210. The Subject of Original Sin: Soul vs. Flesh

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Threefold Location of Original Sin #

Thomas distinguishes three ways something can be “in” something else:

• As in a principal cause: Original sin was in Adam as the chief cause of the sin
• As in an instrumental cause: Original sin is in the bodily seed through which it is transmitted to offspring
• As in a subject: Original sin exists in the soul as its proper subject bearing guilt

This analysis is crucial: the flesh serves as the instrument of transmission, but the soul bears the formal guilt of original sin.

Guilt vs. Punishment #

• Guilt pertains to the soul alone, as guilt is a matter of will and voluntary action
• Punishment pertains to the flesh, including concupiscence and mortality
• The flesh does not have the capacity for guilt (culpability) because its operations are not primarily willed; it merely suffers the consequences of sin
• When Paul speaks in Romans 7 of “another law in my members,” Augustine clarifies he speaks of the redeemed man—liberated from guilt but subject to punishment

The Flesh as Instrumental Cause #

• The instrumental cause need not be more perfect than the effect (contra the principle “every thing is more potent in its cause”)
• That principle applies to the principal cause, not the instrumental
• Example: heat is more in fire (principal cause) than in heated water, but the hammer is not necessarily harder than the sculpture it produces
• The bodily seed actively transmits original sin through generation but does not create the rational soul

God and the Infusion of the Soul #

• Creation (God creating the soul) implies relation to God alone and cannot be stained
• Infusion (soul poured into body) implies double relation: to God (who infuses) and to the body (into which it is infused)
• Respect to God infusing cannot stain the soul; only respect to the corrupted body does
• God maintains the universal order: it is better for the soul to exist in a corrupted body and be capable of grace than not to exist at all
• The corruption comes from the nature inherited (without original justice), not from God’s creative act

Seminal Reason vs. Effective Beginning #

• The rational soul was not in Adam according to a seminal reason as an effective beginning (productive cause)
• Rather, the bodily seed disposes for the soul but does not produce it
• God alone creates the rational soul; parents create only the body
• This distinction protects God from causation of the corruption of the soul itself

Key Arguments #

Objection 1: Flesh as Primary Subject (Romans 7) #

Argument: Paul says “I see another law in my members repugnant to the law of my mind.” This suggests original sin dwells chiefly in the flesh.

Response: Augustine’s Retractions clarifies that Paul speaks of man already redeemed—freed from guilt but subject to punishment. The law in the members refers to punishment, not guilt. Therefore, flesh bears punishment, not guilt.

Objection 2: Instrumental Cause Principle #

Argument: Heat is more in fire than in heated water. The soul is infected through the flesh-seed, so original sin must be more in the flesh.

Response: This principle holds for principal causes, not instrumental. Original sin was more in Adam (principal cause); the seed is merely the tool. A tool need not be more perfect than what it produces.

Objection 3: Seminal Reason and the Soul #

Argument: Original sin is contracted from Adam “according to a seed-like reason.” But the rational soul was not in that seed; only flesh was. Therefore, original sin is in the flesh, not the soul.

Response: The soul was in Adam not as an effective beginning but as a disposing beginning. The bodily seed disposes for the soul but does not produce it. Original sin is transmitted through flesh but affects the soul.

Objection 4: God as Cause of Sin #

Argument: If the soul is infected when infused into the corrupted body, God (who creates and infuses) becomes the cause of sin.

Response: Creation involves only relation to God and cannot be stained. Infusion involves relation to both God (infuser) and body (recipient). Only the relation to the corrupted body stains; God’s act of infusion does not.

Objection 5: Divine Wisdom #

Argument: No wise person pours precious liquid into an infected vessel. God is wisdom; He would never infuse a soul into a body corrupted by original sin.

Response: The common good is preferred to singular good. God maintains the universal order of nature by uniting such a body with such a soul. It is better for the soul to exist in a corrupted body (capable of grace) than not to exist.

Important Definitions #

Original Sin #

A disordered disposition (dispositio inordinata) of human nature arising from the loss of original justice. It is formally a defect of original justice (the will’s proper subjection to God) and materially concupiscence (disordered inclination of lower powers). It is a sin of nature (peccatum naturae), transmitted through carnal generation.

Original Justice #

A gift of grace divinely bestowed on human nature in Adam, fundamentally consisting in the rectitude of the will (the will’s proper subjection to God). It was meant to be transmitted with human nature to posterity but was lost through Adam’s first sin.

Subject (subiectum) #

That which bears or is affected by a quality or condition. For original sin: the soul bears guilt; the flesh bears punishment. Distinguished from cause (what produces the condition).

Examples & Illustrations #

Michelangelo’s Pietà #

Berquist illustrates the three senses of “in” (causation) using Michelangelo’s Pietà:

• The form (beauty) exists in Michelangelo as principal cause
• It exists in the hammer and chisel as instrumental causes
• It exists in the marble as subject

Similarly, original sin exists in Adam as principal cause, in the seed as instrumental cause, and in the soul as subject.

The Hand and Digestion #

Thomas distinguishes between parts of the body moved by the will and those not:

• The hand striking someone is moved by the will and participates in the guilt of violence
• Digestion is not actively moved by the will; it does not participate in guilt but only in punishment

Original sin similarly infects the soul (which can be guilty through the will) but the flesh only suffers punishment.

Generative Power Distinction #

The father transmits original sin through his generative power:

• The father’s generative power is the instrumental cause
• The son’s generative power is not yet in act and cannot be the subject of original sin
• Only the soul (which receives corrupted nature without original justice) is the proper subject

Notable Quotes #

“Original sin, original sin of all men was added in themselves as in the first clause, principal clause, right? Not as the instrumental clause, but the first principle clause… But in the bodily seed, there is found original sin, as in a instrumental clause.” — Thomas Aquinas (via Berquist)

“The common good is preferred to the singular good. Whence God, according to his wisdom, does not forego the universal order of things, which is that to such a body, such a soul is poured in.” — Thomas Aquinas (via Berquist)

“As Augustine says in the book of retractions, the Apostle speaks there of man already redeemed. Who has been liberated from his guilt, right? By baptism, right? Grace. But he’s subject to what? Punishment.” — Thomas Aquinas via Augustine (via Berquist)

Questions Addressed #

Primary Question #

What is the subject of original sin—the flesh or the soul?

Answer: The soul is the proper subject of original sin, bearing guilt. The flesh bears punishment. Original sin is transmitted through the flesh (as instrumental cause) but resides formally in the soul.

Secondary Questions #

1. How can God infuse the soul into a corrupted body without being the cause of sin?

   • Creation (relation to God alone) cannot be stained; only infusion (relation to corrupted matter) transmits corruption. God cooperates with nature but not with sin.

2. Why does flesh experience the effects of original sin if it is not the subject?

   • Flesh experiences punishment (concupiscence, mortality) flowing from the loss of original justice, but lacks the capacity for guilt because its operations are not primarily voluntary.

3. How does the principle “everything is more potent in its cause than in its effect” apply here?

   • It applies to principal causes only. The instrumental cause (seed) need not be more perfect than the effect. Original sin was more fully present in Adam (principal cause) than in the seed or offspring.

4. Was the rational soul present in Adam as a seminal reason?

   • No. The soul was present as a disposing beginning (the seed disposes for the soul) but not as an effective beginning. Only God creates the rational soul; parents create only the body.