38. The Movement of the Will by Sense Appetite and Self-Movement

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Can Sense Appetite Move the Will? #

The Objection:

• The mover is superior to the patient (Augustine)
• Sense appetite is a particular power; the will is universal
• No particular power can cause a universal effect
• The will moves the sense appetite, not vice versa

Thomas’s Resolution:

• Although the will is superior simply (simpliciter), when a person is dominated by passion, the sense appetite becomes preeminent in that person
• Actions and choices concern singulars, not universals
• The sense appetite, attuned to particulars, has great power over what seems suitable in concrete situations
• Universal principles (e.g., “adultery is wrong”) must be applied to particular cases to move the will
• Scripture (James 1:14) confirms this: “Each one is tempted by his own concupiscence”

Disposition and the Perception of Good #

• What seems good and suitable depends on two things: the condition of what is proposed and the condition of the one to whom it is proposed
• Suitability is relational (secundum relationem) and depends on both extremes
• Example: The same wine tastes different to those with different experience and disposition
• Aristotle: “Such as a man is, so does he end the purity of”
• Passion creates a disposition (dispositionem) that changes what seems suitable
• When angry, violence might seem good; when anger passes, regret follows

The Will Moving Itself #

The Objections:

• Nothing moves itself (principle from Physics)
• The will is always present to itself, so if it moved itself, it would always be moving
• Two immediate movers cannot move the same act
• The will is moved by the understanding, so introducing self-movement creates problems

Thomas’s Resolution:

• The will moves itself, but not in the same respect (non eodem modo)
• The will wills the end absolutely by itself (from its nature)
• The will then moves itself to willing the means through deliberation (counsel/consilio)
• This is analogous to how reason knows principles by itself, then uses principles to understand conclusions
• The will reduces itself from potency to act: insofar as it is in act willing the end, it moves itself from potency to act regarding the means
• The will cannot be moved as a first mover; it requires an exterior first principle

Key Arguments #

For Sense Appetite Moving the Will #

1. Scripture (James 1:14): “Each one is tempted by his own concupiscence”

   • One would not be “drawn away” from concupiscence unless the will were moved by sense desire

2. Experience shows that passions influence willing

   • What seems suitable changes with emotional state
   • The same act seems good in anger, regrettable afterward

3. Actions concern singulars, not universals

   • Sense appetite is particularly attuned to singular goods
   • The universal principle requires application to the particular

Against the Will Moving Itself #

1. From Physics: Nothing moves itself; the mover and patient must be distinct
2. The will is always present to itself; if it moved itself, it would always be moving
3. The understanding already moves the will, so self-movement seems redundant

For the Will Moving Itself #

1. The will is “lord of its own act”
2. Free will requires the power to move oneself to willing
3. The will must move itself to will the means, given that it wills the end

Important Definitions #

Disposition (dispositio)

• A more general, weaker state of being inclined toward something (from the categories)
• Created by passion/emotion that causes a person to perceive things in a certain way
• Distinct from habit, which is more stable and permanent

Passion (passio)

• Another word for emotion
• An undergoing of the sense appetite
• Changes a man to some disposition
• Can cause what seems suitable to change radically

Concupiscence (concupiscentia)

• Sense desire, primarily
• The appetite for sensible goods
• Primarily involves what is agreeable or disagreeable to sense

Counsel (consilio) / Deliberation

• The act through which the will moves itself to willing the means
• Necessary because the will does not always will the end in act
• Involves thinking about how an end can be achieved

Suitable (conveniens)

• Said relationally, by relation (secundum relationem)
• Depends on both the object proposed and the disposition of the person
• What is suitable is determined by both factors together

Examples & Illustrations #

Wine Tasting and Disposition #

• One experienced in wine tasting perceives wines differently than a novice
• The same wine tastes different depending on one’s experience and prior tasting
• What seems suitable depends on both the wine and the taster’s condition

Shakespeare’s “The Wrath of Love” #

• Two lovers in the wrath of love cannot be separated even by clubs
• Uses two strong emotions (irascible and concupiscible) that have a certain likeness
• Illustrates how intense emotions override reason

Anger and Violence #

• In anger, hitting someone might seem suitable
• When anger subsides, the same act seems regrettable
• The disposition created by passion changes what appears good

Homer’s Iliad: Achilles and Agamemnon #

• Both noble men dominated by anger
• Achilles refuses to fight until his friend is killed
• Illustrates how passion can dominate even great men
• The goddess Hera distracts Zeus from governance through his emotions

The Blue Angel (Film) #

• A pedantic professor is seduced by a cabaret singer
• The particular woman seems so desirable that it destroys his life as a teacher
• Shows how the singular can override all other considerations

Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure #

• Angelo, “the angelic one,” is brought down by lust for a particular woman
• Illustrates how a particular desirable thing can overcome universal principles

Notable Quotes #

“Each one is tempted by his own concupiscence” — James 1:14 (Scripture)

“The agent is more outstanding (prestantius) than the patient” — Augustine, Genesis to the Letter, Book XII

“Such as a man is, so does he end the purity of” — Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book III (cited by Thomas)

“Things in motion, soon it catches the eye; and what not stirs right?” — Shakespeare (cited by Berquist on why emotions are more noticeable than intellectual acts)

“The will is not, by the same, moving or mover, and is moved… but insofar as in act, it wills the end, it reduces itself from potency to act in regard to those things which are to the end.” — Thomas Aquinas (on how the will moves itself)

Questions Addressed #

Article 2: Is the Will Moved by Sense Appetite? #

Resolution: Yes, in a qualified sense. Although the will is superior to sense appetite simply, sense appetite can move the will because:

1. Actions concern singulars, where sense appetite has particular power
2. Passion creates a disposition that changes what seems suitable
3. The universal principle must be applied to the particular case
4. Scripture confirms this (James 1:14)

Article 3: Does the Will Move Itself? #

Resolution: Yes, but in a qualified sense. The will moves itself from potency to act regarding the means insofar as it already wills the end:

1. The will wills the end by its nature (not by moving itself)
2. The will moves itself to willing the means through counsel/deliberation
3. This is analogous to reason understanding conclusions from principles
4. The will cannot be the first mover; it requires an exterior first principle
5. The will is not in potency and in act in the same respect

Pedagogical Notes #

Berquist emphasizes:

• The importance of distinctions: between power and act, between simply/secundum se and in some way
• How universal principles require application to particulars to move action
• The analogy between intellect (knowing principles, then using them to know conclusions) and will (willing the end, then moving itself to the means)
• The experiential reality of passion influencing judgment, despite its apparent irrationality