What Is Luther's View On The End Of A Moral Life

Martin Luther's "The Freedom of a Christian" discusses an in-depth look into the Christian faith, God's work in each individual. Refusing to believe in the established doctrine, Luther wrote this reforming treatise in response to Pope Leo's criticisms and to further explain the theological and ideological core of his thinking. Nevertheless, Luther centered his ideas around the concept that the joys and freedoms of a Christian were that in faith; humans, as sinners, should not look at ourselves, but instead at God's goodness. He goes on to elaborate that through the justification by faith, humans grasp the meaning of a whole Christian life. Throughout "The Freedom of a Christian", Luther expands on the threefold power of faith: faith frees

What do you think Dr. Martin Luther King’s moral theory was? He states, “We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom” but what is he moral decree? Perhaps he is a deontologist, a utilitarian, or a virtue ethicist? After reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, one may conclude their opinion on what moral action he stood by. Philosophy in moral theory is unique, because it helps draw the line for individuals to understand what actions are morally right or wrong.

For Dante and Aquinas, happiness does not only compose a useful life on earth but also in Heaven. Dante and Aquinas were sure that continued use of Aristotle virtues would not land any of their followers in heaven. To increase chances of one entering heaven, Dante and Aquinas developed proposed the incorporation of hope, faith, and charity into the daily virtues that people possess. According to Dante and Aquinas, possession of virtues like good temper and judgement could only lead one to live a good life but not perfect for heaven. Dante and Aquinas specifically based there philosophical thinking on four ideas; perfect ordinary happiness on earth, happiness on earth is not important as compared to happiness in Heaven, following of Aristotle virtues was not a problem to them but it could not help in trying moments, and lastly the importance of perfecting the art of love especially to people

In order to achieve this final, we need to live a virtuous life according to the Golden mean, which is finding the middle grounds of the virtues we live by. Aristotle explains that we should continuously act in accordance with virtues, which are acquired from our upbringing and experiences. Because Aristotle believed in teleology, he said that by aiming our actions toward an end (happiness), our souls need to work in the way of excellence.

Aquinas makes numerous claims regarding happiness. Specifically, Aquinas uses the term “happiness” in a sense of objective fulfillment, rather than subjective well-being. He asserts that human happiness does not consist in acquiring things such as money, honor, fame, power, goods of the body, or pleasure. He also claims that complete, i.e. perfect, happiness can only be achieved by contemplating God in the afterlife. I will discuss arguments for, arguments against, and my opinion for both claims.

It is imperative to understand Aquinas’ definition of just and unjust laws. Through defining these terms, we will be able to understand Aquinas’ claim. A law that is just has the power of “binding in conscience” (Aquinas in Dimock, ed., 2002, p.20). It is derived from eternal law and therefore inherently morally correct. An unjust law lacks this integral quality. Aquinas is willing to say that an unjust law is a so-called law, but a just law is a law proper in its entirety.

The term justification derives from the Greek word dikaios (from the New Testament), which simply meant to regard as righteous and to count as righteous. This was a huge awakening for Luther as he read Pauls epistle to the Romans which states “The just will live by faith”. Luther realised that the crucial way to achieve spiritual salvation was not to be scared or frightened of God but instead to believe that faith alone would bring salvation. (Sola fides).This is a very different approach to the Roman Catholic Church who draw their teachings from tradition which are handed down from the pope, as well as scripture and its teaching regarding salvation through faith and good works, but with a greater emphasis on good works.

…. virtue’s semblance. And when a man has brought forth and reared this perfect virtue, he ……. shall be called the friend of god, and if ever it is capable of man to enjoy immortality, it …… shall then be given to him”. (212d) These lines seem to be the entire neglection of material goods, but Socrates is not denying the importance of material goods. He emphasizes on the proper use of the material things rather than the importance of their presence in human life. Socrates is stressing upon the ultimate state of happiness, which would not be disturbed by the absence of material goods. The above line states that happiness is the innate quality of soul. Moreover, he said that when a person realizes his self-equipped and mortal state of soul, then he is able to find the true happiness in his life. The knowledge of true self is the path of happiness in human life. The knowledge of the true self destroys the material desires of people. This quote presents the idea that happiness is the vision of God, which is also a belief of Thomas Aquinas on the ultimate state of happiness (The Pursuits of Happiness) After the thousand years of Socrates’ demise, the master Gautam Buddha is also referred to the Socratic concept of happiness

The goal of the ethical life, according to Aristotle, is good. All human activity is directed toward

Based upon Aristotle’s principles, Thomas Aquinas assumes that one’s will is free and that this freedom is based in the nature of existing reality and the human psyche. His perspective of Christianity sees the utilization and development of free will as an essential and important part of human perfection. St. Thomas believes that, God created us all in

Secondly, Aquinas allows for flexibility and the reality of the world which in turn makes his Natural Law easier to follow. An example is the primary precept of reproduction, which at its core says any action that prevents the increase of our population is wrong. This is the basis for the Catholic Church’s stance against homosexuality, abortions, and contraception. However, if a woman with cancer is pregnant and opts to take chemotherapy and the result is the death of the fetus that is acceptable. Aquinas reasons it is acceptable because the death of the fetus was an unintended consequence of saving the life of the mother. Aquinas says that first the action must be good, in this case saving the life of the mother. The next part is the evil must be

With such a variety of ideas, Aristotle said it best that “…there is a very general agreement; for both the general run of men and people of superior refinement say that it is happiness… which is the highest good achievable …but with regard to what happiness is they differ…” (Martin, Solomon and Vaught 54). The years have yielded many ideas of ethics; however, four major principles of moral living that are considered the most suitable for all.

To start with, Aristotle highlights that the perception of virtue is different for everyone, and there are a lot of factors which influence it. For example, people's moral principles, mentality, the society they live in and its formative culture peculiarities. The highest human good is considered to be in close relations with the sense of happiness. As all people have different characters, attitudes to life, moral values, it is difficult to define the conditions on which their happiness depends. Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, writes that the highest human good "proves to be the activity of the soul in accord with virtue" (Aristotle, trans. Irvin T., 1999). In other words, it is the way of a person's appropriate behavior in the situations of different nature and difficulty in his or her life.

The understanding of moral philosophy lays the basis for comprehending the nature of any other type of philosophical discipline. Many of the philosophers in the past believed in the existence of a Mighty being who is in control of everything. In the same breath, Aristotle and Aquinas believed that God took care of everything, and only living a virtuous life guaranteed to be like Him. On some issues, Aquinas supported Aristotle 's thinking, while in others he differed intensely. To achieve this goal, an array of intellectual and ethical virtues enables an individual to seek proper means of reaching telos or final destination. Both scholars believed that all human beings aimed for a better ending termed eudemonia or happiness.

St. Thomas Aquinas was a philosopher that believed he was bounden to save people and not destroy them. However, his father tried to persuade him to become a lawyer, which of course he didn’t want to be. St.Thomas Aquinas was one that believed in the Natural Law Theory. This helped him create the eight essential features in what living things exhibit. St.Thomas is one that believes one's soul makes a person. There are civil laws that help him explain what a natural law is. All of this leads back to the main question which is, “How do we determine if something is moral, right or just?”