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During the last two decades virtue ethics has become the focal point of
renewed ethical and theological interest. To lead a good life, it proves
useful to watch those who have mastered the art of living. The
conviction that living is an art is at the heart of virtue ethics.
Living a good life requires exercise, and is a question of acquiring a
virtuous character rather than of complying with external ethical and
legal rules. This renaissance partly builds on Thomas Aquinas. He in
turn recovered Aristotelian, Ciceronian and Augustinian thought on
virtue ethics. The interpretation and development of virtues and vices
form the core of his authorship, as the secunda pars of his Summa
Theologiae readily displays. And yet, the most important virtues for
him are not the moral ones, such as Justice, Temperance, Prudence and
Fortitude, but those virtues that are both infused by and aimed at God:
Faith, Hope and Love. These are virtues that the philosophers of
antiquity were not aware of. To account for them, Aquinas had to adapt
the classical understanding of virtues. For Aquinas, the moral virtues
come to full fruition only when they are embedded in a life before God,
a life lived exercising the God given theological virtues. By ignoring
Faith, Hope and Love, the present discussion of virtue ethics not only
ignores those virtues that were for Aquinas of utmost importance, but
also fails to arrive at a complete understanding of his view of the
moral virtues.
The papers contained in this volume address this theme, and were
originally presented at the fourth international conference of the Thomas
Instituut te Utrecht (Tilburg University), at Utrecht in December
2013.
