The Difficult Good: A Thomistic Approach to Moral Conflict and Human Happiness

Summary

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For Aquinas, the human good is by definition a bonum arduum, a difficult good, writes Mclnerny, "beset by obstacles both inside and outside us, obstacles which make a drama out of our desire for happiness by creating conflicts: conflicts between ourselves and others, conflicts between ourselves and physical nature, conflicts between the better and worse angels of our spiritual nature, and conflicts between our most sincere opinions about what is best for us." While Aristotle and Aquinas have much to say about sadness at the loss of bodily goods and external goods due to ill fortune, they both recognize an intellectual or spiritual component that contributes to a full life, a life of virtue, that in itself may be equated with a happy life In furthering the present discussion, Mclnerny draws on uncommon erudition to illustrate the human condition and what it means to be with and without a time-transcending moral compass in the pursuit of the difficult good.

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The Difficult Good: A Thomistic Approach to Moral Conflict and Human Happiness

MCINERNY, Daniel. The Difficult Good: A Thomistic Approach to Moral Conflict and Human Happiness. New York: Fordham University Press, 2006. xii + 212 pp. Cloth, $60.00-Courage is usually defined as the pursuit of the ...

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