The Thomistic Institute Identity vs. Nature: Aquinas on Who Creates Me – Prof. Jacob Wood
Nov 25, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Prof. Jacob W. Wood, a theologian from Franciscan University of Steubenville, navigates the complex waters of identity and nature through the lens of Aquinas. He contrasts Aquinas's views on human nature as divinely created with modern expressive individualism, exploring themes of authentic freedom and common purpose. Wood addresses how virtues foster true freedom and critiques gender identity as a chosen performance, emphasizing the importance of a shared human nature in dialogue across traditions.
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Form Gives Matter Being And Limits
- Form (formal cause) gives matter both existence and a limited set of potentials that make a thing what it is.
- Without form, pure matter would be mere potency and would not exist as any determinate thing.
God As First Cause Of Nature And Order
- Aquinas argues a first cause (God) is needed to explain both existence and the ordered purposes of natural series of causes.
- Without this first cause there would be no beings, natures, or coordinated final causes in nature.
Human Nature Straddles Material And Spiritual
- Humans uniquely bridge material and immaterial realms, making knowledge and love proper ends of human nature.
- Being made in God's image means humans can share in spiritual perfections beyond mere bodily life.
