QUESTION 29 — DIVINE PERSONS
Concerning the meaning of the word “person”, we will see:
1. The definition of person.
2. The comparison of this term with those of essence, subsistence and hypostasis.
3. Is the term person appropriate about God?
4. What it means.
Article 1 — Definition of the person
Objections: 1. Boethius gives this definition: the person is the individual substance of a reasonable nature. However, this definition seems inadmissible. In fact, we do not define the singular; it is therefore wrongly defined. 2. In this definition, the term “substance” is to be taken either in the sense of first substance or in the sense of second substance. If it is a question of first substance, the word “individual” is too much, because the first substance is the individual substance. If it is the second substance, “individual” makes it a false and contradictory definition in its terms; for these are the genera and species that we call secondary substances. This definition is therefore …More