Christian Anthropology: The Human Person in Catholic Thought - The Imago Dei: Reason, Freedom, and Moral Agency

Session 3: The Imago Dei: Reason, Freedom, and Moral Agency

What does it mean to be made in God's image? The tradition identifies intellect, will, and the capacity for relationship with God as constitutive of the imago. This session explores the philosophical significance of this claim and why human dignity cannot be grounded in capacity or achievement alone; a point with urgent implications for debates about disability, early life, and dementia.

Reading: CCC §§1700–1715; John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor §§38–53; Robert Spaemann, Persons: The Difference Between 'Someone' and 'Something' (Introduction and ch. 1)

Instructor: Dr. Aloysius Ventham

Philosopher and meta-ethicist. Program Director of the Villa Steiner Academy. Works on moral reasoning, judgment, and responsibility; teaches philosophy and ethics in Salzburg and Vienna.