The parameters of being and acting human, the true case for moral science in the philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas

grantor: University of TorontoThe following dissertation bears an historical theme: the 'true' interpretation of a moral theory advanced during the Middle Ages, and how and why this theory is misinterpreted in the modern context. Yet this historical theme is embedded within a systematic one: whether it can be validly demonstrated that moral science is. legitimate. Hence, the first two sections of the discussion are exclusively systematic in orientation. They are concerned with what general criteria must be met in order for ethics to be deemed a legitimate science, with the problems confronting any attempt to meet these criteria, and with the apparent failure of the conventional methods contrived to resolve such problems. It is in the third of five sections that a specifically historical subject is undertaken, but only because it is seen as relevant to the dissertation's systematic objective. Within the third section, three hypotheses are advanced: [1]. that the legitimacy of moral science can be validly demonstrated; [2]. that the moral philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas can be shown to facilitate such a demonstration; and [3]. that this philosophy has been misunderstood by some modern interpreters. The remaining two sections of the discussion are devoted to proving such hypotheses. For example, the fourth section examines and deconstructs two prominent modern interpretations of Thomistic ethics; this section uncovers the inadequacies present in the views of certain modern Thomists, and exposes important details pertaining to the true nature and validity of Aquinas' moral theory. The fifth section concentrates solely upon the latter theory, especially upon its metaphysical foundations. Here, the discussion illustrates the framework in which such a theory is wrought, and expounds the general validity of the arguments which comprise it. Overall, the following dissertation has two main ambitions, both of which are pursued within the context of the systematic theme of whether the legitimacy of moral science is validly demonstrable. The first of these ambitions is to show that St. Thomas Aquinas provides such a demonstration, and to show how he does so. The second ambition is to explain how and why this demonstration has been misrepresented by modern philosophers. In the final analysis, whether these two ambitions are successfully realized is, of course, left for the reader to decide.Ph.D