Miss Eder

St. Thomas Aquinas: Ethical Thought and Natural Law Christian Ethics

Life of St. Thomas Aquinas o o o o o o Tommaso de Aquino (Thomas Aquinas) was born in 1224 CE at the Castle of Roccasecca, in the territory of the Kingdom of Sicily. Tommaso was the youngest of four sons, and had four or five sisters. Young Thomas was sent to live and be educated at the Benedictine Abbey at Monte Cassino from 1230-1239 where he was trained in the Benedictine way of life and received his primary education. From 1239-1244 Thomas studied liberal arts at the public university in Naples. While in Naples In 1244 Aquinas joined the Order of Friars Preachersbetter known as the Dominicans. A month after joining the religious order, his brothers abducted him and held him in the family castle at Roccasecca for a year (they were opposed to him becoming a priest). Thomas Aquinas lived in Paris at a Dominican priory and prepares for religious life through prayer and study from 1245-1248. Thomas Aquinas was ordained a Dominican priest, was assigned to teach theology in Paris and later worked in Italy. While in Rome in 1266, Thomas Aquinas began writing the Summa Theologiae, a work which ultimately consists of three volumes and a supplement with 613 questions, 3,125 articles and more than 10,000 objections and replies. On March 7, 1274 Thomas Aquinas died at a Cistercian monastery at Fossanova, Italy after striking his head while traveling to the Council of Lyons called by Pope Gregory X. In 1323 Thomas Aquinas was canonized a saint by Pope John XXII at Avignon.

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The Ethical Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae (adapted from Stephen Pope) The Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas is written in three parts. The first part focuses on God, the second part focuses on human beings, and the third part focuses on Christ. The Summa Theologiae is a treatise on God, Humanity, and Jesus Christ. The basic vision of the Summa is that all things originate in God and all things are reconciled to God in Christ. The second part of the Summa studies human beings and human action and is where Thomas addresses issues of moral theology. Aquinas organized this part of the Summa around the framework of the virtues. Thomistic ethics (the ethical perspective of St. Thomas Aquinas) is virtue ethics; St. Thomas Aquinas saw virtue as the key to the moral life. The major themes in the Summa on the moral life are: Creation, Happiness, Reason, Emotions, Virtues, Sinfulness, Natural Law, and Grace. Creation Creation: The vision behind the moral teaching in the Summa is the belief that all things come from God and all things return to God through Jesus Christ. The finite goodness of all of creation reflects the infinite goodness of God. Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God and the fundamental goodness of humanity remains even in the midst of human sinfulness. Happiness Happiness: The fundamental question of the moral life for human beings is the question of the purpose of human life. Thomas believes that human beings are made by God for happiness. Thus, the key question of the moral life is: What is happiness? Thomistic ethics is an ethics of beingbeing happyand not an ethics of doingas in following the rules. The key to happiness for human beings is recognizing that while the created goods of the world can make us happy for a while, only the eternal and infinite goodness of God can bring us perfect happiness. The goods of the world are truly good, but they are subordinate, limited, and finite goods which cannot satisfy human beings. Human happiness is meant to be transcendent happiness; human life finds its purpose in the ultimate good of God and only in God can human beings be truly and perfectly happy.

Thanks to Dr. Fred Dalton for this material!

Miss Eder

St. Thomas Aquinas: Ethical Thought and Natural Law Christian Ethics

Reason Reason: Thomas saw human reason as central to the moral life. Thomas believes that human reason (the human will) is oriented toward the universal goodness of God. As rational creatures we naturally seek the good, although we can ignore or violate our natural inclination. Reason enables humans to choose from among the array of seeming, apparent, and/or actual goods in life. Through reason, humans can choose what is truly good. A reasonable and therefore moral act fulfills three conditions: i. ii. iii. the act itself is good or indifferent the person acting acts out of good intention the act is done in a good way.

A morally good action must meet each of these criteria, otherwise the act is immoral. Emotions Emotions: In the Summa, Thomas recognizes that emotions (feelings, passions, affections) are part of human nature and are good. Human beings are rational and emotional beings. The moral challenge is the proper ordering of our emotions. Aquinas writes that our emotions are actually shaped by our reason and will. What we feel as a person is a matter of identity and character, and not some random or mysterious upwelling over which we have no control. A mature moral life is one in which we have cultivated certain emotions, affections, and feelings through moral character. Virtues Virtues: Virtues give a person a particular direction or orientation toward goodness. Virtues are habits that make us good. Habits are acquired; we gain them by repeating the same action over time. Aquinas identified three theological virtues and four cardinal virtues (as well as many other virtues and vices). Theological virtues: i. Faith ii. Hope iii. Love (also called charity) Cardinal virtues: i. Prudence ii. Justice iii. Courage (also called fortitude) iv. Temperance The most important of the theological virtues is love. Faith, hope, and love are gifts of God in the Spirit of Christ. The theological virtues are graces received through the goodness of God. The most important of the cardinal virtues is prudence, which is the virtue of practical wisdom. Prudence is the practical wisdom every person needs to apply reason to action so that we can obtain the good and the happiness we desire. Prudence helps us know how to act in the various situations and circumstances of life. Prudence helps us do what is right and just in a specific situation. Sinfulness Sinfulness: Sinfulness exists when human beings choose to act contrary to the good. Sin is a disordered act, a corruption or privation of natural goodness. Human beings sin because of ignorance, passion, and malice. The essence of sin is the deliberate harming of our selfand God is offended when we choose to act against our own goodness and happiness. Natural Law

Thanks to Dr. Fred Dalton for this material!

