Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Distinction: The Virtuous, Continent, Incontinent, and Vicious Man

[T]he virtuous man is inclined towards good both by his sense appetite and by his (practical) reason, and that he actually chooses good with his will. The continent man is like the virtuous man, except his sense appetite does not incline him towards the good that he knows and chooses, so there is a certain tension within him: he acts against his sense appetite. The incontinent man, like the continent man, is inclined towards evil by his sense appetite and yet is capable of knowing the good that he ought to do through practical reason, but unlike the continent man, he chooses evil. Finally, the vicious man is inclined towards evil, rationalizes his evildoing through practical reason, and chooses evil--in at least one respect he is like the virtuous man, namely, in that there is a certain harmony among his powers, albeit a perverse one.
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Source: Francisco Romero Carrasquillo, "Continence and Incontinence, A Handy-Dandy Table," Ite ad Thomam Blog, October 30, 2013, accessed November 6, 2013, http://iteadthomam.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-other-day-in-my-philosophical.html

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