Thomas Aquinas, the Beginning of Human Life and the Science of the Soul

Abstract

The research question of the paper is: Is a view – prevalent within a modern Catholic Church – that human life begins at the moment of conception coherent with the Catholic teachings on the soul and man? The thesis of the paper is the following assertion: A modern view that human life begins at the moment of conception is incoherent with the Catholic teachings on the soul and man. A view that is coherent with these teachings is a view that human life begins at some time after conception (delayed hominization account). The research method employed in the paper is the method of reflective equilibrium. The main conclusion of the paper is a call for the revival of the delayed hominization account both in philosophy and Catholic teachings.