Abstract

In this paper, based on existing research to further explore the St. Thomas Aquinas's virtue ethics, "morality" based "habit" concept, this research topic mainly seen in the great Thomas Aquinas the "Summa Theologica" the first part of the second, Question four 19 to issue eighty-nine. Thomas Aquinas from the "universal" and "special" to explore two aspects; one common face is divided into: the nature of habits , used to The main , used to reason and the distinction between habit ; special for the used "good habits that virtue" , and "bad habit that is evil " to explore the points. This article from the popular face of Thomas Aquinas's "habits of nature", and thus the habit of Chinese philosophy, "learning" to make a preliminary comparison. Preliminary conclusions are: St. Thomas Aquinas's "habit" Aristotle's concept of meaning than those described and more abundant circumspect; not only refers to the tendency of the entity's activities or status, but also refers to the human intellect and the will of the behavior of the results and its reality. Chinese and Western philosophy due to cultural differences, the philosopher of the "habit" and deal with the problem presented is quite different. Based on the existing research, this paper is intended to explore further the concept of "habits," which is the foundation of "virtue" in Thomas Aquinas's virtue ethics. Such a theme is largely found in Part Ⅰ, Summa Theologica Ⅱ, from Question 49 to Question 89. Aquinas approaches this concept both in "general" and in "particular" . And the general aspects are divided into the nature of habits , the subject of habits , the cause of habits and the distinction of habits , while the particular aspects are mainly explored in terms of "good habits as virtue" and "bad habits as sin" . This article is intended to explore Aquinas's "nature of habits" in general and contrast it with the idea of ​​"habits" in Chinese philosophy. And the preliminary conclusion is: the content Aquinas's concept of "habits" is much more well-rounded than Aristotle's, referring not only to the inclination and state of the substance but also to the result and act of human beings' acts of reason and will. Due to the cultural differences between Chinese and western philosophies, the presentations and treatments of the issue of "habits" by philosophers from both sides are extremely distinct from one another