We begin chapter 2: Man as a unity of body and soul. This is the core concept of the entire book. In the reading today we begin to explain what body/soul means, how it follows from ordinary experience, and the danger of dualism.

This reading looks at different arguments for establishing the existence of a spiritual principle in the human person.

This episode describes the levels of being in nature according to St. Thomas Aquinas going from minerals -> plants -> animals -> humans -> purely spiritual beings -> divine.

We begin Chapter 1: Levels of being and the existence of the human soul. In the excerpt today we introduce the important notion of simple apprehension – the natural ability of the intellect to grasp the nature of natural things in a simple way, without affirming or denying anything about it.

Today we begin Part I: The unity of the human person and the goal of human life. The reading today explains that we use the words “anthropology” and “integration” from a philosophical perspective and what that means.

Today we finish the introduction. The text gives an example of a vessel to introduce the notion of integration. It goes on to explain that common sense is the parting point of philosophy. In common sense there is an implicit philosophy which is developed in a systematic way in the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition.

A few more pages from the introduction with a brief commentary.

We continue with the introduction

Foreword and Introduction