Miss Eder

St. Thomas Aquinas: Ethical Thought and Natural Law Christian Ethics

Natural law: Natural law is an approach to ethics which reflects on human nature to discover the norms (ideals) for morality. The natural law approach was already the dominant characteristic of the Catholic moral tradition long before Aquinas, and has remained so even to the contemporary era. The roots of Catholicisms natural law approach to morality are as follows: The Bible: Wisdom literature; parables; Romans 1:20 Greco-Roman Stoicism: Recognize and submit to the natural order of things, submit to reality, reason and nature linked Roman Law and the Justinian Code: Three types of law: civil law, international law, natural law The Tradition of the Christian Church: Teachings of the Early Church (Patristic Age), for example, St. Augustines ideas on the eternal law. Thomas Aquinas brought all this together in an extended discussion of natural law in the Summa. He defined law as follows: i. ii. iii. law must be a rule of reason, law must be for the common good, law must be promulgated by competent authority.

For a law to be just, it had to be a rule of reason for the common good of all promulgated by legitimate authority. If a law did not meet these three criteria, it was an unjust law and Thomas believed that an unjust law was no law at all. Thomas classified law into four types: i. ii. iii. iv. Eternal law: Gods plan for the universe and the source of morality; Natural law: our participation in the eternal law through reason; Human law: application of natural law by society; Divine law: revelation of scripture given as an aid due to human sinfulness.

Thomas believed that every human being, through reason, can understand the first rule of natural law. He identifies the first rule of natural law available to all people through reason as: Do good and avoid evil. Every human being has built into his or her heart the knowledge that she or he must do good and avoid evil. The natural moral law is available to every human person through reason because human nature is oriented toward good and away from evil. The challenge is to apply the first rule of natural lawdo good and avoid evilto the specific day to day situations, circumstances, and choices human beings make throughout life. Aquinas identified the fundamental characteristics of human nature which shape the natural moral law. These characteristics are natural human inclinations. Thomas believed that these natural human inclinations provide natural moral guidelines which should shape the application of the first rule of natural law to specific cases, situations, and circumstances in daily life: i. ii. iii. iv. the natural human inclination to preserve life; the natural human inclination to procreate and care for young; the natural human inclination to seek truth; the natural human inclination to sociability.

In a given situation, every person knows that they must do good and avoid evil and in order to do good they must act in a way which does not violate the natural human inclinations. In other words, doing good in a particular situation means that we must always try to act in ways which enhance life, care for others (such as children), witness to the truth, and contribute to the community. Likewise,

Thanks to Dr. Fred Dalton for this material!

Miss Eder

St. Thomas Aquinas: Ethical Thought and Natural Law Christian Ethics

we must avoid evil by never acting in ways which destroy life, harm others, obscure the truth, or break communal bonds. Thomas was aware that in a given situation there is room for disagreement and uncertainty in applying natural law to specific circumstances and cases. In other words, reasonable people of good will may not always come to the same conclusion when applying the general principle do good and avoid evil to particular actions in accord with our natural inclinations in a given real life situation. Grace Grace: The Christian moral life is a life of grace; it is life in the Spirit of God in Jesus. Grace is a gift from God in which God offers Gods own life and friendship to human beings. Grace heals, restores, and recreates sinful humanity. Grace creates in us the orientation and disposition to love God. For Thomas, we become what we love. We love those things which we think will bring us wholeness and happiness. Thomas wants us to open our hearts to the gift of Gods love which alone can make us whole and happy. Aquinas believes that the purpose or goal of life is to be a friend of God, that is, to be in loving union with God forever. That is Gods will for us, and God gives us the grace to seek to do Gods will. Primary sources consulted: Aquinas, Thomas. St. Thomas Aquinas on Politics and Ethics. Translated and edited by Paul E. Sigmund. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 1988. Aquinas, Thomas. Treatise on the Virtues. Translated by John A. Oesterle. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1984; Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1966. Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy, vol. 2, Augustine to Scotus. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1985. Mahoney, John. The Making of Moral Theology: A Study of the Roman Catholic Tradition. New York, NY: Clarendon Press, 1987. Pope, Stephen J., ed. The Ethics of Aquinas. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2002. Pope, Stephen J. Overview of the Ethics of Thomas Aquinas. Chapter in The Ethics of Aquinas. Edited by Stephen J. Pope. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2002. Porter, Jean. The Recovery of Virtue: The Relevance of Aquinas for Christian Ethics. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990. Wadell, Paul. The Primacy of Love: An Introduction to the Ethics of Thomas Aquinas. New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1992.

Thanks to Dr. Fred Dalton for this material!