Natural Law

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Revealed virtues are part of divine law.

 

Four Cardinal Virtues

·       As well as these virtues that are revealed through scripture, Aquinas identified some natural virtues too.

·       He argued that we know what’s right through what is natural through the use of human reasoning.

·       He developed this idea by arguing that one way correct reasoning can be developed is thought the cultivation of specific natural virtues – ‘the cardinal virtues’

Christian Virtues

Aquinas defined the following Greek virtues as the four cardinal virtues:

1.     Prudence (wise) (sound judgement)

2.     Temperance (abstinence/balance/restraint)

3.     Fortitude (courage in pain or adversity)

4.     Justice (Fairness/how we act towards others)

Prudence

 

·       Requires sound judgement and reasoning

·       Application of ‘wisdom concerning human affairs’ that is ‘right reason with respect and action’

·       Prudence is the basis of casuistic endeavour.

·       You need prudence/wisdom if you’re going to apply laws to a case correctly.

Temperance

 

·       This is all about moderation.

·       We can see this through the doctrine of the mean.

·       Involves sobriety and restraint;

‘sensible and bodily goods…are not in opposition to reason, but are subject to it as instruments which reason employs in order to attain its proper end.

Fortitude

 

·       Endurance is about discipline/patience/endurance and perseverance in the face of difficulties either in moral, physical, or spiritual.

·       This virtue encourages the nobility of character, to not be controlled by fear (1 John 4:16-18) on one hand or recklessness on the other. (doctrine of the mean)

 

 

 

Justice

 

·       The other three which focus on the individual, this is the only one to focus on other, more specifically our actions towards others.

·       Justice to Aquinas is about goods and responsibilities being ‘fairly apportioned among people who stand in social community and in due proportion’

·       He doesn’t mean equality for all but recognises individual needs, relative to circumstance.

 

Real and Apparent Goods

We use our reason to abide by natural laws, however sometimes we make mistakes when we get tempted as we THINK (or reason) that its good first and foremost. We can sometimes do this in error.

 “No evil can be desirable, either by natural appetite or by conscious will. It is sought indirectly, namely because it is the consequence of some good” – Aquinas ST.

Aquinas means: Humans never chose evil. They are searching for an ‘apparent good’ not a real one and are misguided in their search… e.g. pleasure from adultery.

Intention VS Action

·       Aquinas made a distinction between the intention of an act and the act itself.

·       A person might view an action as good, but if you look more closely at the intention then it may be seen differently.

Action: Giving to charity. (if someone was allergic to peanuts for example, and someone gave them peanut chocolates as a reward.

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