Posts by: GaryH
This is the third in my intermittent series on Aquinas on the topic of scandal, which is covered in question 43 of the second part of the second part of his Summa Theologiae. In the first two posts I covered the main contours of his thinking on the issue. First, scandal is defined as “something [...]
In the first post in this series on Aquinas’s account of scandal, we saw that Aquinas defines scandal as “something less rightly said or done that occasions spiritual downfall” and that he distinguishes between active and passive scandal. In this post, I want to cover his argument that scandal is a sin. Of course, we [...]
Because you can never have too much Aquinas, I’ve decided to reboot my blogging here with another series on the thought of the Angelic Doctor. The first topic in the series was Thomas’s thoughts on killing. For no particular reason, this time I’ll take up the topic of scandal. We often hear about various scandals [...]
After the recommendations of books like A Severe Mercy, Resident Aliens, and Lord of the Rings, I’m afraid my recommended reading will sound flat-out boring. It certainly is no respecter of Mr. Anderson’s criteria for a book to be read in your leisure. The title of the book is as straightforward as the book is [...]
In Plato’s Symposium, Socrates is shown to be very strange. In an episode related by Alcibiades, Socrates is said to have stood all day and night in an army camp—with the other soldiers lying down watching him—considering something. (Near the beginning of the Symposium, Socrates seems to have a similar kind of experience.) And at [...]
This is the last post in the Thomas Says series on killing. I want to summarize some points Thomas makes in this question of the Summa. First, let’s note the obvious, which hasn’t been noted yet in this series: The question of killing falls under the heading of “Justice.” In particular, it is in the [...]
This is the second-to-last post summarizing the position on killing laid out by Thomas Aquinas in the Summa. In the concluding post I will pull together a number of points about his position on killing. In this post I will discuss the last question in the Summa’s article on killing: “Whether one is guilty of [...]
In this post, I want to conclude my summary and discussion of Thomas’s reasoning about killing in self-defense by examining the objections to his position that he considers and his replies to those objections. (The first post is here; the article in the Summa is here.) To review, Thomas’s position is that it is morally [...]
An old friend of mine from college is a missionary in Haiti. He lives on the north part of the island and wasn’t directly affected by the earthquake. You can read his post for an experienced, on-the-ground take of what to do (and what not to do).
Fewer topics in Thomas’s moral philosophy have received more attention than his treatment of what has come to be known as double-effect. What is particularly interesting is that Thomas manages to inspire such interest in the space of one paragraph, namely, the paragraph in which he answers that it is lawful to kill a person [...]
Watch the Trailer for My First Book
Advertisement
Connect with Us
Advertisement
Recent Posts
- The Rachel Held Evans Conversation: Why I am a Conservative
- The Background to the Fight about Contraception and Religious Liberty
- On Boycotts, Komen, and Political Hope
- Accommodation, Contraception, and Religious Freedom
- Answering for Conservatism as a Christian
- What Social Networks Do–And Don’t Do–for Churches
- January’s Top Posts
Recent Comments
- Flyaway on On Boycotts, Komen, and Political Hope
- Goldberry on On Why we Like Tom Bombadil and Probably Shouldn’t
- ניהול תקין on The Brokenness of the Body (for Ash Wednesday)
- Matthew Anderson on The Rachel Held Evans Conversation: Why I am a Conservative
- Matthew Anderson on What Social Networks Do–And Don’t Do–for Churches
- tokniffin on The Rachel Held Evans Conversation: Why I am a Conservative
- David Bartosik on What Social Networks Do–And Don’t Do–for Churches
Categories