Analysis of Thomas Aquinas on Ethics

[Abstract] Ethics, said Thomas Aquinas as the perfection of God, to attract people to pursue his driving this paper first analyzes the overall framework of ethical thought of Aquinas, that through a few of the relevant relationship with perfection such as individual and other things, such as individual and overall depth exploration of the meaning of ethical thought Aquinas.

[Paper Keywords] Aquinas overall framework of ethical perfection
With the launching of foreign exchange, our scholars of the Middle Ages to explore ideas for a new order in which the scholastic master of Thomas Aquinas's ethical thought has drawn increasing academic interest in this paper also talk about their Yikongzhixian.

First, the overall framework of Aquinas Ethics
Thomas Aquinas the Christian ethical thought is in fact based on the transformation of Aristotle's Ethics, to make and Augustine's theology together.

Aquinas used Aristotle's philosophy, from metaphysics, epistemology and psychology, cosmology, and even to the point of view to think of Ethics, generally follow the Aristotelian model, but in the spirit of the on the more fundamental causes of exploration, Aquinas is in accordance with the principles of Christian philosophy, or more accurately, is the orthodox Christian theology to deepen and expand the ideas of Aristotle, so clear philosophy and principles can help interpretation of medieval theology and faith issues.

Thomas Aquinas starting from the divinity of human nature that is a combination of form and material, which has the physical and spiritual unity, a rational person in addition to cognitive ability, there are self-preservation, growth, desire and will of the activities. And activities of human behavior have increasingly good to avoid the evil of the natural tendency of all human virtues are manifestations of human nature, human morality has practical divinity, divinity and theological virtue rational distinction between the binding energy of the first two the nature of people to improve access to care, restraint, courage and the virtues of justice, but to achieve perfection must also have a theological character. may by means of rational knowledge to the pursuit of earthly happiness, but happiness is short low-level, and only rely on the grace of God, faith in God to get God eventually achieve visual perfection. Aquinas immortality of the soul from the viewpoint of recognition to promote the happiness of the afterlife, that the happiness of life on earth is not the highest happiness, perfection In fact, perfection is the contemplation of God, can people get the soul of goodness and salvation. Aquinas think that Ethics are actually leading people to God for the way taken by the way in which will give the tools of ethics to characteristics.

Individuals through their own efforts to promote the improvement of personal virtue, ability, God's requirements for the practice to accept a certain mission, or to inspire others to become the best person to prepare and promote social progress. On the other hand, the more individuals are illustrated by the more socially accepted to be accepted by God, and God The closer if the individual is aware of its appeal, the prayer has been suggested, in a dream to be a trillion different, desired to become a reality, then This interaction is good, ie towards the actual process of God in daily life, as long as people cherish faith in God, in accordance with the requirements of God can do things gradually accessible close to God, because God is a spiritual good , the more in-depth understanding of God, the more devout faith, God and human beings were more closely.

Second, the relationship with the perfection of several related
To deep understanding of Aquinas's ethical thought must grasp the whole essence of his thought, background content, need to carefully taste the fundamental essence of his thinking, while Aquinas in the analysis of the world why there is such a wide range of arithmetic are other things, to give explanations to help him understand the whole idea.

God created the Aquinas seems to have a large number and variety of different things "in order to impose on his goodness points of creation, and through them to demonstrate their goodness, so have everything to make their existence due to take a kind of creature can not fully demonstrate God's goodness, gave rise to all kinds of creatures, so that a creature of God's goodness in the highlight on the shortage by another creature to make up, because God's goodness a simple and consistent, all the goodness of creation is complex and fragmented, so the universe as a whole than any other creature is more perfect to share God's goodness, and highlight God's goodness. "
Aquinas's statement clearly meant to include the following: First, all things are good, but there is a defective good. The second is God because of his "goodness is simple and consistent." which is the most perfect harmony, in accordance with the intellect of God designed the world should also be the best. Third, reflect God's goodness can not be concentrated in a particular way of individual, class of things, and therefore envisaged a super-perfect world individuals, society is unrealistic. Fourth, there are many good individual arithmetic of natural objects complement each other to form the concept of world harmony. in real life there are differences between different people is justified, with the added benefit of each other to make up insufficient to promote the individual's overall social progress. Fifth, more significant than the individual to show the overall harmony and goodness of God. so people will be based on individual and others to think the whole community, a profession and other professional relationships.


