Thomas Aquinas and Natural Law

Thomas Aquinas: The Great Theologian and Angelic Doctor

• Aquinas, known as the "Angelic Doctor," teaches that moral life is guided by God through our
conscience, or "the little voice of God."

• He believes that our conscience directs us towards happiness and perfection with God, and that this
natural tendency to do good and avoid evil is God's will for man.

• Aquinas believes that every person is given an angel to protect them in following God's will by doing
good and avoiding evil.

Aquinas' Philosophy and Aristotle's Teachings

• Aquinas emphasized the supremacy of reason in man and that man can know the truth with certainty
through reason.

• He stressed that some truths cannot be known by human reason alone but can be known only with the
aid of divine revelation.

• The two truths, those known through reason and divine revelation, cannot contradict each other as
they emanate from the same source; God who is TRUTH itself.

Aristotle's Concept of God

• Aquinas upheld Aristotle's arguments to prove God's existence, but he saw their limitations as they do
not reveal the nature of God as we know Him from the Bible and Christian Teaching.

• Aquinas argued that man seeks ultimate happiness in God, the Greatest Good, and that faith and
reason go together in seeking the truth of God.

Vite Ethics and Natural Law

• Aquinas outlined several virtue ethics that a person can live for: benevolence, fairness, patience,
civility, compassion, generosity, self-discipline, cooperativeness, courage, justice, tactfulness,
courteousness, loyalty, dependability, moderation, and tolerance.

• He believed that virtues cannot be bought by any means but can be taught to children and developed
over time.

The Law and Human Nature

• Aquinas viewed the law as a rule or body of rules that tell individuals what they may and may not do.
• He believed that the purpose of human life is happiness and that the goodness or badness of an action
would depend on this relation to that purpose.

• Aquinas taught that humans should use their conscience as "little voice of God" to do good and avoid
evil, which he called synderisis.

Virtue Ethics: Origin and Meaning

• Virtue originates from the Latin root vir, meaning manliness or virtue.

• Over time, it evolved into moral excellence and the quality of being morally good.

• Virtue ethics is classified as a teleological ethical principle, derived from the Greek word telos, meaning
an end or purpose proper to one’s nature.

• Socrates and Aristotle both viewed virtue as knowledge required to reach the ultimate good, or
eudaimonia.

• Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" emphasized the importance of rational activity in accordance with
virtue over a life, resulting in virtue.

• The concept of virtues was later incorporated into Scholastic Christian moral theology, particularly by
St. Thomas Aquinas.

• Christian virtues were based on the Seven Virtues from Aurelius Clemens Prudentius's epic poem,
chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility.

• Virtue ethics is a recent term coined during the 20th Century revival of the theory, calling for a change
from dominant normative theories of Deontology and Consequentialism.

• Virtue ethics helps understand what it means to be a virtuous human being and provides a guide for
living life without specific rules for resolving ethical dilemmas.

Character Building for a Good Life

• Aristotle's theory of virtue emphasizes the importance of character in achieving good behavior.

• Virtue theory suggests that focusing on being good people leads to natural, right actions.

• Aristotle's theory reflects the ancient assumption that humans have a fixed nature and that the way we
flourish is by adhering to that nature.

• Proper functioning, as described by Aristotle, is essential for human flourishing.

• Virtue is not just about God's plan, but also about our nature's desire to be virtuous.

• Aristotle's definition of virtue is not specific, but about knowing what to do, handling oneself, and
getting along with others.

• Virtue is the midpoint between two extremes, the Golden Mean, or the Theory of Moderation.

• The theory is also known as the Theory of Moderation or Theory of the Middle.
Understanding Courage and Virtue Theory

Understanding Courage

• Courage involves putting oneself in harm's way for a good cause.

• A courageous person would assess the situation, size up the mugger, and have a reason to believe they
could safely intervene.

• Courage is the midpoint between cowardice and recklessness, both of which are bad.

• Courage involves assessing the situation, knowing one's abilities, and taking the right action in the
particular situation.

Understanding Virtue

• Honesty is the midpoint between brutal honesty and failing to say what needs to be said.

• It involves knowing what needs to be put out there and what should be kept quiet about.

• Virtue involves delivering hard truths gracefully, breaking bad news gently, and offering constructive
criticism.

Learning Virtue

• Virtue is a skill, a way of living, that can only be learned through experience.

• Virtue is a kind of knowledge called practical wisdom or phronesis, which can be learned through
practical activities like cooking, attending classes, or reading a book.

• A character is developed through habituation, and learning to do the right thing comes by finding and
emulating moral exemplars.

• Over time, these actions will become an ingrained part of one's character.

Motivating Virtue

• Virtue theory evokes the need to build character, apply practical wisdom, and emulate moral
exemplars.

• It motivates us to become the 'good person' we can be by recognizing and emulating those who
already possess virtues.

Virtue Theory and Its Importance

• Virtue is a skill or way of living, learned through experience and practical wisdom.

• Virtue is developed through habituation, with virtuous actions becoming part of one's character over
time.

• Learning virtue comes from emulating moral exemplars, who already possess virtues.

