Great Ideas of Philosophy

E. Further, to the intellectual virtues of Aristotle must be added the theological virtues infused in us by God:faith, hope, and charity.1. What would Aristotle make of charity? He describes magnanimity as a virtue: Not only should we bevirtuous, but we should be virtuous in a large-hearted and generous way, not grudgingly. This is asclose as Aristotle comes to charity.2. Christian charity, in contrast, is not putting oneself forward but sharing what one has, not taking foroneself even what one deserves if another is in need. Absent this theological virtue, the Christiancannot know salvation.3. Faith, as Aquinas means it, would be almost repugnant to Aristotle. If the word refers to asuperstitious rejection of the evidence of sense and the counsels of reason, it cannot be a virtue.4. On the Thomistic account, if our duty is to know the divine essence, we must recognize that rationalityand the evidence of the senses will take us in that direction but can never help us achieve the goalcompletely. There are mysteries in creation that only faith can reach, most importantly, God’s offer ofsalvation.IV. The problem of conduct for Aquinas is the problem of reconciling us to the eternal law. It is the path to or awayfrom salvation and eternal happiness.A. Right conduct is not simply a matter of making sure one’s life in the political community is a decent one,that one is civically responsible, and so on. The problem of conduct now is inextricably bound up withnotions of a life that is committed to knowing God, to loving God, and to becoming worthy of God’spresence in the life to come.B. In this undertaking, the rule of law guides and serves. Defined by Aquinas as “an ordinance of reasonpromulgated by one who has responsibility for the good of the community,” law appeals to the rational sideof our nature. The Thomistic theory of law is a natural law theory, much in the sense that Aristotle, Cicero,and the Roman law itself understood the relationship: Law is “natural” to creatures of a certain kind.C. In the thrall of addiction to our own desires and their satisfaction, we neglect those basic goods by which aflourishing and worthy life is served.D. How do we protect against ourselves in this regard? Apart from the gift of grace and the blessings ofheaven, there are more immediately perceptible means of improvement and immunity: the well-orderedstate and the realm of justice.E. Taking human nature to be an expression of divine love, Aquinas finds the children of God placed here fora purpose. That purpose is for what is best in us to flourish, and what is best in us is the capacity for anintegrated, wholesome family life; for responsibilities to the church; to conduct ourselves in a prudentmanner; to desire the good and to shun evil; and to shun what cannot be in the interest of a rational being.F. We do have the potentiality for developing the moral and intellectual virtues by study and contemplation.We must also deploy, finally, the theological virtues so that the form of life we live matches up in a properway with the life that Jesus lived.V. Stepping out of the context of religion, we find in Thomas Aquinas a towering intellect, yet toward the end ofhis life, he turned away from scholarship. He thought so deeply and persistently on the meaning of life that hecame to find words incapable of expressing truths that can only be known by the grace of God.Recommended Reading:Finnis, J. Natural Law and Natural Rights. Oxford, 1980.George, R., ed. Natural Law Theory. Oxford, 1992.Questions to Consider:1. Conclude whether one can actually develop psychology “backwards,” that is, by starting with a theory of basicgoods for human beings and, from this delineation of goods, constructing a theory of human nature.2. Explain on what grounds the fall of Adam in some way would “justify” or render reasonable the institution ofslavery.30©2004 The Teaching Company Limited Partnership