THE *SUMMA THEOLOGICA* AS COMPLETE SYSTEMATIC INTEGRATION OF STERLING'S FRAMEWORK

 # Aquinas's *Summa Theologica* Grounded in Sterling's Six Philosophical Commitments

## **THE *SUMMA THEOLOGICA* AS COMPLETE SYSTEMATIC INTEGRATION OF STERLING'S FRAMEWORK**

Aquinas's *Summa Theologica* provides the most comprehensive and systematic articulation of all six of Sterling's philosophical commitments within a unified theological-philosophical system. Where Plato provides metaphysical foundations and Aristotle shows practical application, Aquinas synthesizes both into a complete system that explicitly addresses every dimension of Sterling's framework.

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## **I. MORAL REALISM: NATURAL LAW AS PARTICIPATION IN ETERNAL LAW**

**Sterling's Commitment:** Virtue objectively good, vice objectively evil.

**Aquinas's Foundation:** Natural law is **objective moral reality grounded in eternal divine reason** (Prima Secundae, Q.91-94).

**The Systematic Framework:**

**1. Eternal Law (Lex Aeterna):**

- The divine rational ordering of all creation

- Exists in God's mind as the blueprint for all goodness

- Absolutely objective, unchanging, necessary

**2. Natural Law (Lex Naturalis):**

- Rational creatures' **participation in eternal law**

- Known through reason examining human nature

- Universal, immutable in first principles

- I-II, Q.94, Art.2: "The natural law is nothing else than the rational creature's participation in the eternal law"

**3. Human Law (Lex Humana):**

- Particular applications of natural law

- Valid only when corresponding to natural law

**Key Passages:**

- **I-II, Q.94, Art.2:** Natural law precepts are self-evident to practical reason

- **I-II, Q.18, Art.5:** Acts are good/evil based on conformity to reason and eternal law

- **I-II, Q.71, Art.2:** Vice is objectively contrary to rational nature

**How This Grounds Sterling:** When Sterling says "virtue is the only genuine good," Aquinas provides complete metaphysical grounding: virtue is conformity to natural law, which participates in eternal law, which IS divine goodness itself. This isn't preference or convention—it's the structure of reality grounded in God's being.

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## **II. ETHICAL INTUITIONISM: SYNDERESIS AND NATURAL LAW KNOWLEDGE**

**Sterling's Commitment:** Moral truths directly apprehensible through reason.

**Aquinas's Foundation:** **Synderesis** is the natural habit of first moral principles—the mind's innate capacity to grasp fundamental moral truths immediately.

**The Cognitive Framework:**

**1. Synderesis (Natural Moral Knowledge):**

- **I, Q.79, Art.12:** Synderesis is the habit containing the precepts of natural law

- Analogous to how intellect grasps first principles in speculative reasoning

- "Good is to be done and pursued, evil avoided" is self-evident to practical reason

- Not learned through experience—naturally known by rational beings

**2. Practical Reason (*Ratio Practica*):**

- **I-II, Q.94, Art.2:** First principles of practical reason are known per se (through themselves)

- Just as "the whole is greater than the part" is self-evident to theoretical reason, moral first principles are self-evident to practical reason

**3. Natural Inclinations as Guides:**

- **I-II, Q.94, Art.2:** We know natural law by examining natural human inclinations ordered by reason

- Self-preservation, procreation, knowledge of truth, social life—these point to objective human goods

**Key Passages:**

- **I-II, Q.94, Art.2:** "This is the first precept of law, that good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided"

- **I-II, Q.100, Art.1:** The precepts of natural law are to practical reason what first principles of demonstration are to speculative reason

**How This Grounds Sterling:** When Sterling claims we can know through reason that externals are indifferent, he's describing what Aquinas calls synderesis and natural law reasoning. This knowledge is immediate rational intuition, not empirical observation or cultural learning.

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## **III. SUBSTANCE DUALISM: THE RATIONAL SOUL AS SUBSISTENT FORM**

**Sterling's Commitment:** You are your rational faculty, not your body.

**Aquinas's Foundation:** The rational soul is **subsistent form**—it can exist and operate independently of matter (Prima Pars, Q.75-76).

**The Metaphysical Analysis:**

**1. Soul as Form of the Body:**

- **I, Q.76, Art.1:** The intellectual principle (soul) is the form of the body

- But unlike material forms, the rational soul is **subsistent**—it has being in itself

**2. Intellectual Operations Transcend Matter:**

- **I, Q.75, Art.2:** The intellect's operation is not the act of a bodily organ

- Knowing universal truths requires immaterial faculty

- Therefore, the rational soul must be immaterial

**3. Immortality of the Soul:**

- **I, Q.75, Art.6:** Because the rational soul is subsistent, it doesn't corrupt when the body dies

- The soul's capacity for universal knowledge proves its transcendence

**4. Person as Rational Substance:**

- **I, Q.29, Art.1:** Person is "individual substance of rational nature"

- Your personhood consists in rational nature, not bodily properties

**Key Passages:**

- **I, Q.75, Art.2:** "It is clear that the principle of intellectual operation... is not a body, nor dependent on a body"

- **I, Q.76, Art.1:** "The intellectual soul is united to the body as its form"

**How This Grounds Sterling:** "Everything else, including my body, is external" is precise Thomistic metaphysics. Your essential self is your rational soul, which is subsistent form capable of existing independently. Bodily states are accidents affecting the composite, not your essential identity.

