7. The Three Goods of Man and Their Hierarchy

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• The Three Categories of Human Goods: Goods of the soul (spiritual/intellectual goods), goods of the body (health, strength, beauty), and exterior goods (possessions, wealth, clothing, shelter)
• The Disagreement Between Socrates and the Athenians: A fundamental disagreement about which goods are better, not whether we need all three kinds
• The Hierarchy of Goods: Establishing that interior goods are superior to exterior goods, and goods of the soul are superior to bodily goods
• The Problem of Desire and Knowledge: Why people desire lesser goods more than greater goods, explained by what is more known being more desired
• Application to Christian Theology: Thomas Aquinas’ application of the three goods to the mysteries of Christ (incarnation, descent, resurrection, ascension)

Key Arguments #

The Inductive Argument for Interior Over Exterior Goods #

• Principle: The end is always better than what it is for the sake of the end
• Inductive Proof: By examining examples (feet/shoes, eyes/glasses, body/car, mind/notes), we see that exterior goods exist for the sake of interior goods
• Conclusion: Therefore, interior goods are better than exterior goods
• Defense Against Objection: Even when interior goods serve exterior goods (e.g., carpentry makes chairs), those exterior goods ultimately serve the body, which is interior relative to mere possessions

The Argument for Goods of the Soul Over Goods of the Body #

• From Comparative Excellence: If man is better than a beast, then the goods that distinguish man from beasts are better than goods he shares with beasts
• From Divine Comparison: If God is better than man, then the more divine goods are better than lesser goods
• From the End of Man: Since man’s end is the act with reason according to virtue, the goods of the soul—which are involved in this very end—are better than bodily goods

The Refutation of Relativism #

• False Solution: Claiming goods are better for someone because they desire them more
• Refutation by Syllogism: Something is not good because you want it (established in prior lecture); therefore, something is not better because you want it more
• The Exception of Necessity: When something is prior in being (e.g., breathing before philosophizing), its loss is worse than the loss of the better thing, but this does not make it better
• Example of Confusion: Confusing “before in being” with “before” in the sense of better; this is a fallacy of equivocation

The Disjunctive Argument for the Life According to Reason #

• Three Possibilities: Man must live either (1) the life of a plant, (2) the life of a beast, or (3) the life of reason
• Elimination: Neither the plant life nor the beast life suffices for man to live well
• Conclusion: Therefore, man lives well by living according to reason

Important Definitions #

• Goods of the Soul (Bona Animae): Spiritual and intellectual goods involving reason; includes virtues and wisdom
• Goods of the Body (Bona Corporis): Health, strength, physical beauty, and bodily capacities
• Exterior/Outside Goods (Bona Exteriora): Possessions, wealth, property, clothing, shelter, food—those external to the person
• The End: That for the sake of which something exists or is done; the purpose or goal
• Before in Being: When something can exist without something else, but not vice versa (e.g., wood before a wooden chair)
• Before in the Sense of Better: The superiority of one thing over another; the most common mistake is confusing this with temporal or existential priority

Examples & Illustrations #

• Childhood Saying: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”—demonstrates awareness of all three goods (health/body, wealth/exterior, wisdom/soul)
• Breathing vs. Philosophizing: While breathing is necessary and prior in being, it is not man’s end; philosophizing is better as an activity, though we cannot philosophize without breathing
• Bricks and Brick Walls: Bricks are for the sake of walls/houses, yet losing bricks (prior in being) is worse than losing walls because one cannot have walls without bricks
• Romeo and Juliet: Romeo loved Rosalind more than Juliet not because Rosalind was more beautiful, but because he knew her and did not know Juliet—what is more known is more desired
• Christmas Presents: As a child, one desires toys (exterior goods) before wisdom because exterior goods are more known from childhood; the promise of “wisdom at day’s end” has no appeal to a child
• Shoes and Feet: Feet are interior to shoes; shoes exist for the sake of feet, not vice versa

Notable Quotes #

“It’s no little disagreement” (regarding whether goods of the soul or goods of the body are better)

“The end is always better than what is for the sake of the end”

“Something is not good because you want it; therefore, it is not better because you want it more”

“Your whole life is going to be weighed differently” depending on which goods you believe are better

“Much virtue in herbs, little in men” (regarding the necessity of things versus their superiority)

“The good is the cause of desire” (establishing the proper causal direction in understanding goods)

Questions Addressed #

Why do the Athenians prioritize lesser goods while Socrates prioritizes the goods of the soul? #

• The Answer: Not because of different natures or capacities, but because of different judgments about which goods are truly better
• The Significance: This disagreement determines the entire shape of a human life—what one pursues maximally and what one accepts minimally

How can we prove that interior goods are better than exterior goods? #

• By Induction: Show that exterior goods exist for the sake of interior goods (shoes for feet, cars for the body/mind)
• By the Principle of the End: Since that which is for the sake of something else is inferior to its end, exterior goods are inferior to interior goods

How can we prove that goods of the soul are better than goods of the body? #

• By Comparative Worth: Man is better than beasts; therefore, goods distinguishing man from beasts are better
• By the Ultimate End: Goods of the soul are involved in man’s ultimate end (the act with reason done well); therefore, they are superior

Why do people mistakenly desire lesser goods more than greater goods? #

• The Answer: Because lesser goods (bodily and exterior) are more known to us from early childhood
• The Explanation: We encounter bodily and exterior goods before we develop knowledge of spiritual goods; what is more known is naturally more desired
• The Application: This principle explains why young children desire candy over wisdom, why someone loves a known person over an unknown more beautiful one

Is breathing better than philosophizing? #

• Apparent Confusion: Breathing seems more necessary because without it all other activities cease
• The Clarification: Breathing is prior in being and more necessary, but not better; what is lost if breathing stops is worse, but that does not make breathing better
• The Distinction: One can breathe without philosophizing but cannot philosophize without breathing; yet breathing is clearly not man’s end or purpose

Methodological Notes #

• Inductive Reasoning: Moving from particular examples to general principles (feet/shoes, eyes/glasses, etc., to the general principle that exterior goods serve interior)
• Syllogistic Application: Using the principle “the end is better than means” combined with the inductive finding to conclude that interior goods are better
• Refutation by Contradiction: Showing that false solutions (goods are better because desired more) lead to absurdities
• Elimination of Alternatives: Using disjunctive reasoning to eliminate the plant life and beast life, leaving only the life according to reason