Guerbet, Marine

Thomas Aquinas: the Persistence of the Human Person’s Identity in
the Resurrection and What Is At Stake. - 2026.


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This study looks at a tension apparent in Thomistic anthropology: if the soul constitutes a person’s unique substantial form, why does Thomas Aquinas insist on the necessity of recovering the same corporal matter at the resurrection? Chronological analysis of the texts (1256-1265) refutes the evolutionist theses and shows Thomas as constant in his doctrine. Requiring material continuity does not compromise the coherence of an anthropology that maintains a strict articulation between revealed content and hylomorphism, and between the transcendence of revealed mystery and philosophical rigour, thus avoiding rationalism as well as concordism. This study clarifies a controversial point in medieval anthropology and holds a place in contemporary debates on individuation, substantial form and the unity of the person.