34. Circumstances of Human Acts and Their Theological Necessity

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Definition of Circumstance: That which exists outside the substance of an act but in some way touches upon or attends to it
• The Question: Should theologians consider circumstances when evaluating human acts?
• The Enumeration Problem: How are the seven or eight circumstances organized and what is the principle of their division?
• Theological Integration: How do circumstances relate to the theologian’s study of acts ordered to beatitude, moral quality, and meritoriousness

Key Arguments #

Against Considering Circumstances (Objections) #

• Acts are qualified formally only by what is intrinsic to them, not by external conditions
• Circumstances are accidents, and infinite accidents cannot be the subject of art or science (per Metaphysics VI)
• The consideration of circumstances belongs to the rhetorician, not the theologian
• Circumstances do not pertain to the substance of an act, so they should not be a subject of theological consideration

For Considering Circumstances (Thomas’s Resolution) #

First Reason: The theologian considers human acts insofar as they are ordered to beatitude. Everything ordered to an end must be proportioned to that end. Acts are proportioned to their end through suitable circumstances; therefore, the theologian must consider circumstances.

Second Reason: The theologian considers human acts according as they manifest good and bad, better and worse. These moral distinctions are diversified according to circumstances.

Third Reason: The theologian considers acts as meritorious or demeritorious, which requires that they be voluntary. Human acts are judged voluntary or involuntary according to knowledge or ignorance of circumstances. Therefore, circumstantial knowledge is essential to theological judgment.

Response to the “Acts Denominated Externally” Objection #

Things can be denominated not only from what is intrinsic to them but also from what is adjacent or external to them. Examples: “right” and “left,” “equal” and “unequal,” “similar.” Since the goodness of acts pertains to them insofar as they are useful to an end, acts can be good or bad according to their proportion to things outside themselves.

Response to the “Infinite Accidents” Objection #

Accidents that are per se infinite (any accident whatsoever) are not the subject of art or science. However, circumstances are not such infinite accidents. By definition, circumstances are those things outside the substance of an act that nevertheless in some way touch upon it and are ordered to it. These are definite and limited, not infinite.

Important Definitions #

• Circumstance (circumstantia): That which stands around (circumstat) an act; something outside the substance of the act but touching upon it in some way; an accident of the act
• Substance of the act: What the act essentially is; determined by its object and end
• Quis (Who): The agent performing the act
• Quid (What): The object or matter of the act
• Ubi (Where): The place of the act
• Quibus auxiliis (By what aids): The instruments or means employed
• Cur (Why): The final cause or purpose
• Quomodo (In what manner): The mode or quality of the act
• Quando (When): The time of the act
• Circa quid (About what/whom): The person or thing affected (added by Aristotle)
• Modus agenda: The manner of acting; a special circumstance affecting the quality of the act
• Proportioned to the end: A condition where the means and circumstances are suitable to achieving the intended end

Thomas’s Systematic Division of Circumstances #

Circumstances touch upon acts in three ways:

1. As to the act itself: By way of measure

   • Time (measures motion)
   • Place (measures things in space)
   • Mode/quality (the manner in which the act is performed)

2. As to the causes of the act:

   • Agent cause (divided into): who (principal agent) and by what aids (instrumental cause)
   • Final cause: why (the purpose for which)
   • Material cause: about what/whom (the object or person affected)

3. As to the effect: What was done (quid)

This division respects the Thomistic “rule of two or three”—the principle that the human mind can only digest knowledge when it is divided into at most two or three primary divisions, with further subdivisions following the same principle.

Examples & Illustrations #

Moral Significance Through Circumstances #

Killing: The substance is killing, but circumstances vastly affect moral quality:

• Killing a stranger vs. killing one’s father (patricide is worse)
• Killing during the consecration adds sacrilege
• Killing in self-defense may be justified
• A son killing his mother who murdered his father presents a complex circumstance: she is both guilty and his mother

Theft: The substance is taking what is not one’s own, but:

• Stealing a large sum vs. stealing a penny differ in gravity
• Hate crimes—theft motivated by racial hatred—add a circumstance of malice
• A circumstance does not give the species to the act (she is not mine is substance, not circumstance), but cold vs. hot water in ablution is a circumstance

Eating and Drinking:

• Eating meat on Friday (by circumstance of day) was wrong
• Eating more on Thanksgiving than other days is appropriate to circumstance
• Drinking before driving is worse than drinking at home
• One beer vs. two beers differs by circumstance of quantity and agent capacity

Corporal Punishment in School: The teacher’s hitting a child can be judged by circumstance—where the blow lands, how hard, whether permanent damage results. The circumstance determines whether it is acceptable correction or abuse.

Teaching Method Example #

Berquist illustrates the importance of circumstantial thinking: a teacher cannot determine whether eating candy in church is appropriate without considering all circumstances. Similarly, driving at 40 mph differs in moral quality depending on whether it is on a highway or in a school zone.

Questions Addressed #

Should Circumstances Be Considered by the Theologian? #

Answer: Yes, for three reasons:

1. Acts are ordered to beatitude and must be proportioned to this end through suitable circumstances
2. The moral quality (good/bad, better/worse) is diversified by circumstances
3. Voluntariness itself depends on knowledge or ignorance of circumstances

Circumstances pertain not only to the moral philosopher and rhetorician but to the theologian, who integrates all three disciplines in evaluating acts for their merit or demerit before God.

How Should the Seven or Eight Circumstances Be Enumerated? #

Objection: Only time and place are true “circumstances” since they are external; why include agent, purpose, object, means, and manner?

Resolution:

• Time and place are measures of the act itself (time measures motion; place measures positioned things)
• Other circumstances touch the act through its causes (agent, end, material object, instrument) and effects (what was done)
• The enumeration follows a rational division into categories rather than an arbitrary list: those pertaining to the act itself (two types), those pertaining to causes (four types), and those pertaining to effects (one type)
• This respects the rule of two or three in logical division

Is the “Mode” (Modus Agenda) a Separate Circumstance? #

Answer: The question of whether an act is done well or badly is not itself a separate circumstance but rather something that falls upon all circumstances. Any of the seven circumstances can be done well or poorly. However, there is a special circumstance called modus agenda—the mode or manner in which an act is performed (swiftly or slowly, gently or harshly)—which pertains to the quality of the act itself.

Do Circumstances of the Causes Count as Circumstances? #

Answer: Yes, but with an important distinction. A condition that the act depends on for its very substance is not a circumstance—it is part of the act’s essence. For example:

• In theft, that something is “not mine” is substance, not circumstance
• In ablution, that one washes with water is substance
• In the courageous man, that he acts for liberation of the city is a circumstance; that he acts courageously (the mode) is not what gives species to the act

A circumstance must be something adjoined (adjunctus) to the act, existing outside its substance, even if deriving from the causes.

Pedagogical Notes #

Berquist emphasizes that:

• The understanding of circumstances is crucial for confessors, who must weigh circumstances when evaluating sins
• The rule of two or three reflects how the human mind naturally organizes knowledge: excessive enumeration causes “indigestion” of the mind
• There is a difference between enumeration (listing items) and division (organizing them logically into categories and subdivisions)
• Circumstances illustrate why the practical sciences are less certain than theoretical ones: practical wisdom requires consideration of infinitely variable contextual factors