Thomas Aquinas believed that human actions have species, such as theft or almsgiving. A problem arises, however, concerning his teaching on how such moral kinds are determined. Aquinas uses five different terms - end, object, matter, circumstance, and motive - to identify what gives species to human actions. Although similarities in meaning can be discerned between certain of these terms, apparent differences between others make it difficult to grasp how all five could refer to what specifies human actions. Joseph Pilsner examines and compares Aquinas's understanding of these five terms to see if a consistent account of his teaching on specification can be proposed.
| ISBN: | 9780199286058 |
| Publication date: | 27th April 2006 |
| Author: | Joseph Assistant Professor of Theology, University of St Thomas, Houston Pilsner |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 286 pages |
| Series: | Oxford Theological Monographs |
| Genres: |
Philosophy of religion Christianity Theology Medieval Western philosophy |