193. Prayer, Virtue, and Emotional Life in Thomistic Philosophy

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Three Forms of Prayer #

• Petition: Asking God for suitable things and avoiding evils—the most self-focused form of prayer
• Thanksgiving: Gratitude for goods received and evils prevented—occupies a middle position
• Praise: Contemplation of God’s excellence independent of personal benefit—the most selfless form

Thankgiving serves as a “stepping stone” between petition and praise, moving progressively away from self-interest toward pure contemplation of God.

Ordering of Thanksgiving #

Berquist proposes a proper hierarchical order for giving thanks to God:

1. God’s free choice to create one’s immortal soul (God’s will is freely directed toward each person)
2. Creation of the immortal soul itself
3. Creation of the body through parents’ union
4. Parents meeting and coming together
5. Siblings and family members
6. Teachers and formative influences
7. Descendants and future generations

This order reflects looking “before and after”—understanding causality and the chain of being that precedes one’s existence.

Psalm 99/100 as Model for Spiritual Progression #

The psalm structure illustrates movement from external action to interior contemplation:

• “Sing joyfully to the Lord” (external service, petition)
• “Come before him with a joyful song” (thanksgiving, moving closer)
• “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise” (pure praise, deepest communion)

This progression mirrors Augustine’s understanding of approaching God’s presence through thanksgiving into his courts through praise.

The Problem of Sin in Sensuality (Emotional Life) #

Three objections to sin existing in the sensitive appetite:

1. Sin is unique to humans, but sensuality is common to humans and animals, so sensuality cannot be subject to sin
2. No one sins in what they cannot avoid, but sensuality is perpetually disordered due to original sin’s effects, so its disorder cannot be sin
3. Sin requires deliberation of reason, but sensuality acts without reason’s deliberation, so emotional motions are not imputed as sins

Thomas’s response: Sin can exist in sensuality because the sensitive appetite in humans has an excellence distinguishing it from animals—it is apt to obey reason and can be voluntary.

The Role of Reason in Emotional Life #

Reason should rule the emotions like a father rules a son, not like a master rules a slave (contra the Stoics). A father:

• Requires obedience from the son
• But respects the son’s own choices and inclinations within reason
• Listens to what the son genuinely wants and guides accordingly

Treating emotions like slaves (crushing them) leads to psychological problems; proper rule preserves emotional autonomy while directing it toward virtue.

Music, Art, and Emotional Formation #

• Good music (Baroque, Mozart) appeals to emotions while moving them in reasonable ways, disposing the soul toward moral virtue
• It does not make one virtuous but disposes toward virtue by giving emotions something they naturally rejoice in
• Good fiction (Shakespeare, Mozart operas) leads toward virtue through suitable representation
• Bad music (rock and roll) leads people astray through excessive, disordered emotional stimulation

Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro exemplifies this: the progression of the opera leads emotions toward forgiveness and reconciliation through beautiful music that moves passions suitably.

Perpetual Corruption from Original Sin #

Original sin’s effects remain in this life even after baptism washes away guilt:

• The fomes (tendency toward sin, the corruption of sensuality) is never wholly taken away
• However, this does not prevent reason and will from repressing individual disordered emotional motions
• One can divert thought to other things, but this may give rise to different disordered emotions (e.g., switching from lust to vain glory)
• Therefore, one cannot avoid all disordered motions, but can avoid particular ones

This suffices for the voluntary character of sin—not that all sensuality is avoidable, but that particular motions are.

Unpremeditated vs. Deliberate Acts #

Acts done without reason’s deliberation are not perfectly human acts and thus not perfectly virtuous or sinful. Such acts are imperfect in the genus of sin—they constitute venial sin, not mortal sin. Thomas acknowledges that the objections contain partial truth but not the whole truth.

Key Arguments #

The Voluntary Character of Sensuality #

• Sensuality is common to humans and animals, yet in humans it has excellence: it is apt to obey reason
• Because it can be moved by the will, acts of sensuality can be voluntary
• Voluntary acts that are disordered (contrary to reason) constitute sin
• Therefore sin can exist in sensuality despite its being shared with animals

Why Animals Do Not Sin #

• Animals lack reason; they cannot divert thought or repress motions
• Reason is what distinguishes human from animal sensuality
• The dog biting or barking merely does what it naturally does—no sin imputable
• Only when the sensitive appetite is moved by reason’s choice (or failure to control) does sin occur

The Gradation of Human Acts #

• Acts without reason’s deliberation are imperfect human acts
• External bodily members (hand, foot) are mere tools that do not originate acts; they are tools moved by the soul
• Disordered motions of sensuality arising before reason can deliberate are venial sins (imperfect genus of sin)
• Acts with full deliberation of reason are perfectly human acts and perfectly sinful (mortal sins)

Reason’s Authority Over Emotion #

• If reason rules emotions like a master rules a slave, it crushes them—psychologically harmful
• If reason rules like a father, it preserves the emotions’ autonomy while guiding them
• The son has some choice; the father respects genuine inclinations within reason
• Good art and music accomplish this by giving emotions reasonable objects of delight

Important Definitions #

Fomes (tendency toward sin) #

The perpetual corruption or inclination toward disordered sensuality that remains as an effect of original sin even after guilt is forgiven. It is never wholly taken away in this mortal life.

