Living the Good Life: A Beginner's Thomistic Ethics

by Steven J. Jensen

Living the Good Life presents a brief introduction to virtue and vice, self-control and weakness, misery and happiness. The book contrasts the thought of Aquinas with popular views, such as moral relativism, values clarification, utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, and situation ethics. Following the Socratic dictum "know thyself," Steven J. Jensen investigates the interior workings of the human mind, revealing the interplay of reason, will, and emotions. According to Aquinas, in a healthy ethical life, reason guides the emotions and will to the true human good. In an unhealthy life, emotional impulses distort the vision of reason, entrapping one in futile pursuits. In the human struggle to gain self-mastery, a person must overcome the capricious desires that enslave him to false goods.

Jensen ably guides readers through Aquinas's philosophy and explains the distinction between the moral and intellectual virtues. The moral virtues train our various desires toward the true good, helping us discard our misguided cravings and teaching us to enjoy what is truly worth pursuing. The virtue of justice directs our hearts to the good of others, freeing us from egoism in order to seek a good shared with others. The intellectual virtues train the mind toward the truth, so that we can find fulfillment in human understanding. Most important, the virtue of prudence directs our deliberations to discover the true path of life.

Intended as a text for students, beginners of philosophy will gain access to a key aspect of Aquinas's thought, namely, that true happiness is realized not in the animal life of passion and greed but only in the reasonable pursuit of human goods, in which we find true peace and rest from the distractions of this world.

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Catholic, Religion

216 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 2013

About the author

Steven J. Jensen is the author of Sin: A Thomistic Psychology; Knowing the Natural Law: From Precepts and Inclinations to Deriving Oughts; Living the Good Life: A Beginner's Thomistic Ethics and Good and Evil Actions: A Journey Through Saint Thomas Aquinas (all CUA Press).

Reviews

[Derek Shaheen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely had to read it in smaller, digestible chunks, but this book really gave a good introduction to ethics and morality. I got lost a bit in the second half of the book but his overarching arguments gave me a lot to think about and makes me want to read more into this field. Really good in understanding how we think, feel, and choose and human beings.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steven Jensen provides a good introduction to Thomistic ethics in comparison to various competing ethical philosophies with this work and for a world increasingly confused and misguided by ethics, I would consider this content to be necessary reading for many. I particularly enjoyed how Jensen takes Aquinas’ thought and compares it to many modern ethical philosophies such as moral relativism, values clarification, utilitarianism, and Kantian ethics, picking out the truth in these philosophies while also showing the ways they fall short. Jensen does a great job of picking out the most basic and foundational elements of Aquinas’ ethical philosophy and condensing them down into a digestible manner for the reader. While much of the content Jensen presents is fairly surface level (to be expected for an introductory text), this work covers a wide ground of philosophical and ethical topics and gives the reader a solid foundation for wider exploration into ethics as a whole. For this reason, much of the information presented prompts more questions than answers, which I would consider to be a mark of good philosophy. One minor gripe I did have reading this was the repetitiveness of some of the content, as it felt like he was repeating his main thesis in every single chapter.

Beyond being informative, Living the Good Life is actually quite practical and offers a great guide to forming the human person and directing them to live a happy and fulfilling life. In many ways, this work acts as an examination of conscience for the reader, exposing areas of required growth and calling the reader higher to the fullest expression of their person. In this manner, I found it interesting to note how Aquinas takes a much higher view of the human person and their potential in comparison to more modern, pessimistic philosophers. While the standard he sets is high, I believe that Aquinas’ ethical philosophy and anthropological view of the human person provides the greatest foundation for human flourishing, ultimately directing us to a life of sainthood. Jensen, through the teachings of Aquinas, really makes the moral life come to life here and provides great inspiration to pursuing virtue in one's own life. This was the greatest strength of this text for me, and for this reason, I would consider it a great starting place for anyone looking to gain a better understanding of the moral life and pursue the good in their own lives.

[Brynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An approachable intro to the topic! Will probably read again at some point.

[Kyle Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danny shared this quote with me the other day.

“For my own part, I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await others. I believe that many who find that ‘nothing happens’ when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.”

This is exactly what I felt when I finished this book today. I almost had tears in my eyes as I read the last 40 pages of this book sitting in Starbucks this morning.

It was so beautiful that I forget about the world around me. May we forever chase after the good life!!!

"We must lead the life of reason, attaining to the beauty of God himself, and so satisfy the yearnings of the will. Only by attaining to God, in whatever degree we are able, can our hearts ever be satisfied. That this natural reflection of God should be superseded by a greater and fuller participation in the life of God. Aristotle would never know. Aquinas did know."

Absolutely poetic. Beautiful.

[Luke Messmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work by Jensen is a good intro to the moral thought of Thomas Aquinas, and it is a language to which we all need much more exposure. Jensen makes a fairly compelling case for the meta-ethical question of, “Why be moral?”/“Why care about ‘the good’ at all?” In the same breath, though, I got the sense that Jensen had to boost his word count in almost every chapter to fit the standards of his publisher, leaving me annoyed that he kept repeating the same sentences endlessly to fill the allotted number of pages per chapter. Had I not gotten bored of his repetitions, I probably would have read this book much faster. I’ve given this book 4 stars because it’s true and I want people to find it. But I will not give it 5 stars because I did not love the act of reading it.

[Matt Ebenroth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uh oh Sean, you’re gonna have to read faster than that

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a difficult time reviewing this book as 3 stars because I think there is so much information and wisdom present that I simply do not understand due to my lack of knowledge or ability to think open mindedly.

That being said, there were things I learned about definitions and ideas of virtue, church teaching and other philosophers that I appreciated. I do not feel like this is a good beginner’s guide to thomistic ethics however. I think it is better appreciated by those with more background and understanding of ethics and philosophy to be able to truly appreciate it. I’m glad to have read it, but I wish I could understand it better having had minimal background on the topic. I do appreciate the last chapter as a great big-picture approach to the book and wish I had the insight at the beginning. All in all, rich in wisdom but difficult to understand as a beginner. I hope this is helpful to others.

[Krysta Ann Orscheln · Rating 4 out of 5]

good info, can be a bit dry at times

[Timothy Klob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written, fast-paced, and understandable summary of the ethical principles of Thomas Aquinas. The discussions on justice, injustice, and intrinsically evil actions are particularly helpful. This book was one of several required readings for a recent seminary class on Christian Ethics, and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a good introduction and overview of the underlying principles necessary to understand and analyze current ethical problems.

[Lizz Trotsyuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn’t have picked up this book if it weren’t for my ethics course. But reading it definitely challenged my thinking and helped me grow in my understanding of ethics and how we ought to live life in general. The author did a fabulous job of making difficult philosophical concepts easy to understand, and the text itself flowed easy. I would recommend!

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice introduction for the undergraduate w/ no philosophy background.

[Danna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy, but great points and well said

[Nick Hallers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living the Good Life is an excellent introduction to Ethics. The author, Steven Jensen, is engaging and has a knack for making difficult concepts accessible.