “form” or “principle of life” which animates us with the “soul”

Looked at this way, other beings also have souls:

·  Plants have “vegetative” souls which infuse them with simple life (nutrition, growth, reproduction)

·  Animals have “sensitive” souls capable of reacting to the world around them (sensation, appetite)

·  Humans have “rational” souls capable of making meaning from their sense perceptions of the world in which they live (understanding, volition)

·  i.e. we don’t have three souls for three different kinds of function, but one (superior) soul capable of all three

What is unique to the human among life-forms on earth, then, is the capacity to reason and to choose: we are rational animals

·  other beings are intelligible (i.e. we can make sense of them) but not intelligent

·  a plant which has the form or “soul” of a pine tree is intelligible, not intelligent; a house which receives the form intended by the architect does not become intelligent because we can read the blueprint

·  humans are not only intelligible, but also intelligent; they are self-aware, can make sense of the world around them, and can act upon that world with purpose

·  because the power to think and choose is not dependent on matter, the human soul is not dependent on matter either: it continues to exist after the end of our physical life

·  in Aquinas’ understanding, the human soul is created directly by God, and is unique for each human being