Date
6-2015
Department
Philosophical Studies
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Chair
Edward N. Martin
Keywords
Justice, Just War, Pacifism, Thomas Aquinas
Disciplines
Ethics and Political Philosophy | Philosophy | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Recommended Citation
Pemberton, Lloyd George, "Aquinas the Pacifist? A Comparative Study" (2015). Masters Theses. 371.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/371
Abstract
It is claimed by some scholars that when recent analytical tools of interpretation are placed upon the Summa Theologica, a presumption against harm emerges from the mind of Thomas Aquinas as he formulated his just war theory. This presumption against harm is thereby construed as Aquinas having an affinity toward pacifism. The present thesis offers a comparative study between two scholars, Richard Miller and Gregory Reichberg. Miller supports this claim while Reichberg finds it unjustifiable. The thesis lays out the arguments put forth by both, ultimately siding with Reichberg as making the better case. In addition, I offer my own analysis of Aquinas’s thoughts on the virtue of justice, illustrating an important categorical distinction not fully developed by both Miller or Reichberg that is essential to the discussion.
Included in
Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
