Understanding Personal Identity Based on Contemporary Interpretation of Aquinas's Teaching

The article examines the understanding of personal identity based on a contemporary interpretation of Aquinas's teaching. The author surveys Aquinas' statements on this topic in several of his works. The author continues with an examination of the views of prominent authors on this issue and then pursues and develops a justification for his own solution. It is argued that according to Aquinas the principle of personal identity consists in the form that is directed towards a connection with a particular matter. Moreover, the author offers a suggestion as to how to position Aquinas' stance on the issue within the context of current debates on the topic. According to Aquinas, a resurrected person has his/her existence intermitted, since as a separated soul this person is not a person in a strict sense as an complete substance. This view makes Aquinas a corruptionst. However, in a weak sense as an incomplete substance, a separated soul could still be considered a human person a view that is in fact held by some recent and contemporary Thomists.