• Virtue is learned by watching and doing virtuous actions, which can be challenging at first but become
ingrained over time.
• Virtue theory motivates us to become virtuous to attain eudaimonia, a life of striving and success.

• Eudaimonia involves constant improvement, setting goals, and developing new ways to achieve them.

• Choosing to live a eudaimonistic life means facing disappointments and failures, but it also brings
satisfaction from accomplishments and pushing oneself to be the best person.

• Virtue ethics is the quest to understand and live a life of moral character, assuming virtue is acquired
through practice.

• Aristotle suggests honing virtuous habits can help individuals make the right choices when faced with
ethical challenges.

Virtue Ethics and Self-Realization Theories

• Virtue ethics is a philosophical approach that focuses on developing one's potentialities as perfectly as
possible, fulfilling and realizing one's nature.

• It emphasizes cultivating a virtuous character rather than following rules of actions.

• A moral person in virtue ethics is someone who displays character traits of honesty, courage, and
integrity.

• Socrates introduced virtue ethics through his 'know-thyself' principle, emphasizing the importance of
self-questioning, self-reflection, and self-assessment.

• Plato's moral philosophy introduced the view that things on earth are imperfect copies of the ideal
world, with ideas being perfect, eternal, immutable, and universal.

• Plato's ethical thought consists in the constant imitation of the Good, the highest of all ideas.

• Aristotle believed that the world we perceive is the real world, and human nature is as it actually is.

• Aristotle believed that the proper function of man is the act of reason, moral virtues viewed within the
framework of a communal life of the "polis" and the "act of contemplation."

• Moral virtue is following the rule of moderation, taking the middle between excess and deficiency.

• Aristotle believed that the act of contemplation is the best and most perfect virtue, enabling man to
attain happiness or "eudaimonia."

• Virtue ethics is important for living as humans, practicing virtues such as righteousness, honesty,
integrity, moderation, goodness, truth, and sincerity.

Aristotelian Ethics Terms and Concepts

Akrasia:

• Connotes a lack of self-control, akin to incontinence.

• A person with akrasia is aware of good behavior but lacks self-control to resist physical pleasures.

• Aristotle agrees with Socratic ethics, arguing that all wrongdoing is a result of ignorance.
Arete:

• Generally translated as "virtue," it refers to excellence, not just moral or intellectual virtues.

• A person, animal, or thing exhibits arete when it performs its function properly.

Doctrine of the Mean:

• Aristotle's doctrine states that virtue is a mean state between extremes of excess and deficiency.

• This doctrine is vague as it varies from person to person.

Energy:

• Aristotle describes happiness and contemplation as activities, not necessarily activities.

• He contrasts happiness with virtue, viewing it as a disposition to behave in the correct manner.

Ethos:

• The root of ethics, but translated as "character."

• Aristotle focuses on determining what constitutes an admirable character.

Eudaimonia:

• Normally translated as "happiness," it carries connotations of success and fulfillment.

• Happiness is a public matter that can be evaluated by an observer.

Hexis:

• Aristotle uses the term "hexis" to qualify virtues.

• Virtue is not something one actively does, but a disposition to behave in the right way.

Phronesis:

• Often translated as "prudence," it allows us to reason properly about practical matters.

Psyche:

• The root of psychology, psyche is the unobservable property that distinguishes living things from
nonliving things.

Telos:

• Aristotle views humans as having a telos based on our uniquely human capacity for rational thought.

• This telos leads to the conclusion that contemplation is the highest human good.

Aristotle's Ethics: Virtue, Happiness, and Moral Education

Virtue and Happiness

• Aristotle views happiness as the highest goal, not just physical pleasure or honor.

• He argues that true happiness is not about physical pleasure or honor, but about virtue, which is a
disposition to behave in the right manner.

• Virtue is learned through constant practice, starting at a young age.

• A good horseman can exhibit arete in horsemanship without necessarily implying moral worth.

• Aristotle believes that virtue exists as a mean state between the extremes of excess and deficiency.

The Doctrine of the Mean

• Aristotle believes that virtue exists as a mean state between the extremes of excess and deficiency.

• He emphasizes that there are no general laws or exact formulations in practical sciences, but rather, we
need to approach matters case by case, informed by inculcated virtue and practical wisdom.

• Virtue can be learned only through constant practice, implying no set rules we can learn and then
obey.

The Unity of the Virtues

• Aristotle sees virtue as an all-or-nothing affair.

• A virtuous person is someone who is naturally disposed to exhibit all the virtues, and a naturally
virtuous disposition exhibits all the virtues equally.

• A good character is what constitutes a good character, and all virtues spring from a unified character.

The Importance of Friendship

• Aristotle devotes two of the ten books of the Ethics to discussing friendship in all its forms.

• Happiness is a public affair, not a private one, and the bonds that tie citizens together are of great
significance.

The Life of Contemplation

• Aristotle concludes that contemplation is the highest human activity, largely a consequence of his
teleological view of nature.

• Wisdom is the highest activity of human life, dealing only with unchanging, universal truths and resting
on a synthesis of scientific investigation and intuitive understanding of the first principles of nature.