Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas: Ethics and Virtue

Ethics: Saint Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle

Saint Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle agree on Eudaimonia. Both raise an ethics based on the search for happiness and theologians consider an ultimate end. Man acts for an end, for a good, and the supreme good is happiness. Being happy, for Saint Thomas, is seeing the highest good, and the maximum happiness is to see God and be in Heaven.

We live on Earth, and God gives us laws to live this life. The divine law is the law of God revealed through the apostles. We must meet the eternal law, which only God knows completely. We know some of what God has revealed, but we cannot know all of His will. The law of nature has natural tendencies arising from it. Positive law depends on the natural law, and the moral virtues are eternal habits we acquire through the repetition of good acts.

Saint Thomas highlighted four cardinal virtues:

• Prudence
• Justice
• Fortitude
• Temperance

These virtues form a mutually supportive system; if one is lost or weakened, all are affected.

Aristotle's Ethics

Aristotle's ethics are theological and hedonistic.

• Theological: According to Aristotle, human action tends towards an end, and that end is the good.
• Eudaimonistic: It is the ultimate goal of achieving happiness.

What is Happiness?

Happiness is not simply achieved; it is given by God, but this requires practicing the virtues.

What is the Proper Activity of Man?

The truly happy man is he who devotes his life to thinking, to study. Happiness is not a gift from God but must be conquered daily with exercise and the habit of reason. Virtue helps us fulfill our nature, but a habit is voluntary and free.

Two Kinds of Virtues:

• Moral: Knowledge consists of choosing the right mean between two extremes (prudence and justice).
• Intellectual: Prudence, art or technique, science, intelligence, and wisdom. This is dedicated to philosophy; philosophy will then be the highest degree of theoretical knowledge. The most virtuous man will practice it, and wisdom is the most perfect virtue.

Wisdom is the sum of the four intellectual virtues. For Aristotle, man attains happiness through the contemplative life.