Moral Reason, Person and Virtue: The Aristotelian-Thomistic Perspective in the Face of Current Challenges in Neurobiology

Modern materialist neuro-biological reductionism – the descendant of Cartesian dualism – sees the brain as the sole governing principle of man. Darwin’s belief that moral judgments are simply due to man’s advanced memory – reflecting on past mistakes or fortuities, causing one to say “I should/should not” – can be answered by an Aristotelian-Thomistic perception of reason and virtue in relation to the body-soul unity. It is essential in today’s empirically—based scientific age to maintain the understanding of man’s foundation in spirit.