Aquinas at 800 - Papers from the 2024 Notre Dame Conference: The Fittingness of Including Animals in the Glorified Universe

In this paper, I examine Aquinas's arguments for the absence of animals in the glorified universe. In my response, I turn to Aquinas's account of fittingness with respect to God's nature, utilizing this account to argue that it befits God for some animals to exist in the glorified uni...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Weed, Jennifer Hart (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2025
In: European journal for the study of Thomas Aquinas
Year: 2025, Volume: 43, Issue: 1, Pages: 50-68
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Summary:In this paper, I examine Aquinas's arguments for the absence of animals in the glorified universe. In my response, I turn to Aquinas's account of fittingness with respect to God's nature, utilizing this account to argue that it befits God for some animals to exist in the glorified universe and to be ordered to Him as the final cause. I raise and resolve several potential Aquinian objections to this conclusion and I offer three possible, interrelated reasons as to why God might include animals. In conclusion, I present three additional theological considerations that accord with my conclusion.
ISSN:2657-3555
Contains:Enthalten in: European journal for the study of Thomas Aquinas
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2478/ejsta-2025-0004