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ETHICS FOR THOMAS AQUINAS The Good is that which everyone desires. The Good means what is sought as fulfilling of the seeker. We act in order to attain that which is best. Therefore we act for the sake of the Good. Any action aims at some good. What binds together all the acts that humans perform is the Good they seek which is their ultimate end. It follows that anything a human agent does is done for the sake of the ultimate end. It serves as the efficient cause or formal cause for someone to act. An agent is someone who causes something to move. But an agent does not act in a given way unless it is influenced by The Good. But for an agent to have an inclination towards the Good, someone more intelligent must first direct him, which is God. He is the supreme goodness. For that every agent acts for an end clearly follows from the fact that every agent tends to do something definite. Now that to which an agent tends definitely must be benefiting to that agent. But that which is benefiting to a thing is good for it. Therefore every agent acts for the Good. Accordingly, if every agent acts for some Good, it follows that the Good is the end of each thing. For everything is directed by its action to some end. For either the action itself is an end, or the end of the action is also the end of the agent, which is its Good. From the foregoing, it is clear that all things are directed to one Good as their last end.
Approximate Word count = 1029
Approximate Pages = 4.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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