Chapter VII - Moral Virtues and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit Flashcards
(31 cards)
Origins:
Aretê (Greek) = The moral excellence of man; virtue
Plato’s four virtues:
a. Wisdom
b. Fortitude
c. Temperance
d. Justice
*Aristotle sees the virtues as both intellectual and ethical–>they ultimately lead man to happiness
Virtue in Holy Scripture:
No direct translation of Aretê in Scripture--> it is almost always translated as a “glorious action of God”: Virtue in Maccabees: 1. Prudence 2. Courage 3. Virility 4. Faithfulness to God Virtue in Wisdom: 1. Prudence 2. Fortitude 3. Temperance 4. Justice Virtue in N.T.: 1. There are many lists of virtues and gifts of the Spirit that emphasize a justification by faith through charity. 2. Their origin and end are God 3. Focuses on man bettering himself to be more like Christ.
There are two ways of understanding virtue in light of Scripture:
- Virtue and Moral Excellence (There is a remarkable convergence between moral and religious qualities taught by Scripture and moral qualities considered virtuous by philosophical ethics)
- Virtues in connection with…Habits (philosophical-anthropology)
(i. e. the self-improvement of man)
Church Fathers, Magisterium, and Theologians
Fathers on Virtue: they see it as a ladder that carries man from earth to heaven. It unites him more closely to God
Augustine’s definition of Virtue:
Virtue is a good quality of the soul by which we live righteously and cannot be used for evil; and God produces it in us without us
The Magisterium has consistently taught the virtues as:
Faith, Hope, and Charity (these are natural moral qualities that are found in humans–this shows that human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues. Theological virtues help man to perfect himself)
St. Thomas:
Faith, Hope, and Charity (he sees them as specific principles of human life, or theological virtues)
*After St. Thomas, the treatment of virtues has been an integral part of the study of moral theology.
General definition of virtue:
good operating habit
- habits that improve human faculties = virtue
- habits that degrade human faculties = vice
- Operating habits differ from Entitative habits (which order the good or evil nature of man, and not the direct faculties. i.e. sanctifying grace is a supernatural entitative habit, infused by God, that elevates man to the status of son of God)
Operating habits have two subcategories:
- Infused Virtue (Supernatural) - man receives a gift from God that is bound by Grace
- Acquired Virtue (Human) - man achieves this virtue through exercise and personal effort
a. Intellectual - perfects reason and speculative aspects (in practical terms)–allows one to do something very well, but does not ensure the proper usage (i.e. one can use science or technology for evil)
b. Moral - perfects man’s will and trends
Cardinal Virtues:
- Prudence
- Justice
- Fortitude
- Temperance
Definitions of Moral Virtue:
An elective habit (free choice) that consists in a mean relative to us, regulated by right reason in the form in which it would be regulated by the truly prudent man
The habitual desire for correct ends (intentional dimension) and the choice of actions that realize these correct ends (elective dimension)
Virtue cannot be seen as habituation or dependence–there must always remain a choice, however easier that choice may become through habitual exercise.
The act itself and the principal of the virtue is the good choice.
To speak of virtuous action requires not only an external act according to the standard, but also a determined way of acting. It requires:
1. knowing what one does
2. being able to choose interiorly the action as such; that is, choosing the action insofar as it is good in the “here and now”
3. acting firmly and consistently, without flinching amidst obstacles
The act of virtue
is identified and commanded by a judgment of reason, and not by just any kind of reason, but by right reason; i.e., by practical reason, perfected by the moral virtue of prudence
Two dimensions of Moral Virtue:
- Intentional Dimension: the habitual ordering of tendencies according to the measure of truth and right reason–> focuses on the intentions behind the tendencies and desires good ends.
- Elective Dimension: The actual choice of actions that realize the good ends that the intentional dimension strives for.
PHR > P > VC
Practical Human Reason → Prudence → Virtuous Choice
The Cardinal Virtues have all the other moral virtues contained with them. They are organized as:
a. Subjective Parts- distinctions of partial settings found within a cardinal virtue. i.e. sobriety and chastity are subjective parts of Temperance
b. Integral Parts - habits required for the full realization of a cardinal virtue
i. e. patience and perseverance are integral parts of Fortitude
c. Potential Parts - virtues that are connected to a cardinal virtue, in which they are not fully realized except for the reason of the cardinal virtue.
i. e. religion and piety toward parents are potential parts of Justice
*!All of the virtues are connected to each other.
A virtue cannot reach its perfected state without aiding the perfection of the others.!*
The middle term or “mean” of virtue
The elective act must adapt itself to the dictates of right reason which can be surpassed (too much) or not reached (too little)
The mean is not identical from choice to choice, but must be established by prudence in every single case
Nor is the mean the same for each person, but is established by prudence in each individual case, keeping sight of the conditions of each person. This is why the definition of virtue, it is said that the mean is “relative to us”
Regulation of the mean (or middle term) on the part of right reason
The act of virtue is individuated and commanded by a judgment of right reason, i.e. practical reason perfected by the moral virtue of prudence (guide of virtue)
The moral virtues, considered together as an organism, are principle of the excellent choice not only in as much as they guarantee that such a choice will be made and taken to term, but first in as much as they permit the singling out of the choice that here and now is to be made
Practical moral knowledge presupposes a well educated affectivity.
Intentional Dimension of virtue: Prudence presupposes the Moral Virtues
If the tendencies and will are not stably well ordered, not only will it not be possible to carry out good choices, it will also not be possible to single out what would be good to do
Virtuous Ends are the principles of Prudence
The ways of rational regulation of the tendencies, sentiments, and actions require for full success of human and Christian life
Generically: prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude; specifically humility, sincerity, generosity…
That which is properly a principle of practical reason is the desire for an end, so inasmuch as the Moral Virtues, in their intentional aspect, consolidate the desire for virtuous ends, they are necessary for
Moral virtues are not enough to be prudent. The right habitual ordering of the tendencies and of the will is a necessary condition, but not sufficient.
Elective Dimension of virtue: Moral Virtues presuppose Prudence
Following from stable desires of virtuous ends, prudence can single out the action that here and now realizes the virtuous end, in a way that can be chosen and brought to completion (elective)
The truth reached by prudence is the practical truth, and it possesses a particular nature. It is right in as much as it conforms to its principles, the practical reason is right when it adjusts itself to its own principles, thare are the virtuous ends.
Virtuous Ends as Natural Principle of Practical Reason
Knowledge of the Virtuous Ends belong to natural reason and precedes prudence, as the understanding of speculative principles precede science
Practical Reason therefore has natural principles which constitute the point of cognitive departure, and of practical reasoning, and of the formation of the virtues.
St. Thomas affirms that both prudence and the ethical virtues depend on the reason in as much as it is natural,
The natural conception of virtuous ends is an important part of the “practical nature” of man, and constitutes the fundamental content of the moral natural law.
Differentiation of Virtue
Scriptures: provide lists of the theological virtues and specific virtues of Christian living, but without providing a specific principle for dividing them.
Plato: offers four fundamental virtues (what we call the cardinal virtues) (Book of Wisdom takes this up)
Aristotle: uses more a descriptive method
Christianity: tended to adopt explanations revolving around the Cardinal Virtues.
Thomas: gives them a solid grounding with his classification based on his conception of the faculties of soul
Practical reason: is regulated by Prudence
Will: is regulated by Justice
The Irascible Appetite: is regulated by Fortitude
The Concupiscible Appetite: is regulated by Temperance
