161. The Causes of Virtue: Nature, Habituation, and Infusion

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Four Questions on Virtue’s Origin #

1. Whether virtue is in us by nature
2. Whether virtue is caused by habituation and repetition of works
3. Whether moral virtues are infused (poured into us by God)
4. Whether infused and acquired virtues are the same in species

Nature and Virtue: Two Senses of “Natural” #

Thomas distinguishes two ways something can be natural to humans:

By the nature of the species (through the rational soul):

• Humans naturally possess beginnings or seeds (seminalia) of virtue through reason
• Natural knowledge of first principles (axioms): “the whole is greater than the part”
• Natural knowledge of moral principles: “do good and avoid evil”
• Natural desire for the good in accordance with reason
• These seeds of intellectual and moral virtues are present in all rational creatures

By the nature of the individual (through bodily disposition):

• Some people are naturally disposed to courage, others to cowardice
• Some inclined to temperance or licentiousness by bodily constitution
• Physical disposition of sensitive powers affects rational powers that depend on them
• These provide aptitude (capacity) but not perfection (completion)

The Incompleteness of Natural Virtue #

• Nature is “determined to one” - it cannot simultaneously perfect opposing virtues
• Courage requires moving toward danger; temperance requires restraint
• These cannot both be perfected by nature alone
• Plato’s educational system (athletics for courage, music for temperance) recognizes this incompleteness
• The completion of virtue requires practice in diverse matters and diverse circumstances

Key Arguments #

First Article: Is Virtue Natural? #

Three Objections Favoring Natural Virtue:

• Damascene says virtues are natural and equal in all
• St. Anthony: “If the will change his nature, it is perverse”
• That which is according to reason is natural to man, since reason is man’s nature
• Some virtues appear from birth (Job 31: “mercy grew with me from infancy”)

Counterargument:

• Virtue is not in all men equally; sin takes it away
• Natural goods (like intellect) remain even in demons, but virtue does not
• Therefore virtue is not by nature alone

Thomas’s Resolution:

• Virtues exist in us by nature according to aptitude and beginning, not according to perfection and completion
• Natural beginnings are seeds that require development through habituation
• Apart from theological virtues, which come entirely from outside (from God)

Second Article: Virtues from Habituation #

Objections Against Acquired Virtue:

• Romans 14:23: “Everything that is not from faith is sin” (Augustine gloss)
• Faith cannot be acquired from works but is a gift of God
• Man cannot avoid sin except by God’s grace (Wisdom 8:21)
• The effect cannot be more perfect than its cause; how can repeated imperfect acts produce a perfect habit?
• How does one do courageous acts without already possessing courage?

Thomas’s Resolution:

• Two types of good must be distinguished:
  • Good measured by human reason (natural good) → can be caused by human acts
  • Good measured by divine law (supernatural good) → cannot be caused by human acts alone
• The good consists in mode, species, and order (Augustine’s formula)
• Virtues ordered to natural good can be acquired through habituation
• Natural beginnings of virtue are more noble than the virtues acquired from them
• Human acts proceed from these higher natural beginnings, enabling habit formation
• Acquired virtues are weakened but not destroyed by one bad act (unlike infused virtues)
• Infused virtues can be lost by a single mortal sin
• The natural virtues provide necessary stability to the infused virtues

Important Definitions #

Aptitude (aptitudo): Natural capacity or predisposition toward virtue

Beginning/Seed (seminalia): Natural principles and first knowledge that serve as sources for virtue’s development

Perfection (perfectio)/Completion (consummatio): The full actualization of virtue through habituation and practice

Mode, Species, and Order (modus, species, ordo): Augustine’s three aspects of goodness - mode (measure), species (form), and order (arrangement); corresponds to measure, number, and weight in Wisdom 11

Infused virtue (virtus infusa): Virtue poured into the soul by God, measured by divine law

Acquired virtue (virtus acquisita): Virtue developed through repeated acts proceeding from natural beginnings and human reason

Examples & Illustrations #

Natural Dispositions:

• Young Davey at the amusement park: naturally braver than other children, willing to try dangerous rides while others were afraid
• Churchill’s youthful recklessness: jumping from trees, later exposing himself to enemy fire during WWII

Plato’s Educational Program:

• Athletics used to develop courage (pushing toward danger)
• Music and tragedy used to develop temperance (softening, restraining)
• Recognition that both virtues cannot be perfected by nature alone

Practical Problem with Infused Virtues Alone:

• Priests converting prostitutes through spiritual grace alone
• These women received infused virtues but lacked acquired virtues from repeated temperance
• Result: unstable virtue, frequent relapse into sin
• Demonstrates necessity of acquired virtue for stability

Notable Quotes #

“If the will change his nature, it is perverse” — St. Anthony

“The whole is more than a part” — Example of self-evident axiom

“Everything that is not from faith is sin” — Romans 14:23 (Augustine’s gloss)

“I am not able to be continent otherwise, and by God giving it to me” — Wisdom 8:21

“Nature is determined to one” — Thomas Aquinas on why natural virtue cannot achieve all virtues

“Grace builds on nature” — Principle underlying the complementarity of acquired and infused virtues

Questions Addressed #

Q1: Are virtues natural to humans? #

A: Virtues are natural to humans as beginnings and seeds (in first principles of reason and moral principles), not as perfections. All humans naturally possess axioms (“the whole is greater than the part”) and the natural desire for good according to reason. But the completion of virtue requires habituation and practice.

Q2: Can repeated acts cause virtue? #

A: Yes, for virtues ordered to natural good measured by human reason. Human acts, proceeding from natural beginnings (which are more noble than the virtues derived from them), can build habits. However, virtues ordered to supernatural good (measured by divine law) require divine infusion and cannot be acquired through human effort alone.

Q3: Why distinguish infused and acquired virtues? #

A: Infused virtues are ordered to supernatural ends (measured by divine law) and are unstable, lost by a single mortal sin. Acquired virtues are ordered to natural good (measured by human reason) and provide stability through habituation. Both are necessary: infused virtues perfect us toward God; acquired virtues stabilize our capacity to maintain infused virtue.