EUBOLIA ,

SYNESIS, GNOME,
AND EPIKEIA
C L E S N N A A L E X I S P. F E R N A N D E Z
BSA 2 MWF 10:30-11:30 AM
WHAT ARE THEY? WHAT ARE
THEY FOR?
• They are Greek terms
coined by St.Thomas
Aquinas
• They are assistive
virtues of prudence
EPIKEIA
•“reasonableness”
• No human law is perfect.
–Sometimes, there is a need to set aside the law.
–Disregarding the law is the moral thing to do
–Example: People Power Movement 1986
EUBOULIA
• “eu” – good; “boule” – counsel; -> good
deliberation
• Deliberation is the choosing of correct actions that leads
to expected goals.
• Principle that helps one apply universal precepts to
more concrete situations
SYNESIS
• Principle that assists
prudence in identifying
which concrete means is
suitable for the moral
action, according to what
is available.
• Juding well according to
common law
 GNOME
• Special awareness or intuition that
inclines one to make good decisions
• helps decide when the laws and practices
available are unhelpful or do not
apply;
• Judging well according to general law
• helps navigate through new situations
where current knowledge and laws may
not apply.
SYNESIS GNOME

according according
to with
ordinary natural
law reason