ETHICS OR MORALS IN SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS

Is it necessary to distinguish between ethics and morals? To tell the truth, nothing in the etymology or in the history of the use of words imposes it. We can, however, glimpse a subtle difference according to the emphasis on what is considered good or what is imposed as obligatory. It is by convention that we will reserve the term “ethics” for the design of a life consummated under the sign of actions considered good, and that of “morals” for the obligatory aspect, marked by norms, obligations and prohibitions characterized simultaneously by a demand for universality and by a coercive effect.

The ethics of Saint Thomas Aquinas is theological, which means that it is based on the idea that all human actions have a purpose or end which is to achieve complete happiness. Therefore, speaking of ethics, Saint Thomas Aquinas has the following characteristics: it is an ethics of the Beatitudes or of happiness; of freedom; of grace and of charity.

Dear sisters, the means that leads the human being to his ultimate end is the knowledge and cultivation of virtues. Saint Thomas found no other way in which the human being could be virtuous and walk towards happiness, without the knowledge and cultivation of virtues, which are the great challenges for the human being.

That is why he groups the innumerable virtues into seven, called fundamental virtues, and these are subdivided, in turn, into two groups: three theological and four cardinal or moral. The theological virtues have God as their object and the human being as a subject who seeks, through the observance and practice of these virtues, to reach his ultimate end, which is eternal happiness.

Two of the three theological virtues, faith and hope, are means that lead the human being to his ultimate end, and the last, which is charity, is not a means, but the possession of the end. Charity leads all the virtues, both theological and cardinal, to the divine good. All moral virtues are reduced to four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. These virtues lead to happiness that human beings can achieve in this life with their own natural strength. However, they are not sufficient to achieve eternal happiness; the theological virtues, which God has infused directly into human beings, are necessary. And it is from these that we want to invite you to deepen your understanding.

Therefore, let us turn to God, the reason for our happiness, looking at the proposal of Saint Thomas Aquinas based on the experience of the theological virtues.

Comunidad de Santo Tomás de Aquino

Boa Entrada – CADA