St. Thomas Aquinas Clarifies a Bob Dylan Song Lyric

In his excellent song, well, at least I like it, "Cold Irons Bound," Mr. Bob Dylan opines, "Reality has always had too many heads." Questions arise from this opinion, such as, "How many heads does reality have, Mr. Bob Dylan?" Mr. Bob Dylan may not know the answer to that question, but
pondering the words of St. Thomas Aquinas supplies one answer. In Quaestiones Disputae, de Spiritualibus Creaturis: a. 3., he beautifully teaches us, "By his substantial form, which is human, man is not only a man, but also an animal, a plant, a body, a substance, and a being."

In this context, substantial form means soul, and, lest I give offense, philosophically speaking, the term'man' includes all rational animals, i.e., all human persons regardless of sex, without denying a birth sex, i.e., women and children, as well. This is what the term 'man' means in the Nicene Creed, for example.

So, man is a man.
Man is an animal.
Man is a plant.
Man is a body.
Man is a substance.
Man is a being.
Man is these six things.

One might dispute this and say that "man HAS a body,"  is more accurate. Living or dead, man falls to earth at 32 feet per second per second.

So, a way of interpreting "Reality has always had too many heads," given to us by the Angelic Doctor, is that man has six ways, or six concerns, when interacting with reality. For example, man as man may want to passionately kiss his wife, but if the two of them are standing on the edge of a precipice, bodily concern for himself as well as for her, demands a certain chasteness in that kiss.

Really, man, at least in this fallen world, has too many heads, but for the poetry of the thing, there is nothing offensive in "Reality has always had too many heads."

Finally, only man as man has concern about his fate in eternity, i.e., after bodily death, whereas man as animal, plant, body, substance, or being, is only concerned about his fate in time, i.e., prior to bodily death. For example, someone who looks on physical fitness as the highest good is someone who cares more about being an animal or a body than a man.