Abstract

This article consists of three parts. In the first one, a general theory of irascibile emotions, such as anger, will be presented. Then, in the second part, the characteristics of anger as an emotion will be presented in the context of a more general Aquinas’s theory of emotions. The third part is devoted to the problem of moral justification of anger. While Aquinas considered anger in two aspects, i.e. in the aspect of actions resulting from it and in the aspect of experiencing it as an emotion, he perceives the revenge as the removal of the experienced evil resulting from anger and defense against it. Essentially, Thomas' argument for the moral justification of anger and resulting revenge rests on the interpretation of anger as the appropriate moral response to evil, and revenge as the just and morally permissible desire to remove evil and defend against evil.