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## **IV. LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL: THE WILL'S RADICAL FREEDOM**

**Sterling's Commitment:** Genuine agency in assent—you truly control your choices.

**Aquinas's Foundation:** The will possesses **radical freedom** because intellect can grasp multiple goods (Prima Secundae, Q.6, 9-10, 13).

**The Analysis of Free Choice:**

**1. The Will's Object:**

- **I-II, Q.1, Art.6:** The will's proper object is the good apprehended by reason

- **I-II, Q.10, Art.2:** The will is necessitated only by the universal good (God)

- All particular goods are deficient—therefore will remains free regarding them

**2. Liberum Arbitrium (Free Choice):**

- **I, Q.83, Art.1:** "Man has free choice, or otherwise counsels, exhortations, commands, prohibitions, rewards and punishments would be in vain"

- Free choice is the power to judge about actions—judgment from reason combined with movement from will

**3. Freedom from Necessity:**

- **I-II, Q.6, Art.1-3:** Voluntary actions proceed from an internal principle with knowledge of the end

- Coercion destroys voluntariness

- **I-II, Q.10, Art.4:** No created good necessitates the will

**4. Self-Determination:**

- **I-II, Q.9, Art.3:** The will moves itself—it is both mover and moved

- Through reason, the will can reflect on its own acts and determine itself

**Key Passages:**

- **I-II, Q.13, Art.6:** "Man does not choose of necessity"

- **I, Q.83, Art.1:** Free choice is essential to rational beings

**How This Grounds Sterling:** Sterling's entire system depends on genuine control over assent. Aquinas provides complete philosophical justification: the will is free because intellect grasps multiple possible goods, allowing genuine self-determination. Character transformation through training is possible because we truly control our responses.

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## **V. FOUNDATIONALISM: SACRED DOCTRINE AS SCIENCE FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES**

**Sterling's Commitment:** Systematic knowledge possible from self-evident starting points.

**Aquinas's Foundation:** Sacred doctrine proceeds **scientifically from first principles** (Prima Pars, Q.1), and natural reason operates the same way.

**The Methodological Framework:**

**1. Sacred Doctrine as Science:**

- **I, Q.1, Art.2:** Sacred doctrine is a science proceeding from principles known through divine revelation

- But these principles are self-evident to God and the blessed

- Lower sciences accept principles from higher sciences

**2. Natural Reason's First Principles:**

- **I, Q.2, Art.1:** Some propositions are self-evident in themselves and to us

- First principle of demonstration: principle of non-contradiction

- First principle of practical reason: good is to be pursued

**3. Systematic Development:**

- The entire *Summa* demonstrates foundationalist method

- Begin with self-evident truths about God, creation, human nature

- Derive comprehensive conclusions through rigorous logical deduction

**4. Certainty of Conclusions:**

- **I, Q.1, Art.5:** Sacred doctrine is the most certain of sciences because grounded in divine knowledge

- Natural demonstration from first principles yields certain knowledge in its domain

**Key Passages:**

- **I, Q.1, Art.2:** "Those things which are derived from the principles are known to us by faith"

- **I-II, Q.94, Art.2:** First principles of natural law are self-evident

**How This Grounds Sterling:** Sterling's confidence in "guaranteed results" reflects Thomistic foundationalism. If premises are certain (we are rational beings, virtue is our proper function, we control our choices) and reasoning is valid, conclusions follow with certainty: systematic virtue development must produce reliable happiness.

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## **VI. CORRESPONDENCE THEORY: TRUTH AS ADEQUATION**

**Sterling's Commitment:** Judgments can match or fail to match objective reality.

**Aquinas's Foundation:** **Truth is adequation of intellect and thing** (*veritas est adaequatio rei et intellectus*) (Prima Pars, Q.16).

