Tomas de Aquino. Aquinas is not a family name. In the tradition, if one is born to a noble family, the name of the place of his birth is added to his name. Tomas was born in the castle of Rocasseca, Aquino –then part of Italy. Thus, Tomas de Aquino or Tomas of Aquino –in English rendition, Thomas Aquinas.
Unlike Plato –a pagan
philosopher, St Thomas is the epitome of Christian philosophy in the Medieval ages. He is considered as one of the Doctors of the
Church because of his scholarly work on theology and philosophy. His two major writings: Summa Theologica and
Summa Contra Gentiles.
In all of his writings, St Thomas
gives high respect to Aristotle as “The Philosopher.” Thus, we can’t deny the fact that St Thomas
is much influenced by Aristotle.
The moral theory of St Thomas
synthesized the two great traditions, namely: Aristotelian philosophy and Christian Theology. Aristotle is a
Greek philosopher; a pagan philosopher like his Master Plato. Christian theology, on the other hand,
is propounded by the Patristic Fathers like St Augustine. The
core of Thomas’s moral philosophy is the realization of man’s nature as a
reflection of God’s goodness. But,
because of original sin, man’s natural goodness became corrupted. To become once again worthy in the eyes of
God, we need to perfect our human nature as good by following the voice of our
conscience.
To start, let me pose this question, “Is man naturally good?”
St Thomas affirms that man is naturally good. He borrowed the idea of St
Augustine, that man is created by God who is good. In fact, all of God’s creation is good. Man is part of God’s creation. So, he/she is naturally good. But because of original sin, his/her nature
is also fallen or corrupted. Nobody is
perfect like God the Father. Yes, this
is true! Our good nature became corrupted –thus, not totally perfect, because of the original sin committed by
Adam and Eve. Thus, there is a need for
us to perfect our human nature by doing good actions. Our human effort to do good will make our
human nature perfect once more. Being
moral is our way to perfect our human nature as good. As we can see, morality is really important
in our Christian life. Being moral is
not a mere requirement as followers of Christ but it's a way to
become perfect, once more, in the eyes of God.
Let’s try to elaborate on the last point in the context of Aristotelian
ethics.
Aristotle claims that man is a composite of body and soul. As a composition of body and soul, man must
have a substantial form or the essence of being human. He defines “essence” or “substance” as “that
which remains the same throughout the process of change.” What we usually notice is that man changes
and keeps on changing. From infancy to
old age, we notice a lot of changes in ourselves. But, amidst these changes in us, there is
something that remains the same –that is, our reason. Thus, it is our reason that defines our
essence as humans. This is also what
makes us different from animals.
Man is essentially “rational,” Aristotle would put it. Our reason or rational capacity is also the proper
function of being human. If a gun is
made essentially for firing, then firing is also its proper function. If a plant is made essentially for producing
oxygen, then oxygen production is also its proper function. If an animal is made essentially for the reproduction of its species, then it is also its proper function. Is reproduction of species essentially what
we are made for? The answer of Aristotle
is “NO.” Man is made essentially for
becoming rational. Then, being rational
is also his proper function.
So, how should man function in relation to others? How do we function as rational beings in the
society?
For Aristotle, the only proper function of man in the society is to be
rational. How? Do actions to the right person, at the right
time, at the right place, at the circumstance, at the right disposition and so
on. How do we know that we are doing an action
to the right person at the right time, place, circumstance, and on?
We know it because we are rational –meaning, our reason dictates what is
right. If we know what is right, we will
also what is right. In Visaya, mobuot
tag unsay maayo. And, if we do what
is right, we fulfill our human nature as rational, which is also our final goal
in life. For Aristotle, there is no
other purpose of man on earth, except being rational. Doing good is our human nature as rational
beings. It is also our final goal in
life on earth. There’s no other –no
World of Ideas nor Heaven, where we find our ultimate happiness. Our happiness is in doing the right thing because
that’s what we are meant to be. This is
the idea of eudaimonia of Aristotle, which is happiness in doing the
right thing to do.
St Thomas is in agreement with much of this thought of Aristotle. But, because of his background in Christian
theology, he added the idea that by nature, man is good because he/she is
created by God who is good. On this basis, it would become clear that,
for St Thomas, doing good is not because we think it is the right thing to do
but because it is our nature to do good.
In other words, being moral is not based on right reason but based on
our good nature as created in the image and likeness of God.
The goodness of God is written in our hearts, which is referred to as the
natural law. This natural law is
a participation of the eternal law emanating in all other beings. This natural law serves as the fundamental
principle of morality, which is written in the form of “Do good and avoid
evil.” Our human will (pagbuot) has “the natural capacity or
disposition to apprehend intuitively the fundamental moral principle,” which
Medieval philosophers termed as “synderesis."
So, it is always the case that we will what is good. The voice of “conscience” always tells (not
commands) to do what is good. In its
literal sense, “conscience” means with knowledge –from two Latin words, con
(with) + scientia (knowledge).
Thus, in all circumstances, we “will” with knowledge of the good. No one wills what is bad for himself
or to others. Our human will (pagbuot)
–at the least the free will, is always for the good.
What do we really mean by, “free will”?
Our willing –which is free –free from overriding passions, free from
emotions, free from self-inclination, free from the influence of drugs, free
from the influence of alcohol, free from external pressure, free from external
force, and so on and on. If our willing
is –at the very least, free, then our willing is always “with the knowledge” of
the good. In other words, we act or make
decisions “with the knowledge” of the good.
If we fail to listen to the voice of conscience, that’s the time we feel
remorse or feel guilty of doing things not in accordance with our good nature.
A person who always follows his conscience possesses these cardinal virtues. Virtue is a habit that “disposes an agent to perform its proper operation or movement.”
- Prudence - "wisdom concerning human affairs," or “right reason with respect to action”
- Justice - a sustained or constant willingness to extend to each person what he or she deserves
- Temperance - the restrained desire for physical gratification
- Courage – a virtue that restrains our fears so that we might endure harrowing circumstances (Catechism of the Catholic Church).
The man of conscience is one who is prudent, just, moderate (with
temperance), and courageous
In conclusion, like Aristotle who believes that doing good is the realization of being human, St Thomas believes that doing good is the perfection of our fallen human nature. But unlike Aristotle who believes that doing good is our ultimate happiness, St Thomas believes that our ultimate happiness is when we go back to Heaven. In other words, doing good is our means to achieve our ultimate end, which is to go back to our heavenly paradise.
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