The Growth in Virtue in Aristotelian-Thomistic Thought (II: The Moral Virtues)

Abstract

As Thomas of Aquinas says, man must walk a long path before he reaches his ultimate perfection. This path is that of virtue. Faced with vice, which damages the soul in its nature and distances us from happiness, virtue makes us grow as persons, increasing our capacity to love, and making us more worthy of being loved. Now then, the habits of understanding are only virtues insofar as they are ordered to justice, fortitude, and temperance. Strictly speaking, virtues are what make man good; thus, without neglecting prudence and the other intellectual virtues – which are so important for the moral life and for spiritual growth – we will focus here especially on the moral virtues, both individually and in their interconnectedness