Deep thinking in order to view the source of Aquinas's ethics but also in-depth analysis of the following relationship:
(1) of creation and God's relationship to Aquinas's view, the world is created by God and is created out of nothing, they were not given the status of independent existence of God, there is a dependency of the subordinate relationship, and God can only determine the occurrence of a correlation that is a _ keep inscribed with God's good points can exist only in God as the ultimate pursuit of the object in order to achieve their ultimate goal needs only to make their behavior tend to comply with the concept of God creating the world in the form to make the material can be achieved in line with the gradual improvement of their own. Thus study and understanding of God and on this basis to establish the purpose of their actions, content, methods and criteria to have the final ethics significance. Aquinas on the world, between man and God is the kind of intimate but intense relationship of people, although limited, is rooted in the infinite, and up to unlimited, but people do not disappear in the infinite being, there is the freedom with independent status, God beyond all else, but lies within all things, not because of its transcendence, to belittle all things, not because of their inherent, it resulted things lose their individuality, but to enhance its infinite love of all things, music into things. "
(2) the relationship between the individual and the other things accordance with Aquinas's view, all things exist in the world are divided due to the good God exists, and thus are good have a certain degree of perfection, but because the sub- There just is not completely divided, each of the specific things which are flawed, but a thing of the apparent deficiencies can be other things have been good and make up. Thus Aquinas in the ethical design process, emphasizing the differences between people in recognition of the premise, to use love to bridge the differences between people of the question, strong use beyond the mundane to the theological virtue treat others as much as possible to maintain respect for others people's freedom and independence.

(3) the relationship between individual and overall in Aquinas view of the world there are many types of arithmetic of things, the harmony between them constitutes the harmony of the universe, which although has a unique personal existence, but individual things are not perfect the purpose of creating the world, consisting of more than one individual is higher than the overall improvement of individual perfection. Thus Aquinas that the individual in society can only exist and develop as human beings, society and the country in the public interest and public good above personal interests and individual good, in order to prevent individuals in the pursuit of individual good in the process endangering public good, in Aquinas seems to have a certain degree of force is necessary, therefore, to make laws and give some coercive power to restrain and guide people's behavior has become a way of people leading to the perfection of course, the ruler should be to prevent abuse of its dominant position to develop the draconian laws, which would need to have a strict law-making limited, but also to prevent errors due to human beings caused by strict enforcement and harm to the original intention of the legislation and the implementation of draconian consequences of the lead problem.

