Summaries / Resúmenes - Studia Moralia

THE SUBJECT-OBJECT RELATION IN CONTEMPORARY MORAL THEOLOGY 19Angelic Doctor is certainly not an objectivist, nor is he a subjectivist,although his emphasis on virtue for his applied ethicaltheory underscores the importance, perhaps even the priority,of one’s moral attitude. What I think Johnstone underplays,however, is Aquinas’ ability to distinguish object and subject inhis exposition of moral thinking. In fact, the ability to makethat distinction is crucial for the elaboration of Aquinas’ theologicalethics.For an activity to qualify as a moral activity, it must be voluntary.Aquinas places voluntariness at the center of his treatiseon human acts. He insists that the voluntary act is a dynamicunity. Yet at the same time he carefully distinguishes differentphases or modes of voluntariness. When the will considers theaccomplishment of some end or goal, Aquinas writes about thedynamic of intention (intentio) – the commitment of the will (toan end) insofar as it can be accomplished by an available andappropriate means (I-II, 12). When the will considers how anend or goal might be accomplished, he writes about the dynamicof choice (electio) – the commitment of the will (to themeans) insofar as it can appropriately accomplish the end inview (I-II, 13).Johnstone’s paradigmatic illustration of gift-giving exhibitsa similar dynamics, although he apparently does not appreciatethis aspect of his own example.…a person wants to give a gift to a friend. He or she is genuinelyacting out of love. He thinks very carefully and selects a giftwhich he believes will suit his friend. Unfortunately, his judgmentis badly in error and what he selects as a gift is something whichcannot benefit his friend and which cannot please him. His will isgood, but his judgment is wrong, and what he gives simply cannotbe a genuine gift. (100)The distinction between intending to give a gift and actuallyselecting (choosing) a gift to be given is necessary for performingan evaluation of what is taking place. Insofar as these twoaspects of the voluntary activity can be said to have a bearingon the whole of the event, one can understand two different,perhaps even separate but certainly distinct, kinds of evaluation