VIRTUE ETHICS

Aquinas and the

Natural Law
 Learning Objectives

At the end of this Module, you should be able to:

1. Discuss and clarify what virtue ethics in Thomistic perspective.

2. Describe and explain what Natural Law and its relationship to

other laws.

3. Apply virtue ethics in your life and their role in moral experience.
 Thomas Aquinas
 Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274)
 Aquinas was dubbed “the dumb
Sililian ox” by his fellow students,
for being large and quiet. He was
apparently quiet because he was
busy thinking; he became the
Catholic Church’s top theologian
and philosopher, a title he still
holds today, without dispute.
 Who is he?
 Aquinas was a Catholic priest in
the Dominican Order and one of
the most important Medieval
philosophers and theologians.

 Famously known as the “Angelic

Doctor”

 He was immensely influenced by

scholasticism and Aristotle and
known for his synthesis of the
two.
 Most Influential Work
Aquinas’s most influential work, the
Summa Theologica, is divided into 4
parts.
❑Prima Pars (1st Part) Existence
and Nature of God
❑Prima Secundae (1st Part of the
2nd Part) Happiness, Psychology,
Virtues, Law (Human, Natural,
Divine)
❑Secunda Secundae (2nd Part of
the 2nd Part) The virtues in
detail
 Aquinas and Aristotle
ARISTOTLE AQUINAS
 Every person seeks for  He considers ethics (means)
happiness. as a quest for happiness.
 Happiness is closely  To achieve happiness, we
connected with our end or must fulfill our purpose.
purpose.  Notion of “Summum Bonum”
 Notion of “Ultimate End” (naturalistic and supernatural
(naturalistic) – Christianized)
 …and many others
 And…
 Theblend of Aristotle’s teachings and Christianity is also
evident in Aquinas’s views about right and wrong and
about how one comes to know the difference between the
two…
 …the NATURAL LAW ETHICS.
 Aquinas’ Philosophy of Natural Law

Based on Two Fundamental authorities:

The Bible Aristotle
Aquinas rejected Plato’s idea of the physical world
being unimportant and shadowy – purely idealism

Instead, he followed Aristotle who claimed that the

world is real and important. – sense perception /
empirical world
In his work Summa Theologica, Aquinas
described natural law as a moral code
existing within the purpose of nature,
created by God.

Natural Law = “God’s order set within

the parameters of the universe”
 For Aquinas, morality is:

ACCESSIBLE UNIVERSAL/ UNCHANGING

THROUGH THE RELEVANT TO AND FOR ALL
NATURAL ALL SITUATIONS TIME
ORDER
GIVEN BY GOD ACCESSIBLE TO WHETHER OR
ALL… NOT THEY
BELIEVE IN GOD
 Aquinas’ Basic Moral Law:
“Good is to be done and pursued…and evil is to be
avoided.
All the other precepts of the law of nature are based
on this.”

Aquinas’ message:

DO GOOD AND AVOID EVIL

 How can we know natural law?
1. Through Revelation/Sacred
Scripture:
e.g. Paul’s Letter to the
Romans. Paul asks why
Gentiles obey laws from
the Torah, when they’ve
never heard of it.
God gave us two laws:
i. the Torah for Jews;
ii. Natural Law for
Gentiles.
2. Through Human
Reason/Intelligence:
a moral life is a life lived
according to reason. An
immoral life is one lived at
odds with reason.
Reason tells us that the
ultimate purpose or telos of
human life = fellowship with
God. (Beatific Vision of God)
 Romans 2. 14-15:
“When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do
instinctively what the law requires, these, though
not having the law, are a law to themselves. They
show that what the law requires is written on
their hearts, to which their conscience (little voice
of God) also bears witness.”

Humans have the natural inclination to do GOOD.

The faculty of moral insight (conscience) according
to Thomas is called SYNDERESIS.
 Aquinas’ ideas of purpose and perfection
1. The perfection of creation CREATION MUST BE GOOD BECAUSE
GOD CANNOT CREATE ANYTHING
CONTRARY TO HIS NATURE
God = Creator
God = changeless and consistent, Infinite
God = Good

Natural law regulates everything in creation, and so reveals

God’s nature.
Therefore…

FOLLOWING NATURAL LAW IS THE WAY

HUMANS CAN SHARE IN GOD’S
ETERNAL NATURE.
 Aquinas’ ideas of purpose and perfection

1. Primary and secondary precepts

 Aquinas agreed with Aristotle that eudaimonia is our natural

telos.
 Then he added a moral/ethical dimension – happiness can
only be achieved by pursuing certain good actions.
 He also believed that eudemonia = achieving union with God.
 Inorder to achieve eudaimonia, Aquinas said that
humans must follow certain natural laws or precepts.