Reminiscence (reminiscentia) #

Distinguished from mere animal memory. A kind of discourse of reason applied to memory, where one thing leads to another through rational connection. Unique to human beings. Example: being asked what one was doing at a specific time, one reconstructs the day through a series of connected memories (syllogism-like but not strict syllogism).

Cogitativa (particular reason) #

The sensitive faculty in humans that, unlike in animals, brings together individual images and can reason about particulars. This excellence of the sensitive part in humans distinguishes it from the merely animal.

Venial sin #

Sin that is imperfect in the genus of sin—acts of sensuality arising without full deliberation of reason. Not as serious as mortal sin, which involves complete deliberation and consent.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Businessman and His Son #

A wealthy businessman wanted his son to attend prestigious Amherst College, planning a path to glory. The son flunked out in the first year. When asked what he truly wanted, the son replied: “a filling station” to work on cars. The father, being wise, bought him the filling station, and the son thrived. This illustrates how reason should rule emotions and desires like a father ruling a son—respecting genuine inclinations within reason rather than crushing them with arbitrary authority.

Reminiscence and Shakespeare #

Berquist awoke thinking of Shakespeare’s three good-natured comedies, remembering two immediately (Comedy of Errors, The Merry Wives of Windsor) but forgetting the third. Through reminiscence—noticing that Comedy and Merry had the words in their titles—he later recalled The Taming of the Shrew. He then recognized the connection: The Merry Wives depicts a man being made fun of (Falstaff), while The Taming of the Shrew depicts a woman being tamed. This discourse of reason in memory illustrates human reminiscence.

Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro #

The opera demonstrates how great art leads emotions toward virtue. The plot involves Figaro and Susanna preparing to marry while the Count pursues Susanna. The music emotionally attaches the audience to the lovers against the Count’s vice. At the end, the Count kneels asking forgiveness from his wife (disguised as Susanna). The Countess’s aria (“Porgi, amore”) beautifully portrays her emotional depth—realizing she is aging while the Count pursues younger women. Mozart’s music moves the emotions reasonably toward forgiveness and reconciliation, not toward disorder.

The Stone on the Car #

Driving through Maine with a new car, Berquist was passed by an impatient driver whose tire kicked up a stone, marking the car. When he stopped and examined it, he was initially upset. He then practiced philosophical detachment: “I’m a philosopher; I don’t get upset at those things.” He used his will to divert thought from the mark and its emotional weight, illustrating how reason can repress particular disordered emotions by redirecting attention.

Rock and Roll Concert vs. Baroque Music #

Berquist’s cousin attended a rock and roll concert where people were throwing chairs and “going wild.” This music does not dispose people toward virtue; it leads them astray. In contrast, Baroque and Mozart’s instrumental symphonies have a proper emotional effect, moving feelings in reasonable ways. Even Romantic composers like Tchaikovsky would listen to Mozart to “escape from the Romantic period and all its disorder.”

Notable Quotes #

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise.” (Psalm 99/100) Illustrates the spiritual progression: thanksgiving brings one to the gates; praise brings one into the inner courts.

“The now that stands still makes eternity; the now that flows along makes time.” (Boethius, via Thomas) Used to explain how God’s eternal choice of each person to exist is not in temporal sequence but in the eternal present.

“Not the good that I will, this do I do, but the evil that I hate, that I do.” (Romans 7, via St. Paul and Augustine) Cited to show that sin can be found in sensuality even when deliberation is absent, since concupiscence itself involves disordered motion of the emotions.

Questions Addressed #

Can sin exist in sensuality if sensuality is common to humans and animals? #

Yes. While sensuality is common, it has an excellence in humans: it is apt to obey reason and can be moved by the will. This excellence makes sensuality in humans capable of being voluntary and thus subject to sin, unlike in animals where it is merely instinctive.

Why can’t we avoid all disordered emotions if original sin’s corruption is always present? #

Original sin’s effect (fomes) cannot be wholly removed in this life, so one cannot avoid all disordered motions. However, one can avoid particular motions by using reason and will to repress them or divert thought. This suffices for moral responsibility since perfect avoidance is impossible but particular acts are avoidable.

How should reason rule the sensitive appetites? #

Like a father rules a son, not a master rules a slave. A father requires obedience but respects the son’s genuine inclinations and choices within reason. Good art and music exemplify this: they give emotions reasonable objects of delight, disposing them toward virtue without crushing them through tyrannical suppression.

How does emotional formation through art relate to moral virtue? #

Good art (Baroque, Mozart, Shakespeare) disposes emotions toward virtue by moving passions in reasonable ways. This disposition is not yet virtue itself, but it prepares the soul for virtue by training emotions to rejoice in good things and to respond properly to beautiful representations of virtue and reconciliation.

What is the relationship between thanksgiving and praise? #

Thanksgving is a middle term between petition and praise. Petition is self-focused (asking for one’s needs). Thanksgiving acknowledges God’s goodness but still relates to personal benefit. Praise forgets oneself entirely and considers only God’s excellence and worthiness. Thanksgiving thus serves as a “stepping stone” toward pure praise.