Aquinas's Ethics

Christina Van Dyke, Colleen Mccluskey, Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoung

Description

The purpose of Aquinas's Ethics is to place Thomas Aquinas's moral theory in its full philosophical and theological context and to do so in a way that makes Aquinas (1224/5-1274) readily accessible to students and interested general readers, including those encountering Aquinas for the first time. Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke begin by explaining Aquinas's theories of the human person and human action, since these ground his moral theory. In their interpretation, Aquinas's theological commitments crucially shape his account of the human person, human capacities for action, and human flourishing. The authors develop a comprehensive picture of Aquinas's thought, which is designed to help students understand how his concept of happiness and the good life are part of a coherent, theologically-informed worldview.

Many studies of Aquinas naturally focus on certain areas of his thought and tend to assume a general knowledge of the whole. Aquinas's Ethics takes the opposite approach: it intentionally links his metaphysics and anthropology to his action theory and ethics to illuminate how the moral theory is built on foundations laid elsewhere. The authors emphasize the integration of concepts of virtue, natural law, and divine grace within Aquinas's ethics, rather than treating such topics in isolation or opposition. Their approach, presented in clear and deliberately non-specialist language, reveals the coherent nature of Aquinas's account of the moral life and of what fulfills us as human beings. The result is a rich and engaging framework for further investigation of Aquinas's thought and its applications.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Métaphysique
• Éthique et morale
• Moral Philosophy
• PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophie et théologie
• Metaphysics
• Ethics

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268084530
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

Aquinas’s thics E

’ Aquinas s thics E Metaphysical Foundations, Moral Theory, and Theological Context

Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana

University of฀Notre Dame฀Press Notre Dame, Indiana46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved

Copyright ©2009฀by University of฀Notre Dame฀ Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

DeYoung, Rebecca Konyndyk. Aquinas’s ethics : metaphysical foundations, moral theory, and theological context / Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13:978-0-268-02601-1(pbk. : alk. paper) isbn-10:0-268-02601-7(pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Thomas, Aquinas, Saint,1225?–1274.2 . Ethics, Medieval. I. McCluskey, Colleen,1957 –II. Dyke, Christina van,1972 – III. Title. b765.t54d475 2009 241'.042092— dc22 2009006989

∞The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

for Eleonore Stump,

who first inspired this project and whose work on Aquinas

continues to inspire us

One

Two

contents

Acknowledgments

xi

List of Abbreviations

xv

Introduction Aquinas’s Connection to Aristotle3 Happiness as the End of Human Nature and Human Actions7

part one H U MA N N AT U R E

1

The Metaphysics of Human Nature13 The Hierarchy of Being14 Two Ends of the Spectrum: Pure Actuality and Pure Potentiality18 Material Substances, Intellects, and Human Beings20 Being and Goodness: God, Creatures, and Function24

Soul and Body Soul28 Bodies, Matter, and Human Beings35 Souls in Separation from Matter40 Human Persons43

27

viii

Contents

Three

Four

Five

Six

Human Capacities and the Image of God Essence and Capacity49 The Soul’s Capacities in General50 Specific Capacities of the Rational Soul52 Intellect and Will57 Being and Goodness Revisited63

part two H U MA N A C T I O N S

Actions and Ends The Source of Human Action70 The Ultimate End of Action73 The Process of Action: Intellect and Will The Process of Action: Passion85

The Moral Appraisal of Actions Good and Bad Actions in General90 A Closer Look at Bad Actions96 Sins of Ignorance98 Sins of Passion102 Sins of the Will104

Habits and Freedom Habit Formation110 Freedom of Action115 Aquinas in the Current Debate The Road Ahead124

123

78

46

69

90

110

Seven

Eight

Nine

part three H U MA N F L O U R I S H I N G

The Virtues What Is a Virtue?131 Kinds of Virtues137 A Closer Look at the Theological Virtues

147

Contentsix

Law and Grace Law152 Defending an Integrationist Reading of Aquinas’s Ethics159 Grace165 Virtue, Law, and Grace as Interior and Exterior Guides to Action

Theologically Transformed Virtue and Vice The Vice of Sloth175 The Virtue of Courage181

Epilogue

Notes

Index

190

237

129

152

169

173

188