Abstract
Aquinas’ theory of conscience1 has a very simple logical structure: Every statement of a correct conscience is a conclusion of an argument such that the following conditions are satisfied:
-
(1)
The argument is deductively valid (a valid logical inference), i. e., the conclusion follows logically from the premises.
-
(2)
The premises are true (valid).
-
(3)
The first premise is a law-like statement.
-
(4)
The second premise is an instantiation of the antecedent of the law-like premise; both premises together imply the conclusion, which is an instantiation of the consequent of the law-like statement.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Bibliography
Thomas Aquinas: 1964, Quaestiones Disputatae De Veritate. Marietti, Rome.
Thomas Aquinas: 1953, The Disputed Question on Truth. Translated by J. V. McGlynn S.J., Regnery, Chicago.
Thomas Aquinas: 1952, Summa Theologiae. Marietti, Rome.
Thomas Aquinas: 1963–73, Summa Theologiae. Latin text and English translation, Blackfriars, London.
Tuomela, R.: Human Action and its Explanation. Reidel, Dordrecht
Weingartner, P.: 1974, ‘Religiöser Fatalismus und das Problem des Übels’, in E. Weinzierl (ed.), Der Modernismus. Beiträge zu seiner Erforschung. Festschrift für Th. Michels. Styria, Graz, pp. 369–409.
Weingartner, P.: 1983, ‘Auf welchen Prinzipien beruht die Naturrechtslehre?’, in D. Mayer-Maly and P. M. Simons (eds.), Das Naturrechtsdenken heute und morgen. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, pp. 517–544.
Weingartner, P.: 1984, ‘On the Introduction of Teleological Arguments into Scientific Discourse’, in Archives de l’Institut International des Sciences Théoretiques 26. Proceedings of the Conference of the Academie International de Philosophie des Sciences. La Rabida, Sevilla, 1983, Office International de Librairie, pp. 196–217.
Weingartner, P.: 1986, ‘Gibt es rechtssystem-invariante Normen?’, forthcoming.
Weingartner, P. and G. Schurz: 1985, ‘Paradoxes solved by Simple Relevance Criteria’, in Logique et Analyse.
Von Wright, G. H.: 1971, Explanation and Understanding. Ithaca, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 D. Reidel Publishing Company
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Weingartner, P. (1987). Aquinas’ Theory of Conscience from a Logical Point of View. In: Zecha, G., Weingartner, P. (eds) Conscience: An Interdisciplinary View. Theory and Decision Library, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3821-2_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3821-2_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8200-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3821-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive