Aquinas's Ethics: Metaphysical Foundations, Moral Theory, and Theological Context

by Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Colleen McCluskey, Christina Van Dyke

The purpose of Aquinas's Ethics is to place Thomas Aquinas's moral theory in its full philosophical and theological context and to do so in a way that makes Aquinas (1224/5-1274) readily accessible to students and interested general readers, including those encountering Aquinas for the first time. Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke begin by explaining Aquinas's theories of the human person and human action, since these ground his moral theory. In their interpretation, Aquinas's theological commitments crucially shape his account of the human person, human capacities for action, and human flourishing. The authors develop a comprehensive picture of Aquinas's thought, which is designed to help students understand how his concept of happiness and the good life are part of a coherent, theologically-informed worldview. Many studies of Aquinas naturally focus on certain areas of his thought and tend to assume a general knowledge of the whole. Aquinas's Ethics takes the opposite it intentionally links his metaphysics and anthropology to his action theory and ethics to illuminate how the moral theory is built on foundations laid elsewhere. The authors emphasize the integration of concepts of virtue, natural law, and divine grace within Aquinas's ethics, rather than treating such topics in isolation or opposition. Their approach, presented in clear and deliberately non-specialist language, reveals the coherent nature of Aquinas's account of the moral life and of what fulfills us as human beings. The result is a rich and engaging framework for further investigation of Aquinas's thought and its applications.

Genres: Philosophy

260 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2009

About the author

Rebecca DeYoung (Ph.D. University of Notre Dame) has enjoyed teaching ethics and the history of ancient and medieval philosophy at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI, for over 20 years.

Her research focuses on the seven deadly sins, virtue ethics and spiritual formation, and Thomas Aquinas’s work on the virtues. Her books include Glittering Vices (Brazos, 2009; 2nd edition 2020), Vainglory (Eerdmans, 2014), and a co-authored volume entitled Aquinas’s Ethics (University of Notre Dame Press, 2009).

Recent essays about various vices and virtues—hope, despair, sloth, courage, magnanimity, wrath, and vainglory—appear in Virtues and Their Vices (Oxford), Being Good (Eerdmans), and Cambridge Critical Guide to Aquinas’s De Malo (Cambridge), and the journals Res Philosophica, ACPQ, the Thomist, and Faith and Philosophy.

Awards for her work include the Book and Essay Prize from the Character Project and the C.S. Lewis prize for Glittering Vices.

Dr. DeYoung speaks widely--at universities, churches and spiritual formation groups, and in prison education programs. She and her husband live in Grand Rapids, near the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline, with their four children.

Reviews

[Bernard Brodeur · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, easy-to-read text that systematically breaks down Aquinas's metaphysics and ethics. At times, the writing becomes wordy and repetitious. Just beginning my study of philosophy and theology, I found this to be a good introduction.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great distillation of key themes in Aquinas' moral theology and how it is deeply embedded within his theological and metaphysical views.