Can the soul exist without the body? The positions of Thomas Aquinas, Domingo Báñez, Francisco de Toledo, and Francisco Suárez

Arango A.Ñ. · Perseitas (2025) · DOI: 10.21501/23461780.5046

Resumen

The notion of the separated soul has been a central topic of debate in scholastic philosophy, where thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas (2001), Báñez (1588), Toledo (1985) and Suárez (1991) have made various interpretations of this concept. In this sense, the article has as an objective to analyze the different approaches, raised by these philosophers, in relation to the state and knowledge of the soul when separated from the body, as well as the implications of these conceptions on personal identity, conscience and morality after death. For this purpose, an analytical and comparative method with a qualitative approach is employed. The research concludes that the scholastic authors present divergent views on the state and knowledge of the separate soul. For Aquinas, it is contranatural; for Báñez (1588), preternatural; and for Suárez (1991), semiperson. Toledo (1985) argues that Aristotle (2008a) also addressed the issue of the separate soul. While Suárez (1991) considers the gnoseology of the separate anima perfect, the Angelic Doctor (2001) sees it as inadequate. Despite these differences, all agree that the human soul is spiritual and immaterial and maintains its identity when separated from the body.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional del Centro del Perú