Really excellent, Tim. I am heartened that someone with a grasp of quantum physics (unwraps) also reads Aquinas. In my study of his works, I come across startling insights as well as really quaint notions. But on the whole his synthesis of prior thinkers is eclectic, interreligious, and yet transparent and humble. His method is quite modern: ask a question, study others' answers including contradictions, and say what you think.

Now concerning the existence of the soul and its qualities, one idea that keeps popping up in my head (mind?) is that of extra dimensions. Could a person's essence, in Aquinas' sense, reside in a higher dimension? A weird thought but recurrent... I don't know how to evaluate it...