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Do Human Beings Stop Existing at Their Deaths in Aquinas’ Account?
Philosophy Department, Saint Joseph Seminary of Xuan Loc, Dong Nai, Vietnam
- 1 Philosophy Department, Saint Joseph Seminary of Xuan Loc, Dong Nai, Vietnam
Open Journal of Philosophy·Volume 13 (2023)·Pages 394–406·Published 4 April 2023·DOI10.4236/ojpp.2023.132026
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Abstract
Thomas Aquinas persistently defended the idea that the soul survives physical death. But what exactly is the rational soul that becomes separated from the body at death? When a person’s body dies, do they cease to exist? Over the past few decades, a nuanced debate has developed between “survivalists” and “corruptionists” over whether or not a separated soul is still a person, leading to impenetrable disagreements in which neither side can seem to sway the other. In this research, I propose a previously unexplored answer to this contentious query: that a person whose soul has been separated from their body is an incomplete human being.
KeywordsSurvivalistCorruptionistIncomplete PersonSoul
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