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7 - Pleasure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2009

Robert Miner
Affiliation:
Baylor University, Texas
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Summary

The treatment of the passion of pleasure is complex, requiring as many Questions as Aquinas assigns to the passions in general. In considering the nature of pleasure, Aquinas draws crucial distinctions between pleasure and joy, bodily pleasures and spiritual pleasures, arguing in some detail for the superiority of the latter (§7.1). After describing the essence of pleasure, Aquinas turns to a detailed consideration of its causes, distinguishing between the direct cause (operation) and multiple indirect causes (§7.2). What does pleasure do to a person? What are its effects? Aquinas considers the sense in which pleasure brings about a kind of “expansion” or “enlargement” of the soul, whets the appetite for more pleasure, and constitutes the completion of activities that would be good even if they did not involve pleasure (§7.3). How are pleasures related to the human good? Aquinas argues for a strong connection, arguing that pleasure is not only the natural byproduct of good action, but constitutes the criterion by which good character may be distinguished from bad (§7.4).

THE NATURE OF PLEASURE

In Questions 31–4, Aquinas returns to the tripartite scheme that he used to interrogate the passion of love. Asking first what pleasure is in itself (Question 31), Aquinas proceeds to inquire about the causes of pleasure (Question 32) and its effects (Question 33). He expands the scheme by the inclusion of an appendix on the passion's goodness and badness (de bonitate et malitia) (Question 34).

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Chapter
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Thomas Aquinas on the Passions
A Study of Summa Theologiae, 1a2ae 22–48
, pp. 160 - 187
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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  • Pleasure
  • Robert Miner, Baylor University, Texas
  • Book: Thomas Aquinas on the Passions
  • Online publication: 06 July 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511576560.009
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  • Pleasure
  • Robert Miner, Baylor University, Texas
  • Book: Thomas Aquinas on the Passions
  • Online publication: 06 July 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511576560.009
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Pleasure
  • Robert Miner, Baylor University, Texas
  • Book: Thomas Aquinas on the Passions
  • Online publication: 06 July 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511576560.009
Available formats
×