Aquinas Aristotle And The Promise Of The Common Good

Publisher description

This volume compares the writings of Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, Jacques Maritain, and Charlis De Koninck on the dignity of the individual and the common good, topics fundamental to Catholic social teaching.

This collection surveys the tradition of medieval commentaries on Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" from its thirteenth-century origins to the fifteenth century, concentrating on the conception of the moral and intellectual virtues in a continuous interplay of ancient and Christian moral thought.

Aristotle in Aquinas's Theology explores the role of Aristotelian concepts, principles, and themes in Thomas Aquinas's theology. Each chapter investigates the significance of Aquinas's theological reception of Aristotle in a central theological domain: the Trinity, the angels, soul and body, the Mosaic law, grace, charity, justice, contemplation and action, Christ, and the sacraments. In general, the essays focus on the Summa theologiae, but some range more widely in Aquinas's corpus. For some time, it has above all been the influence of Aristotle on Aquinas's philosophy that has been the centre of attention. Perhaps in reaction to philosophical neo-Thomism, or perhaps because this Aristotelian influence appears no longer necessary to demonstrate, the role of Aristotle in Aquinas's theology presently receives less theological attention than does Aquinas's use of other authorities (whether Scripture or particular Fathers), especially in domains outside of theological ethics. Indeed, in some theological circles the influence of Aristotle upon Aquinas's theology is no longer well understood. Readers will encounter here the great Aristotelian themes, such as act and potency, God as pure act, substance and accidents, power and generation, change and motion, fourfold causality, form and matter, hylomorphic anthropology, the structure of intellection, the relationship between knowledge and will, happiness and friendship, habits and virtues, contemplation and action, politics and justice, the best form of government, and private property and the common good. The ten essays in this book engage Aquinas's reception of Aristotle in his theology from a variety of points of view: historical, philosophical, and constructively theological.

Aristotle in Aquinas's Theology explores the role of Aristotelian concepts, principles, and themes in Thomas Aquinas's theology. Each chapter investigates the significance of Aquinas's theological reception of Aristotle in a central theological domain: the Trinity, the angels, soul and body, the Mosaic law, grace, charity, justice, contemplation and action, Christ, and the sacraments. In general, the essays focus on the Summa theologiae, but some range more widely in Aquinas's corpus. For some time, it has above all been the influence of Aristotle on Aquinas's philosophy that has been the center of attention. Perhaps in reaction to philosophical neo-Thomism, or perhaps because this Aristotelian influence appears no longer necessary to demonstrate, the role of Aristotle in Aquinas's theology presently receives less theological attention than does Aquinas's use of other authorities (whether Scripture or particular Fathers), especially in domains outside of theological ethics. Indeed, in some theological circles the influence of Aristotle upon Aquinas's theology is no longer well understood. Readers will encounter here the great Aristotelian themes, such as act and potency, God as pure act, substance and accidents, power and generation, change and motion, fourfold causality, form and matter, hylomorphic anthropology, the structure of intellection, the relationship between knowledge and will, happiness and friendship, habits and virtues, contemplation and action, politics and justice, the best form of government, and private property and the common good. The ten essays in this book engage Aquinas's reception of Aristotle in his theology from a variety of points of view: historical, philosophical, and constructively theological.

The goods that we pursue in our lives are for us, first and foremost, goods that are particular and personal, and thus goods that are immediate to our attention. Not readily apparent to us are goods necessary for the flourishing of our lives but that can be attained by us only in consort with others and thus realized only through collective action. Such goods are common goods. The wider the good, the more extensive must be the human cooperation to realize the good. A stable, orderly society and a habitable planetary environment are common goods that can be realized only in and through the cooperation of all for the benefit of all. That all contribute to the shared good of the whole is a matter of justice—social justice. Acting for the Common Good undertakes the study of social justice in light of the common good—this from the viewpoint of Catholic social teaching, which draws upon the tradition of the common good that is articulated classically in the philosophy of Aristotle and the theology of Thomas Aquinas and in the modern-day social thought and authoritative teachings of the Catholic Church.

The ongoing environmental crisis has given rise to grave concerns everywhere, and a number of authors have approached this topic from various disciplines and points of view, proposing different strategies to address and correct the situation. A major problem, however, is presented by the role and possible efficiency of existing legal regimes, most of which do not consider seriously the ecological problems that are the basis of most of the global problems that beset us. In 2015, Italy hosted the 2015 Expo of Milano, an important fair that attempted to address some of these major issues, primarily the availability of safe food and water, and the legal regimes that govern their distribution. The conference that resulted in this volume took place at the University of Parma, an old university in a city roughly one hour away. This volume discusses a variety of environmental and ecological issues from the standpoint of existing legal instruments, with a primary focus on the necessity for ecologically-oriented governance, in order to mitigate and redress a situation that – at present – supports multiple human rights violations.