 The most important of these is

SELF-PRESERVATION
 Primary precepts are required to ensure self-preservation:

REPRODUCTION EDUCATION

PEACEFUL LIVING IN WORSHIP GOD

SOCIETY
 Secondaryprecepts set out the way in which the primary
precepts can be put into practice.
EXAMPLE:
PRIMARY CONCEPT: REPRODUCTION

PURPOSE OF HUMAN GENITALS =

REPRODUCTION/PROCREATION

CONTRACEPTION

NO NEW LIFE, DON’T FULFIL

TELOS, DON’T GLORIFY GOD
 Aquinas’ Types of Law
Natural law is not the only law – according to Aquinas, there
are four kinds:
 Eternal – law refers to the rational and eternal plan of God
by which all creation is ordered. e.g. Laws in Heaven, Hell or
Purgatory, Earth, etc.
 Natural – eternal law which is accessible to human reason. e.
g. Law of Gravity
 Divine – Law of revelation, disclosed through sacred text or
scriptures and the Church. e. g. Ten Commandments
 Human – refers to the positive laws. e. g. !987 Philippine
Constitution
ETERNAL LAW DIVINE LAW

NATURAL LAW HUMAN LAW

 Real Goods and Apparent Goods
Aquinas believed that: NATURAL LAW IS WITHIN
HUMAN NATURE IS EVERYONE
USING OUR REASON
ESSENTIALLY GOOD HELPS US TO
DISTINGUISH HUMANS WOULD NEVER
HUMANS NATURALLY BETWEEN REAL AND KNOWINGLY PURSUE
STRIVE FOR PERFECTION APPARENT GOODS. EVIL

WHEN PEOPLE DO CHOOSE IT’S JUST AN ERROR

EVIL, THEY ARE FOLLOWING OF JUDGEMENT
AN APPARENT GOOD
A real good is something that is good according to natural
law (correctly reasoned goods that help the moral agent
achieve their telos).

An apparent good is a mistake, and it diminishes a person's

human nature (wrongly reasoned goods that don't help the
moral agent achieve their God given purpose).
Reason identifies 4 natural or cardinal/moral
virtues:
PRUDENCE TEMPERANCE

FORTITUDE JUSTICE

Theological Virtues: faith, hope, charity and love

Aquinas also identified 7 vices or cardinal
sins which lead people away from Natural
Law.
 PRIDE  Develop the virtues.
 AVARICE  Eliminate the vices.
 LUST  Requires habitual
 ENVY practice.
 GLUTTONY  Virtues should become
habitual.
 ANGER
 SLOTH
 Features of Human Acts
 Species – the object of the action. The kind of action.
 Accidents – circumstances surrounding the action.
 End – agent’s intention.

Aquinas 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.
 Human Acts vs Acts of Man
3 Elements of Human Act – Knowledge, Freewill and
Consent, and Voluntariness

Acts of Man – An act that is not proper to man as a

rational being is called Act of Man. Example eating,
hearing, tasting, smelling, etc. example: exercise to be
physically fit, etc… Acts of man- instinctive;
physiological. Passion, habit, etc.
 Exterior and Interior Acts

 For Aquinas, both the intention and the act are

important…

 To
act in a good way for the wrong reason is to
perform a good exterior act but a bad interior act
and so is the vice versa.
Example 1:
GOOD
EXTERIOR
ACT

 I help an old lady across the road.

 I do it to impress someone.

BAD
INTERIOR
ACT
Example 2

 I steal money. BAD EXTERIOR

ACT

GOOD
 I give the money to a friend in need. INTERIOR
ACT
 According
to Aquinas, the theft of the money is not
made good by my intention to help my friend.

 Acts
are intrinsically good or evil.
The end does not justify the means (Aristotle)

 When humans act in accordance with their telos/end

(to do good and avoid evil), then God is glorified.
 Assignment: THINK-PAIR-SHARE

 Suggest three apparent goods that aren’t at all good, and explain your
choices.
 Does it matter if you do a good thing for a wrong reason, such as giving
to charity for the admiration and praise that you’ll receive? Why might
some say that this isn’t the best way to act?
 Consider the following and decide, with reference to the primary
precepts why Aquinas would think them wrong: contraception, murder,
rape, adultery. Are there any which are unclear or raise concerns?
Explain your answers.