The Nature of Person: A Comparative Analysis of the Thomist and Vedantic Perspectives on the Ontology of Self

Abstract

The article "The Nature of Person: A Comparative Analysis of the Thomist and Vedantic Perspectives on the Ontology of Self" by Frank Gaetano Morales explores the fundamental nature of personal identity through a comparative lens. It contrasts the Christian Thomistic view—where the human person is an indivisible unity of body and soul, emphasizing existence as a core attribute—with the Vedāntic conception, which identifies the self (ātman) as a transcendental, eternal consciousness, distinct from mind and body. Morales critically analyzes how each tradition defines personhood and evaluates their epistemological and metaphysical underpinnings.