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Chapter 2 - Practical Judgment

from Part II - Choice Hylomorphism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2021

Can Laurens Löwe
Affiliation:
Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities ‘Human Abilities’, Humboldt-Universität, Berlin
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Summary

This chapter is the first of four investigating Aquinas’s view that choice is a hylomorphically structured act that inherits its preferential character from a previous judgment of reason. This chapter deals with the judgment preceding choice. The hallmark of this judgment is that it is free. It does not yet investigate this judgment’s free character in this chapter. Rather, here the groundwork is established for its discussion in Chapter 3 by clarifying what a practical judgment generally speaking is, for Aquinas. It argues that, on his view, a practical judgment involves two components, namely, a propositional content and an attitude of assent. It shows that the propositional content in question is an ought-statement or what Aquinas calls a “precept,” where the force of the ‘ought’ is not deontological, but rather means-end-relating. Thus, on Aquinas’s view, the chapter argues, to say that X ought to be done is to say that X ought to be pursued as a means for the sake of some end Y. It also shows that Aquinas draws a distinction between two types of means, expedient and necessary ones, and two types of ends, ultimate and non-ultimate ones, which yields four different types of precepts.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Practical Judgment
  • Can Laurens Löwe
  • Book: Thomas Aquinas on the Metaphysics of the Human Act
  • Online publication: 25 June 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108986120.003
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  • Practical Judgment
  • Can Laurens Löwe
  • Book: Thomas Aquinas on the Metaphysics of the Human Act
  • Online publication: 25 June 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108986120.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Practical Judgment
  • Can Laurens Löwe
  • Book: Thomas Aquinas on the Metaphysics of the Human Act
  • Online publication: 25 June 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108986120.003
Available formats
×