The Perspective of Love as a Foundation for the Theory of Virtues

The relation between the moral concepts of action, virtue, and love which appear in the writing of Saint Thomas Aquinas offers a new perspective for the consideration of the traditional theory of virtues. Saint Thomas conceives the problem of election and its principle, the virtue, by overcoming Aristotle's perspective of desire and putting the origin of virtues in their affection and love. This article presents two main moments of the dynamics of action rooted in love: the revelation of person as the end of action and the determination of the concrete action's ends for the accomplishment of the communion with person.