Learning to live virtuously. A study of moral practices in Aquinas in the light of Derrida

This study departs in a critique issued against the ethics of deconstruction that it does not provide good enough advice for how to turn its ehtics into "real life"-actions. Taking up the concept of moral practices as found in e.g. Alisdain MacIntyre, Stanley Hauerwas, James K.A. Smith, and Roland Spjuth, this study turns to medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas as a potential resource. Combining the teachings in Aquinas' Summa Thologica with a look into his life as a Domninican, a list of moral practices is put forth and analyzed in conjunction with Derrida's ethics. The results show, first of all, a surprisingly high degree of relatedness between central elemens of Derrida's and Aquinas' ehtical framworks. Secondly, the results point to virtue-ethics as a persuasive resource for ethics of deconstruction to turn to. Thirdly, the list of moral practices provides new input into a research field which many times focus exclusively on the theoretical aspects of Aquinas' theology