Hi again TJ, thanks for the compliment and the follow up!
tjmiller:
Might one say, then, that we humans have not so much a soul in a body, but - as it were - a body in a soul?
Ah, definitely NOT a soul in a body, like a man(soul) wearing a coat(body). I think I understand what you are getting at by your alternative formulation (body in a soul), something like the idea that our bodies are the physical manifestation of our souls. But that’s not quite it either. Both formulations (soul in a body, body in a soul) fail for the same reason: The soul is the form of the body.
So, when you look at a rock, do you say that this rock’s form is “in” the matter, or that the matter is “in” the form? No, we see that “a rock” is that specific kind of thing (matter+form) which makes it a rock.
Likewise WE are that specific kind of thing (matter+form) which make us a Human Being.
I think the best shorthand formula for our body/soul nature (remember they are a complete unity – one whole “being”) is that we
are “ensouled flesh” and “enfleshed souls”. But remember that animals also *have *ensouled flesh and enfleshed souls, but there is no personhood there for animals to say “we are”. The personhood that we have is the RATIONAL (and immortal and spiritual) soul. So an
even better shorthand (distinguishing us from animals) is that we are
MATTER-SPIRIT COMPOSITES. Animals do not have a spiritual component (their souls are material and corruptible).
tjmiller:
So the Church in this dogma is making the point that it is the rational soul that is the form - but is she doing this to counter an error proposing that something else is the form?
GOOD question! I wish I knew a complete answer to this. I will however point you again to the Catholic Encylopedia article on
form. There you see a discussion of Blessed John Duns Scotus, and his view of a plurality of forms in one being. Thus, according to Scotus we have a coporeal form (which gives us a body, just like a rock has a coporeal form) and a vegetative soul (giving us nutritive powers, etc) and a animal soul (giving us mobility, etc) and finally a rational soul (giving us personhood: intellect and will). Each of these succesive forms is “superadded” upon the other.
The scholastic concept seems to be that the soul is the ONE substantial form of the Body, and we are what we are (a bodily, living, moving, and rational person) in virtue of that one soul (form).
So, perhaps the dogma is protecting against the notion of the plurality of forms. (For info, see this excellent Catholic Encylopedia article on
Blessed Duns Scotus)
Interesting discussion! Thanks TJ,
God Bless,
VC