The place of moral virtues infused in the ethics of Thomas Aquinas

Abstract

This article presents the centrality of moral virtues in the ethics of Thomas Aquinas, grounded in an integral conception of the human person as a unity of body and soul. We examine the distinction between acquired moral virtues and infused virtues. The former, notably justice, fortitude, and temperance, develop through habit, the repetition of acts, and human effort; they order desires in accordance with reason and orient the individual toward goods suited to their nature. Infused virtues, in turn, are bestowed by God and cannot be acquired through human capacities alone; they dispose the person toward their ultimate end, understood as union with the Divine. Thus, this study seeks to transcend a merely normative approach to the virtues, aiming instead to show how they underpin a unified vision of human existence and orient it toward a good that transcends the logic of immediate gratification.