Good and Evil (Aquinas 101)

“Whether for good or evil, each man lives by his love.” -St. Augustine of Hippo

What is the good? For St. Thomas Aquinas, this question is absolutely central. He begins by looking at the good as that which all men desire. In other words, every act of our freedom actually arises from our desire for the good. If we didn’t desire a good, we would never choose or will anything. Thus, the good is at the very origin of our freedom.

Good and Evil (Aquinas 101) - Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P.

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[hamaralsilva]

"The good is what perfects something" - amazing

[martatreibenreif]

Thank you so much for this great videos which are so useful for philosophical studies. Best regards from Italy

[McRingil]

It`s so high-end it deserves thousands views. I know nothing about marketing but some good twitter retweets would do. Ask Classical Theist maybe. He has some audience and is an enthusiastic thomist.

[somnathganapa]

It seems that in these two definitions of "good, "


1) desirability
2) perfection of the species


The second definition of good, perfection, is primary. Unless we know what is good for ourselves, our desires may be disordered. We may desire to be drunk, or lustful, or lie, even though these things hurt us.

[audreyandrea]

This is so wonderful and GOOD. In both its technical presentation and in its aim. Thank you so much Father Legge, God bless you.

[kristindreko]

Thank you for this video!
May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you!

[PaulRezaei]

Thank you for putting out this type of content.

[daverigg]

Grace the, given to one by God, is then a further perfection of that person

[Enigmatic_philosopher]

Here is a philosophical critique of the video on Good and Evil by Aquinas 101:

The video presents Aquinas' view that good and evil exist objectively, grounded in God's nature. Good aligns with God's purposes while evil contradicts them. This raises some issues:

- Basing morality in God's nature makes ethics dependent on religion. Atheistic philosophers seek a secular grounding for morality.

- If good is defined as that which aligns with God's purposes, then it becomes difficult to evaluate those purposes themselves as good or bad. This could lead to ethical issues.

- Defining evil as a "lack" of good may minimize its perceived ontological status. Other views grant evil a more substantial existence.

- There is no room for moral relativism or constructivism. Moral values are fixed in God's unchanging essence rather than contingent on cultural or individual subjective norms.

Some alternatives that address these issues include:

- Secular humanism - grounds ethics in human nature and well-being, without requiring a theological foundation.

- Moral realism - proposes good and evil as objective but not dependent on God's commands.

- Contractarian ethics - derives morality from social contracts between people.

- Moral anti-realism - denies objective good/evil, citing cultural/individual subjectivity.

- Moral relativism - good and evil depend on cultural or personal viewpoints.

In sum, while Aquinas presents an influential theistic view of morality, secular and anti-realist perspectives may be more compelling for those unsatisfied with divine command ethics. Exploring alternatives allows constructive dialogue on this profound philosophical issue.

[fernandolh]

God bless the TI.
Thanks a lot for your theaching sharing Saint Thomas.
1) Desirability (01:38-01:50): Since the good moves the appetite, we describe it in this way
as WHAT ALL DESIRE. (...) every act of our FREEDOM actually arises from our original THIRST for desire
for the good. (...), (2:13) because we
UNDERSTAND our goal, and therefore order and CHOOSE our activity"
2) Perfection of species (02:50-03:20): human perfection connected with capacity to KNOW GOOD, TO CHOOSE IT, (perform could we say?, to put into act) and to LOVE IT, IN TRUTH, at all levels.
3) the GOOD remanins the END, the FINAL CAUSE (03:53)
4) The disctinctive of mankind (3:57-04:08), of humanity is that we are able to know the good
with our minds, and so direct our actions to it.
5)... but!!!...(04:15) there's possibility, due to our freedom and limitation (ONLY APPARENT GOODS), of DISORDER (appetites), and SIN :(

[lukeabbott]

Wonderful video, very helpful- but I was wondering particularly why Goodness is convertible with Being. Is this treated more specifically in another video?

[MichaelLevine-ny]

The opening examples of this video have made me curious. How austere is the life of current day Dominican monk? Do they eat chocolate bars and watch football?

[iqgustavo]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 🤔 The term "good" is central to St. Thomas Aquinas' philosophy, and it's analogical, meaning it has multiple related definitions.
01:23 💓 The good is what we desire, what arouses our love and drives our actions. It's at the core of our freedom, as every act stems from our original thirst for the good.
02:45 🌱 The good also represents what perfects something. Different beings seek different perfections. Human beings, in particular, seek not only physical but also spiritual perfections like love, justice, and truth.
03:42 🧠 Human beings have the unique ability to know the good with their minds and direct their actions toward it. However, this capacity also comes with the danger of misunderstanding or pursuing apparent goods, leading to sin and moral disorder.

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[saigonmonopoly]

It always suck and feed it own feeling and desire the longer the more you feed on the bigger it grows and over come your clarity control man

[paulstephen]

How about just 'the mystery of Good, ' possibly?

[preasidium]

According to this definition of good, how would a thomist explain the creation of seemingly “bad” things, such as defects and biological issues. In the case of humans, if a man is born in what appears to be “bad health” can he really be said to be made “good”? Would it not be better, to judge goodness not by a common end, but by a more individualized fulfillment of that things being?

[namapalsu]

Don't do this! I can't have all my "like" videos consist of uploads from Thomistic Institute.

[lisabeaudet]

I think you implied that one definition of our perfection, of our flourishing as human beings is "to know the good and to seek it with our whole heart". But wasn't that what Adam & Eve were doing when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Did God not want us to be more like himself? He formed us in His image and we continue to strive after that -- and as you said, the key to our flourishing is "to know the good and to seek it with our whole heart". So what is the definition of sin in this context?

[lewis]

Sinning is religion-specific... even denomination specific.
What if you got the wrong God or the wrong religious denomination ?

[byron]

In the Beginning there’s only Good there is only God n Light and Love until some of the Angels sow darkness and rebel and hated God their Father and Creator! Then we got the Original Sin then out of Love for us Human Beings He sent His one Begotten Son through the Holy Spirit to Redeem us and invite us again to become once again heir to His Heavenly Kingdom k!