INTRODUCTION
All humans are flawed in some way. The existence of evil in the world proves that we are not wholly good. Many philosophers and theologians have debated why humans are this way. Are humans born pure and then corrupted by the impure nature of this world? Or are all infants born leaning towards evil and must relearn how to be good? These are questions that must be answered in order to understand humanity's purpose on this earth. For if one does not know who they are, they cannot know what they are meant to do.
The great thinkers of antiquity set out to understand these questions about humans’ purpose here on earth. Aquinas and Aristotle are two of these great authors who set out to discover why humans are here and what makes them …show more content…
Aquinas believed that “All acts of virtue are prescribed by the natural law.” Therefore, humans are meant to be virtuous and by being virtuous we fulfill part of the Natural Law. Moreover, because humans have natural inclinations to fulfill the natural laws, Aquinas therefore believed that humans all have a natural inclination to do what is good and virtuous. Aquinas called this predisposition Infused virtue. With such an inclination, humans want to be virtuous but many times they do not have the means to acquire the habits of virtue. For our “natural inclination to virtue is corrupted by vicious habits” and we are “darkened by passion and habits of sin”. The darkening of our souls and the turning away from the light naturally placed within us is what leads humans towards …show more content…
Aristotle opens the book with the declaration that all humans desire happiness but have many different ways of pursue satisfaction and contentment. He states that humans go after happiness by doing the things that make them feel good, passions and other things of this nature. But Aristotle believed that by being virtuous, rather than pursuing passions, humans will find happiness and will fulfill their purpose here on earth. However, because the world is corrupted, many people do not go after these virtues on the right ways. He states that very virtue has two vices and humans can easily lean into one or the other. For example, generosity is a virtue. But if one is too generous they lose all they have and waste so they can not continue to be virtuous in this way. But if someone is too stingy, they are also neglecting this virtue. Thus all virtues are a mean between two vices. He says, “there are many ways of going wrong, but only one one way which is right”. But when a man has hit all the means of the virtues he becomes truly virtuous and here he then finds true happiness. But first he must find a way to always hit the
All humans are flawed in some way. The existence of evil in the world proves that we are not wholly good. Many philosophers and theologians have debated why humans are this way. Are humans born pure and then corrupted by the impure nature of this world? Or are all infants born leaning towards evil and must relearn how to be good? These are questions that must be answered in order to understand humanity's purpose on this earth. For if one does not know who they are, they cannot know what they are meant to do.
The great thinkers of antiquity set out to understand these questions about humans’ purpose here on earth. Aquinas and Aristotle are two of these great authors who set out to discover why humans are here and what makes them …show more content…
Aquinas believed that “All acts of virtue are prescribed by the natural law.” Therefore, humans are meant to be virtuous and by being virtuous we fulfill part of the Natural Law. Moreover, because humans have natural inclinations to fulfill the natural laws, Aquinas therefore believed that humans all have a natural inclination to do what is good and virtuous. Aquinas called this predisposition Infused virtue. With such an inclination, humans want to be virtuous but many times they do not have the means to acquire the habits of virtue. For our “natural inclination to virtue is corrupted by vicious habits” and we are “darkened by passion and habits of sin”. The darkening of our souls and the turning away from the light naturally placed within us is what leads humans towards …show more content…
Aristotle opens the book with the declaration that all humans desire happiness but have many different ways of pursue satisfaction and contentment. He states that humans go after happiness by doing the things that make them feel good, passions and other things of this nature. But Aristotle believed that by being virtuous, rather than pursuing passions, humans will find happiness and will fulfill their purpose here on earth. However, because the world is corrupted, many people do not go after these virtues on the right ways. He states that very virtue has two vices and humans can easily lean into one or the other. For example, generosity is a virtue. But if one is too generous they lose all they have and waste so they can not continue to be virtuous in this way. But if someone is too stingy, they are also neglecting this virtue. Thus all virtues are a mean between two vices. He says, “there are many ways of going wrong, but only one one way which is right”. But when a man has hit all the means of the virtues he becomes truly virtuous and here he then finds true happiness. But first he must find a way to always hit the