Antropología tomista: Hacia una nueva comprensión psíquica holística del hombre como Unidad Substancial, frente a la comprensión tradicional occidental biologicista y funcionalista contemporánea.

Abstract

The work presented below considers the anthropological understanding of the human being as the unity of soul and body, proposed by Saint Thomas quinas as a substantial unity. It aims to be a philosophical contribution that allows both philosophy and psychology to draw upon the thought of Aquinas, who presents the human being as a being in Substantial Unity. His substantialist anthropological vision, grounded in ontology, can foster a fruitful dialogue with various psychological perspectives that explain only certain aspects of the human being and their behavior. For Saint Thomas, the place assigned to the human being in the universe is central. Man is a microcosm—neither solely body nor solely soul—but rather a body informed by the spiritual soul as its substantial form. From this theory arises a conception of the human being that transcends both dualism and pluralism, which are prevalent in current anthropological explanations. Psychoanalytic, behaviorist, constructionist, and other psychological approaches have sought to offer an anthropological understanding mediated by their own theoretical principles. However, these have not led to a unified understanding of the human being, nor have they directly connected the individual’s search for identity with the psyche—a concept that integrates both the internal and external dimensions of the person. The proposal developed in this work establishes a dialogue between the Thomistic position and contemporary currents concerning the psychic understanding of the human being.