Las circunstancias del acto humano en la filosofía moral de Tomás de Aquino

Abstract

The present article presents the notions of circumstance in the moral philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. In the first place the theoretical framework is outlined, emphasising the concepts of will, object and end. Secondly, the ontology of the circumstances is analysez, showing that they qualify as accidents of voluntary actions as opposed to their substance. Thirdly, the explanatory power of this theory will be looked at. Thus, the conclusions are twofold: (1) the ontology of the theory of circumstances seems to be flawed, and (2) despite this shortcoming, it still has a considerable explanatory force to account for the complexity of voluntary actiosn in particular contexts.