Theological and Cardinal Virtues Flashcards

The vice of 'acedia' (sloth) in classical Catholic moral theology refers specifically to:

Answer: Spiritual torpor and sorrow at the good of God — resistance to spiritual effort and divine love

Acedia (from Greek: without care) is the spiritual vice of sorrow at divine goods — a kind of spiritual depression that makes one resist God's love and the demands of spiritual life.

The virtue of fortitude in classical moral theology enables a person to:

Answer: Overcome fear and rash impulse in the pursuit of good and avoidance of evil

Fortitude (courage/bravery) moderates the fear that might prevent right action and the recklessness that might lead to rash action — it is the mean between cowardice and recklessness.

In the Catholic understanding of the 'gifts of the Holy Spirit,' they differ from the theological virtues because:

Answer: Gifts are dispositions that make one more docile to the Holy Spirit's direct movements, beyond ordinary virtue

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2-3) are dispositions enabling the soul to follow the Spirit's direct inspirations, acting beyond what ordinary virtue and reason can achieve.

Which medieval theologian wrote 'The Seven Capital Vices' framework that classified serious sins opposing the virtues?

Answer: John Cassian and Pope Gregory the Great

John Cassian (5th century) developed an eight-vice list from Desert Fathers, which Pope Gregory the Great (6th century) refined into the classic seven capital sins (capital = head-vices generating other sins).

The theological virtue of faith in Catholic theology involves:

Answer: Both intellectual assent and personal trust in God who reveals

Catholic faith involves both fides (intellectual assent to revealed truth) and fiducia (personal trust in the God who reveals) — it is neither blind nor merely intellectual.

In Aquinas's virtue ethics, 'virtue' is defined as a habit that:

Answer: Perfects the human person and disposes them toward their proper end

For Aquinas (following Aristotle), virtue is an operative habit (habitus operativus) that perfects the human person's faculties and disposes them toward genuine human flourishing and, ultimately, God.