Abstract

A fruitful comparison of Aquinas and contemporary philosophy on the nature of human consciousness ought to take stock of the different ontological and epistemological presuppositions of the theories compared. Thomists of an analytic bent such as Richard Cross and John O'Callaghan often forgo an adequate account of the epistemic motivation of Aquinas’ hylomorphism, and of its impact on his theory of consciousness. In the spirit of identifying systemic obstacles to reconciling Aquinas and contemporary cognitive philosophy, this article shows that Aquinas' theory of form and matter is key to understanding why there is no mind-body dualism in his anthropology. Moreover, it draws attention to the essential role that Aquinas ascribes to the appetitive faculty in human cognition. Aquinas' theory of consciousness can contribute to contemporary cognitive philosophy only on condition of an appropriation of these aspects of his theory.