5.

2 FEATURES OF HUMAN ACTIONS

 AQUINAS
• Aquinas evaluates human actions on the basis not only of their
conformity to the natural law but also of their specific features.
• He mentions at least three (3) ASPECTS through which the
mortality of an act can be determined -- in terms of its

1. Species 2.Accidents 3. End

 1. SPECIES
• Species of an action refers to its kind.
• also called “the object of the action”.
• Human deeds may be divided into kinds,

Some of which are Good (e.g. improving one's own property)

Some Bad (e.g. theft)

Some Indifferent or Neutral (e.g. walking in the park).

• AQUINAS holds that for an action to be Moral, it must be good or atleast

not bad in species.
 2. ACCIDENTS
• Refer to the circumstances surrounding the action.
• In ethically evaluating an action, the context in which
the action takes place is also considered because an act
might be flawed through its circumstances. For instance,
while Christians are bound to profess one's belief in
God, there are certain situations in which it is
inappropriate or even offensive and distasteful to do so.
 3. END
• End stands for the AGENT'S INTENTION.
• An act might be unjust through its intention.
• To intend to direct oneself against a good is clearly immoral.
• AQUINAS gives murder, lying and blasphemy as instantiations of this ill will.
• Correspondingly, a bad intention can spoil a good act, like giving of alms
out of vainglory. Nonetheless, an intention, no matter how good it may be,
cannot redeem a bad act.
• For Aquinas, theft is intrinsically bad. Hence, stealing to give to the poor,
as in the case of Robin Hood, is an unjust act. In this view, converting to a
particular religion, say Christianity, merely for material gains is an unjust act.
• AQUINAS ETHICAL THEORY states that for an action to
be Moral, the kind it belongs to must not be bad, the
circumstances must be appropriate, and the intention must be
virtuous.
5.3 HAPPINESS, MORAL VIRTUES, AND THEOLOGICAL
VIRTUES
 AQUINAS
• He believes that all actions are directed towards ends
and that happiness is the final end.
• He also thinks that happiness is not equated with
pleasure, material possessions, honor, or any sensual
good, but consists in activities in accordance with
virtue.
• A person needs a MORAL CHARACTER cultivated
through the habits of choice to realize REAL
HAPPINESS.
• Aquinas defines VIRTUE as “a good habit bearing on
activity” or a good faculty-habit.
• HABITS are firm dispositions or “hard to eradicate”
qualities that dispose us to act in a particular manner. Notice
that not all habits are virtue, but only those that incline us
towards our good or end.
 ACQUIRED AND INFUSED HABITS
• Aquinas differentiates between Acquired and Infused habits.
• The autonomous will of a person plays a major role in
acquired habits as they involve consistent deliberate effort
to do an act time and again and despite obstructions.
• The Infused virtues, on the other hand, are independent of
this process as they are directly instilled by God in our
faculties. These virtues are thus divine gifts which elevate the
activities of those who received them.