Assignment task:
St. Thomas Aquinas says that the hardest of all sciences is morality. This is because there are valid moral laws, but in each concrete situation, not only must the law be considered, but also the person, place, time, circumstances, and the complex reality that they form together. It requires, says St. Thomas, a tremendous honesty and habitual living in the presence of God to see the total, complex situation as it is, and to judge our moral reaction unencumbered by our feelings, emotions, and prejudices. To make a really free judgment of conscience we have to listen to others, for all truth, all wisdom, is not found in any one person. To make a really free moral judgment is the task of a truly open, mature person.
1. Do you agree or disagree with St. Thomas' statement on morality being the most difficult of all sciences?
2. What do you think he means when he says that morality requires a "tremendous honesty and habitual living in the presence of God"?
3. What are the characteristics of the morally mature person and what role does virtue play?