Saint Thomas And The Acquired Virtues I Professor Candace Vogler
Dec 7, 2023
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Professor Candace Vogler discusses Saint Thomas Aquinas' understanding of virtue, the challenges in pursuing virtuous actions, cultivating justice in children, the role of acquired virtues in leading a good life, the difference between two individuals working with at-risk kids, and the contrasting motivations and orientations in virtue ethics.
Aquinas' understanding of virtue incorporates theological elements and offers insights even to those who do not share his faith.
Aquinas distinguishes between acquired and infused virtues, with acquired virtues arising from discipline and training while infused virtues aim for conformity with God's will.
Deep dives
Aquinas' unique advantage in understanding virtue
Aquinas' work on virtue is deeply influenced by his predecessors, including Aristotle and Augustine. Unlike Aristotle, Aquinas had the advantage of having Augustine as an important predecessor, whose conversion experience dramatically changed his perception of good and bad in human life. Aquinas' understanding of virtue takes into account the importance of childhood moral education, the influence of morally exemplary figures who may not be privileged or intellectually inclined, and the ongoing process of cultivating good character in adult human beings.
Aquinas' comprehensive view of virtue
Aquinas' understanding of virtue goes beyond Aristotle's work by incorporating theological elements. Although his work is rooted in theology, Aquinas' concept of virtue can still offer insights to those who do not share his faith. He sees virtue as a trait that enables an individual's actions and responsibilities to be reasonable. Aquinas identifies four principal virtues: practical wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. These virtues contribute to the coordination and harmonious pursuit of good in human lives.
Acquired and infused virtues in Aquinas' framework
Aquinas distinguishes between acquired and infused virtues. Acquired virtues, such as practical wisdom and justice, arise from the cultivation of good character through discipline and training. These virtues enable individuals to act in accordance with reason and pursue temporal goods. On the other hand, infused virtues, like hope, humility, and gratitude, are divinely infused and aim to bring individuals into conformity with a higher rule, God's will. These virtues involve goods that go beyond temporal happiness and contribute to the pursuit of eternal good.
Candace Vogler is the David B. and Clara E. Stern Professor of Philosophy and Professor in the College at the University of Chicago, and Principal Investigator on "Virtue, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life," a project funded by the John Templeton Foundation. She has authored two books, John Stuart Mill's Deliberative Landscape: An Essay in Moral Psychology (Routledge, 2001) and Reasonably Vicious (Harvard University Press, 2002), and essays in ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy and literature, cinema, psychoanalysis, gender studies, sexuality studies, and other areas. Her research interests are in practical philosophy (particularly the strand of work in moral philosophy indebted to Elizabeth Anscombe), practical reason, Kant's ethics, Marx, and neo-Aristotelian naturalism.
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