PHIL 623 Moral Issues in Aquinas
An examination of Aquinas's moral theory, with a focus on STh II-II q.64 a.3. This course will examine various scholarly interpretations of Aquinas's pivotal article on killing in self-defense, with a special focus on the way in which this text has served as the basis for "double effect" reasoning. In addition to examining relevant texts from Aquinas and the history of "double effect" reasoning, this course will examine the specification of moral action, the theory of Proportionalism, and the notion of intrinsic evil. Although we will occasionally deal with Aquinas's treatment of concrete ethical issues such as lying and murder, this course will mainly seek to examine the philosophical principles that serve as the foundation of Aquinas's broader moral theory.