Aquinas on the passions

329 Pages·2009·1.79 MB·English

by  Robert Miner

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THOMAS AQUINAS ON THE PASSIONS
TheSummatheologiaeisThomasAquinas’undisputedmasterwork,
and it includes his thoughts on the elemental forces in human life.
Feelingssuchaslove,hatred,pleasure,pain,hope,anddespairwere
described by Aquinas as “passions,” representing the different ways
inwhichhappinesscouldbeaffected.Butwhatcausesthepassions?
What impact do they have on the person who suffers them? Can
they be shaped and reshaped in order to promote human flourish-
ing? The aim of this book is to provide a better understanding
of Aquinas’ account of the passions. It identifies the Aristotelian
influencesthatlieattheheartoftheSummaTheologiae,anditenters
into a dialogue with contemporary thinking about the nature of
emotion.ThestudyarguesthatAquinas’workisstillimportanttoday,
and shows why for Aquinas boththeunderstandingandtheattain-
ment of happiness require prolonged reflection on thepassions.
robert miner is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Baylor
University.

THOMAS AQUINAS ON
THE PASSIONS
1 2 22 48
A Study of Summa Theologiae a ae –
ROBERT MINER
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521897488
© Robert Miner 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-51795-2 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-89748-8 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
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and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Contents
List of figures page vii
List of tables viii
Acknowledgments ix
A note on the texts xi
Introduction 1
part 1 the passions in general 11
1 The sensitive appetite 13
2 The definition of passion 29
3 The activation of passion 58
4 The morality of the passions 88
part 2 particular passions: the concupiscible
passions 109
5 Love 111
6 Hatred and concupiscence 140
7 Pleasure 160
8 Sorrow 188
part 3 particular passions: the irascible passions 213
9 Hope and despair 215
10 Fear 231
v
vi Contents
11 Daring 252
12 Anger 268
Epilogue: The passions, the virtues, and happiness 287
Bibliography 300
Index 308
Figures
2.1 The narrative structure of the concupiscible passions page 42
2.2 The passions as ordered pairs (coniugationes) 54
3.1 Appetition follows sense apprehension 67
3.2 Appetition follows sensation and imagination 69
3.3 The estimative power, activated by sensation and
imagination 74
3.4 Passions in the order of generation: a simple scheme 83
3.5 Passions in the order of generation: adding
sorrow and anger 84
3.6 Passions in the order of generation: a “final” diagram 86
vii
Tables
1.1 Types of soul, activities, modes of living page 14
3.1 The concupiscible passions according to their
formal objects 61
3.2 The irascible passions (except for anger) according
to their formal objects 62
5.1 The particular passions in order of appearance
in the 1a2ae 113
Ep.1 Moral virtues in relation to the objects of the
passions 294
viii