Walking with Aquinas: The theological virtues and the development of Christian ethics - Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington

Walking with Aquinas: The theological virtues and the development of Christian ethics - Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington

The notion of virtue being its own branch of philosophy is a concept which predates Christianity by at least four centuries. Expounded upon almost simultaneously in Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the field of moral philosophy began as a study of the four cardinal virtues: Prudence, alternatively known as Wisdom; Justice; Courage; and Temperance. In classical philosophy, the theoretical “ideal man” was an exemplar of all fou…