Whether the separated soul can understand anything?

❌ Objection 1 : It would seem that the soul separated from the body can understand nothing at all. For the Philosopher says (De Anima i, 4) that "the understanding is corrupted together with its interior principle." But by death all human interior principles are corrupted. Therefore also the intellect itself is corrupted.

❌ Objection 2 : Further, the human soul is hindered from understanding when the senses are tied, and by a distracted imagination, as explained above (Question [84], Articles [7],8). But death destroys the senses and imagination, as we have shown above (Question [77], Article [8]). Therefore after death the soul understands nothing.

❌ Objection 3 : Further, if the separated soul can understand, this must be by means of some species. But it does not understand by means of innate species, because it has none such; being at first "like a tablet on which nothing is written": nor does it understand by species abstracted from things, for it does not then possess organs of sense and imagination which are necessary for the abstraction of species: nor does it understand by means of species, formerly abstracted and retained in the soul; for if that were so, a child's soul would have no means of understanding at all: nor does it understand by means of intelligible species divinely infused, for such knowledge would not be natural, such as we treat of now, but the effect of grace. Therefore the soul apart from the body understands nothing.