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... Thomas response to the disputed question, ‘Whether Virtue is Acquired by Acts. ... He expressed his idea on this issue in his doctrinal expose on the acquisition of virtue and in his replies to the objections raised by those who thought that human beings could not acquire virtue by their actions, as recorded in Article 9 of his Disputed Questions on Virtue. However, the issue dealt with in Article 10 (whether man has any infused virtue) has also been referred to, since it pertains to how virtue comes to be in man.
The work in this paper is divided into six sections: The first section deals with virtue as the good of man. ... The second section deals with how virtue can come to be in man through his actions. for according to St. Thomas, man can acquire virtue through his actions. The third section deals with the indispensable function carried out by ‘reason in the acquisition of virtue. It explains how virtue is possible through reason. The fourth section deals with the way in which virtue comes to be in man by grace. ... The fifth section deals with virtue as acquired only by repeated actions. ... We see from this section that virtue does not remove sin entirely but only reduces the virtuous disposition to sin. ...
VIRTUE AS THE GOOD OF MAN
In Aristotles teleological description of the universe, it is said that everything tends towards its distinctive ‘end. ... Since virtue is the utmost of power, the virtue of anything is that by which it produces its good activity. Illustratively, the virtue of a hammer is that by which is drives nails into a piece of wood; and the virtue of a carpenter is that by which he fulfils his function as a builder. ... Thus the goodness of a thing depends upon its own virtue; which is why Aristotle defines virtue as "that which makes the one having it good and makes his work good."
However, it must be known that ‘the end varies from one thing to the other according to their nature. ... Moreover, the good of man is not one but varies according to different ways of considering him. ... On the other hand, the good of a man as a citizen is that "he be ordered in all things according to the city. ... But the aptitude for perfection and form can be in a subject in two ways: The first way is according to passive potency alone. ... The second way is according to both active and passive potency. ... It is in this second way that there is in man a natural aptitude for virtue. ...
Furthermore, the active and passive principles, which make mans natural aptitude for virtue possible, operate because of the order of the powers in man. The three powers, namely, intellect, will and the sensitive appetite, are susceptible to virtue. ... Thus, whether virtue is in the intellect, the will, or in the irascible and concupiscence, one can actualize it by his own action, since any virtue causing good operation in man has its proper act in man. However, since the action of the appetitive power only inclines us to the desirable, the appetitive part must acquire an inclination to something determinate in order for virtue to come to be it.
VIRTUES ARE POSSIBLE ONLY THROUGH REASON
In acquiring virtue through our actions, the reason executes an indispensable function.
Approximate Word count = 2782
Approximate Pages = 11.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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