Book contents
- Thomas Aquinas on Virtue
- Thomas Aquinas on Virtue
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Texts
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Definition of Virtue
- Chapter 2 Intellectual and Moral Virtue
- Chapter 3 Divisions of Moral Virtue
- Chapter 4 Natural and Supernatural Virtue
- Chapter 5 The Properties of Virtue
- Chapter 6 Thomistic Virtue and Contemporary Thought
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 4 - Natural and Supernatural Virtue
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 June 2022
- Thomas Aquinas on Virtue
- Thomas Aquinas on Virtue
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Texts
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Definition of Virtue
- Chapter 2 Intellectual and Moral Virtue
- Chapter 3 Divisions of Moral Virtue
- Chapter 4 Natural and Supernatural Virtue
- Chapter 5 The Properties of Virtue
- Chapter 6 Thomistic Virtue and Contemporary Thought
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 4 is about the distinction between natural and supernatural virtue. Natural virtues are acquired through human effort and are studied by philosophical ethics. Supernatural virtues must directly come from God. Their existence is known only through revelation. Thomas’s predecessors and most subsequent theologians typically identified these infused or supernatural virtues with the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Theological virtues are directly about God. But Thomas thinks that there must also be distinct infused moral virtues that exist alongside the acquired moral virtues. These infused virtues are specifically distinct from the acquired moral virtues that share the same matter and from the theological virtues that are about God.
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- Thomas Aquinas on Virtue , pp. 125 - 157Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022