The Thomistic Account—A Causal Analysis

This chapter considers what Thomas Aquinas, perhaps, would have said of the nature of human sexual dimorphism were he alive today. It thus engages the question of whether the fundamental principles of Thomistic physics, anthropology, and metaphysics can fruitfully be applied to contemporary questions on the nature of human sexual difference. In particular, it offers a causal analysis of human femaleness and maleness, seeking their formal, material, agent, and final causes. Each of the four causes is treated in turn in an attempt to provide a Thomistic account of sexual dimorphism that is cognizant of and responsive to contemporary challenges.