ABSTRACT
This chapter examines select medieval contributions to the theology of the imago Dei and imago Dei Trinitatis, considering in particular the theologies of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and William Ockham. It argues that Aquinas and Ockham, both building on Augustine, represent two alternative views on the imago Dei, and that both views fail to offer a theologically satisfying account of severely cognitively impaired persons as created in the image of God. The chapter then surveys a minority report on the imago Dei, as found in Gregory of Rimini and Irenaeus of Lyon, in order to find ways in which the imago Dei does include severely cognitively disabled persons. The chapter concludes with some reflections on the value of the intellectualist tradition of the imago Dei and whether or not it provides sufficient resources for thinking about persons with severe cognitive impairment.
