History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps HoP 244 - Everybody Needs Some Body - Aquinas on Soul and Knowledge
Jan 3, 2016
Aquinas' teachings on soul, knowledge, and human nature, his clash with the Latin Averroists, emergence as an influential thinker, rejection of multiple forms of the soul, importance of bodily resurrection, non-human animals' inability to think, importance of God in human knowledge.
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Unity Of The Soul As Substantial Form
- Aquinas defends a single substantial form: the rational human soul supplies all human capacities.
- He explains diverse bodily functions by distinct organs exercising different powers given by that one soul.
Soul Is The Only True Substance
- Aquinas insists the soul is the only true substantial form in humans and is directly predicated of prime matter.
- He denies internal elemental substances in the body because that would fracture human unity.
Early Backlash After Aquinas' Death
- Aquinas provoked rapid opposition after his death, such as John Peckham and William Dettmare critiquing his doctrine.
- William Dettmare attacked 118 teachings of Aquinas and his work became required Franciscan reading.