Aquinas on Responsibility for Effects and Moral Luck
Abstract
Abstract: In this essay, I clarify in which cases Aquinas ascribes responsibility to agents for the effects of their human acts. In doing so, I elucidate the nature of the per se and per accidens effects of human acts. I argue that not all per se effects of human acts are intended; nor do they all follow for the most part. Rather, a per se effect of a human act is what follows from the intrinsic teleology of an act when brought to bear upon a certain patient. Furthermore, I argue that Aquinas's attribution of responsibility to some effects of human acts, combined with his views on the non-necessitation of causes, entails that he is committed to resultant moral luck.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Medieval Philosophy and Theology
Philosophical Ethics and Theory
Theology and Philosophy of Evil
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Thomist: A Speculative Quarterly Review
- Volume
- 90
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 49–78
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN