Aquinas's moral theory.

The moral theory of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) has a theological as well as a philosophical aspect; indeed Thomistic moral philosophy, while theoretically complete in itself, is subsumed into moral theology. I shall here be concerned only with the moral philosophy of Aquinas, but first a word on the possibility ofconsidering his moral philosophy without discussing his moral theology. As a Christian, Thomas accepts a great number of propositions as true because they have been revealed by God. A proposition is de ftde if (a) it is accepted as true (b) because God has revealed it and (c) there is no independent way to decide its truth. Thus, Thomas believes that Christ is human and divine, that there are three persons in God and that there will be a general resurrection. It is another feature of the de fide that, while its truth can not be decided by appeal to something other than God's say-so, neither can such propositions be known to be false. Although some Christians have described faith dramatically as the acceptance as true of what is known to be false, Thomas Aquinas is not among them. De fide truths are chiefly about God, but they can also be about human actions as these are ordered to God. The injunction that one should love one's neighbour as oneself is such a truth. What about the precepts of the Decalogue which were given to Moses on Mount Sinai? Are they not obviously revealed truths? While the injunction to charity seems one that is incumbent upon the believer as believer, it would seem odd to think the prohibitions of murder, lying, adultery and theft are moral precepts whose acceptance is contingent upon religious belief. And in fact Thomas maintains that by and large the Ten Commandments are moral principles any human person, believer or not, should recognise as true. Either he is guilty of gross confusion or further precision is necessary. Thomas does not identify 'being revealed' and 'being de fide'. Being revealed is a necessary though not sufficient condition ofbeing deftde and some truths have been revealed which need not have been because