**The Theory of Truth:**

**1. Truth Defined:**

- **I, Q.16, Art.1:** "Truth is the conformity of intellect and thing"

- A judgment is true when it corresponds to the way things actually are

- False when it attributes properties things don't have

**2. Ontological vs. Logical Truth:**

- **Ontological truth:** Things are true insofar as they conform to divine intellect (their exemplar)

- **Logical truth:** Our judgments are true insofar as they conform to things

- Both involve correspondence

**3. Practical Truth:**

- **I-II, Q.57, Art.5:** "The true is the good of the intellect"

- Practical intellect's truth consists in conformity to right appetite

- Virtue is truth in action—conformity of will to right reason

**4. Error as Non-Correspondence:**

- **I, Q.17, Art.1:** Falsity is the non-conformity of intellect and thing

- Vice involves false practical judgments about what is genuinely good

**Key Passages:**

- **I, Q.16, Art.2:** "The truth of our intellect is caused by its conformity with things"

- **I-II, Q.64, Art.3:** Virtue is truth about human good; vice is error

**How This Grounds Sterling:** When Sterling corrects "false value beliefs," he's using Thomistic correspondence theory. Judgments that externals have genuine value are FALSE—they don't correspond to reality about what participates in eternal goodness. Right judgments correspond to natural law structure of reality.

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## **THE INTEGRATED SYSTEM:**

### **How the Six Commitments Work Together in Aquinas:**

**FOUNDATIONALISM** → Sacred doctrine and natural reason from first principles

↓

**CORRESPONDENCE THEORY** → Truth as adequation to reality

↓

**MORAL REALISM** → Natural law participates in eternal law

↓

**ETHICAL INTUITIONISM** → Synderesis grasps moral first principles

↓

**SUBSTANCE DUALISM** → Rational soul as subsistent form

↓

**LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL** → Will's radical freedom from necessity

### **The Thomistic Guarantee for Sterling's System:**

If Aquinas's framework is correct, Sterling's promise follows with theological certainty:

1. **Virtue is objectively good** (participates in eternal law/divine goodness)

2. **We can know this through synderesis** (natural moral knowledge)

3. **Our knowledge corresponds to reality** (adequation to natural law)

4. **We are essentially rational souls** (subsistent form)

5. **We genuinely control our choices** (liberum arbitrium)

6. **Systematic method yields certain results** (foundationalist demonstration)

Therefore: Rational agents who understand natural law, align judgments with eternal law, and systematically develop virtue through free choices must achieve beatitude (natural happiness), because virtue IS conformity to rational nature which IS participation in divine goodness.

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## **STERLING'S STOICISM AS APPLIED THOMISM:**

**The Complete Synthesis:**

- **Aquinas provides:** Complete theological-philosophical system integrating all six commitments

- **Epictetus provides:** Practical techniques for systematic virtue training

- **Sterling integrates:** Thomistic foundations + Stoic practice = guaranteed Christian Stoicism

**Why Aquinas Is Ultimate Foundation:**

Aquinas synthesizes everything needed:

- **Plato's Forms** → become divine ideas in God's mind

- **Aristotle's virtue ethics** → grounded in natural law participation in eternal law

- **Christian theology** → provides ultimate guarantee (God) and ultimate end (beatitude)

- **Complete psychology** → explains how transformation actually works

- **Systematic method** → demonstrates certainty of conclusions

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## **CRITICAL THOMISTIC INSIGHTS FOR STERLING:**

### **1. Virtue as Participation in Divine Goodness**

**I-II, Q.55, Art.4:** "Virtue makes its possessor good and renders his work good"

**Sterling Application:** Virtue isn't just excellent functioning—it's participation in God's own goodness. This grounds Sterling's absolute claims about virtue's supremacy.

### **2. Habits and Character Formation**

**I-II, Q.51:** Habits are stable dispositions making operations easy, prompt, and pleasurable

**Sterling Application:** Systematic practice doesn't just change behavior—it transforms the soul's very dispositions. Aquinas explains WHY Sterling's training creates lasting change.

### **3. Grace and Nature**

**I-II, Q.109:** Grace perfects nature, doesn't destroy it

**Sterling Application:** Natural virtue training (Stoicism) is compatible with supernatural grace. For monotheists in Sterling's group, Stoic practice prepares for divine action.

### **4. Beatitude as Ultimate End**

**I-II, Q.1-5:** All humans naturally desire perfect happiness (beatitude)

**Sterling Application:** Sterling's promise of eudaimonia aligns with Aquinas's natural beatitude—perfect functioning of rational nature. Supernatural beatitude (beatific vision) transcends but doesn't contradict natural happiness.

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## **WHY THE *SUMMA THEOLOGICA* IS THE ULTIMATE FOUNDATION FOR STERLING:**

The *Summa* provides what no other single work offers: **complete, systematic integration of all six commitments within unified theological-philosophical framework**. 

**It demonstrates:**

- How all six commitments are not only compatible but mutually necessary

- How they ground in ultimate reality (God)

- How they apply to actual human psychology and moral development

- How natural reason and divine revelation harmonize

- How philosophical Stoicism and Christian theology integrate

For Sterling's "Stoicism for Monotheists," Aquinas is indispensable because he shows how Stoic ethics and Christian theology form one coherent system grounded in natural law participation in eternal law.

The *Summa Theologica* proves Sterling's six commitments aren't modern innovations or arbitrary preferences—they're the classical Christian philosophical synthesis that makes systematic virtue development both philosophically certain and theologically sound.