(4) the relationship between form and material accordance with Aquinas's view, although the universe as a whole than the individual good things good, but the world itself is not the whole purpose of God's ultimate creation, as the craftsmen create the ship, the ship was made itself is not the purpose of making the ship is used for navigation purposes, and thus to create a harmonious world, there is not the purpose of God creating the world, God's purpose is to allow the creation of all things good and then share his pursuit of good towards the good, all things eventually lead unto God that he is the real purpose of man as both body and soul of things, both natural and divine things, the dual characteristics of things, so people on the one hand limited by the material of the body, destined to perish and has a variety of instinctive desire, the other people because you have a form of spiritual people can transcend their own specific things to the natural thinking to intuitive reasoning to God, through the role of rational thinking to achieve the unlimited. Aquinas think that everyone except with man as man, as a class in the form of individual suits also has a unique individual forms, which in effect gives everyone by making a separate position, which affirms the dignity of people with the natural. Links to Papers Download Center http://www.hi138.com (5) the relationship between freedom and scheduled in whether there is the issue of freedom of the will, Aquinas is different from the natural world that people have a desire to determine the reason people do not necessarily subject to the provisions of nature, people can follow their own judgments and the will to carry through their obedience or rejected. So when people say God is omnipotent and omniscient, who at every step in God's expected, things happen and with some certainty, then this person can be free to choose their own behavior and be responsible for whether the phase of the conflict?
Aquinas's view, all things are divided God's perfection, there lies the reason why things are God's internal support, so God is all things to the ultimate driving force for movement, but not the direct result of the specific behavior of things, while people do with their freedom to decide their own behavior, an individual under the specific circumstances recognized by the rational, will permission to make specific acts, and thus the individual free will is a personal act of direct force, is the direct cause of their actions. Like the government to give workers the power to act, but they use their own staff did a bad thing and we will find the government's power to do bad things, the ultimate result, but does not necessarily cause people to shop and go bad, the individual will of the select and launch that can do bad things may become a reality, and thus the individual will act as a direct result is for government to anticipate and prevent the abuse of power is a very difficult thing, but omniscient and omnipotent God, the according to Aquinas's view, acts of God, sensible choice possible, each person was selected and its effects are expected in God, because God is independent of time outside, there is no past, present and the so-called world In the future, everything is now in terms of God, all people present in front of God, in this sense, although people have yet to achieve things, but in God, there has long been scheduled according to one possible choice the behavior of the result or reward or punishment. which Aquinas does not deny that God intended man's free choice, not because God ordained person's life trajectory, and this man will use their rational desire to realize their own freedom of choice desire to leave a lot of space, so people should use their will to continue to better ourselves. Aquinas's view has also been recognized by other religious scholars, such as Solovyov said: "'God created man is free 'argument is not a pretty empty, it consists of determining the content, in fact, the entire view of the world's most difficult to solve the problem provides the key and only freedom is a moral good talent and the embodiment of absolute value. "
(6) The nature and harmonious relations in Aquinas seems the world has been able to harmonious and orderly, it has a premise is that God gives all things are set suitable for a variety of things that exist in the form of nature or the internal regulations nature, have a variety of good, good interaction between the different composition of a harmonious and orderly world of images, which conform to the nature of things is inherent in the form of the world to harmony. Thus the use of external things people should be subject to things everybody is prepared to the provisions of nature, a rational person should actively use to study a variety of laws, understanding the effect of God's creation, so that the external things of life for the service of human beings, also for the creation of an appropriate material or spiritual environment and to lead a virtuous secular man lives, and ultimately God through meditation and intuitive lay a firm foundation.

(7) the relationship between earth and heaven. Based on Aquinas's view, human life on earth can not achieve perfection obtain eternal happiness, true happiness can only exist in the kingdom of heaven among. So that the earth come to life would not no sense? But Aquinas Although it seems that the form of material is required, but if the material has become dilapidated form will also affect the realization of the material's physical form of the spirit of the impact on he agreed with Augustine point of view: "If the body is difficult to take care of, like meat, as corruption and increase the burden on the soul, that impede the soul as God in heaven." Therefore, in Aquinas's earthly life seems to have a very positive sense, after all, is preparation of material life, the kingdom of heaven, but people can not pursue worldly things too, should be discarded if they do not hinder people's basic survival is limited in another aspect, the human behavior and choice of their choice by the tendency to determine the behavior results in terms of personal behavior and attitude in the earth directly determines the punishment, or God, or awards and personal in the end of the world or the next trial to hell or heaven, earth and thus how to live on after death to be with God in how individuals evaluation of the problem, individuals must also be careful to be responsible for their own future.

Aquinas's views and his own strong religious fervor is closely related to some of his ideas is in serving the whole Christian argument and communication needs. Today, we study some of his ideas must have a critical eye, dialectical thinking , Although the face and face of our old but still open to any theory, can we truly find the hidden theory for thinking about the underlying values. Links to free download http://www.hi138.com