War and the Virtues in Aquinas’s Ethical Thought
Journal of Military Ethics, Vol. 9, No. 3, 245Á261, 2010
War and the Virtues in Aquinas’s Ethical Thought
RYAN R. GORMAN
University of Dallas, Texas, USA ABSTRACT This article argues that Thomas Aquinas’s virtue ethics approach to just war theory provides a solid ethical foundation for thinking about the problem of war. After briefly indicating some shortcomings of contemporary views of international justice, including pacifism, legalism, progressivism, realism, pragmatism, and consequentialism, the article examines Aquinas’s question ‘On War’ in the Summa Theologiae. It then attempts to show that Aquinas’s thinking on war is rooted in his understanding of the virtues by providing a brief overview of how the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance) and theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) are connected to just war considerations.
KEY WORDS: Thomas Aquinas, just war, cardinal virtues, theological virtues, virtue ethics
Introduction
In recent years there has been much scholarly debate regarding war and the moral basis for using military force in order to uphold international law, protect human rights, and combat the threat of terrorism around the world. Surprisingly, though, the recent scholarship on war contains relatively little discussion of just war principles from the perspective of virtue ethics, and the few scholars who mention virtue tend to focus on one or two particular virtues rather than offering a systematic account of how the virtues are connected.1 For traditional just war theorists like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, however, a comprehensive understanding of the cardinal and theological virtues provides the ethical foundation that is necessary for considering questions about the justice or injustice of war. In particular, I would argue that Aquinas’s insights into war and virtuous human action remain remarkably relevant to contemporary debates about the just use of military force.2 For Aquinas, war,
War and the Virtues in Aquinas’s Ethical Thought
RYAN R. GORMAN
University of Dallas, Texas, USA ABSTRACT This article argues that Thomas Aquinas’s virtue ethics approach to just war theory provides a solid ethical foundation for thinking about the problem of war. After briefly indicating some shortcomings of contemporary views of international justice, including pacifism, legalism, progressivism, realism, pragmatism, and consequentialism, the article examines Aquinas’s question ‘On War’ in the Summa Theologiae. It then attempts to show that Aquinas’s thinking on war is rooted in his understanding of the virtues by providing a brief overview of how the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance) and theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) are connected to just war considerations.
KEY WORDS: Thomas Aquinas, just war, cardinal virtues, theological virtues, virtue ethics
Introduction
In recent years there has been much scholarly debate regarding war and the moral basis for using military force in order to uphold international law, protect human rights, and combat the threat of terrorism around the world. Surprisingly, though, the recent scholarship on war contains relatively little discussion of just war principles from the perspective of virtue ethics, and the few scholars who mention virtue tend to focus on one or two particular virtues rather than offering a systematic account of how the virtues are connected.1 For traditional just war theorists like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, however, a comprehensive understanding of the cardinal and theological virtues provides the ethical foundation that is necessary for considering questions about the justice or injustice of war. In particular, I would argue that Aquinas’s insights into war and virtuous human action remain remarkably relevant to contemporary debates about the just use of military force.2 For Aquinas, war,
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