Moral Virtues, Charity, and Grace: Why the Infused and Acquired Virtues Cannot Co-Exist

oleh: Jean Porter

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: The Journal of Moral Theology, Inc. 2019-06-01

Deskripsi

What is the relation between the infused moral virtues and virtues acquired by the individual apart from grace? More specifically, can infused and acquired moral virtues co-exist in the same individual? Aquinas does not address this question directly in the Summa theologiae, but he says enough to allow us to answer it with some confidence. That is, given what Aquinas says about the necessity for the infused moral virtues, taken together with the wider context set by his analysis of grace as a form of the soul, it is impossible on his view that the infused and acquired virtues can co-exist in the same individual. By the time Aquinas develops his final, comprehensive account of the virtues in the Summa theologiae, he is committed to the view that someone in a state of grace cannot have, and does not need, virtues acquired through purely natural principles and directed towards connatural happiness.