La justicia en el pensamiento de Aristóteles y de Tomás de Aquino

Abstract

Since antiquity, we can find texts that make reference to four fundamental (cardinal) moral virtues: prudence, justice, strength and temperance. A great number of ancient philosophers studied them and explained them in their works. The biblical book Wisdom mentions them explicitly (8, 7). Among the four, justice has a particular aspect that makes it especially important: it is the only virtue that implies a relationship with other people. Aristotle noted that and dedicated a chapter in his work about ethics to this virtue. In turn, Thomas Aquinas took Aristotle’s insightful analyses and enriched them with his own ideas. The purpose of this research is to enquire into the reflections of Aristotle and Aquinas about justice and point out the way in which the scholastic master broadened the Stagirite’s reflections.