Regarding moral ethics
St. Aquinas adheres to two distinct schools of thought. He had a preference for Christian doctrine and eudaimonism from Aristotle. In relation to how they aid or hinder people from achieving their goals, he views actions as either beneficial or bad. Second, St. Aquinas shares the belief that it is impossible for people to experience perfect pleasure. He holds that only the beatitudes or a supernatural union with the universe's creator can lead to ultimate pleasure or moral-ethical perfection. (Pope, 2002).
According to Augustine
Whether an action is morally wrong does not depend on if the action is carried out or not, it is the intention rather than the action that is morally evil. Since the actions of the office worker lead to more suffering than good, he ought to stop and take responsibility for his duties (Augustine, & Outler, 2002).
Both St. Aquinas and Augustine would agree
That the office worker's actions are morally wrong because they encourage the suffering of more people than the good they should generate. In this regard, the office worker is wrong to perceive that he had the right to take extra time off even if he was not being paid.
Case Two
Augustine believes that an action can only be judged to be morally good or wrong after assessing the intentions of the person performing it. This holds that the intentions of the people engaging in discussions that focus on gossiping about other people should determine whether the action is right or wrong (Augustine, & Outler, 2002).
St. Aquinas holds that
An action ought to be perceived as good or evil based on the contribution it has towards the attainment of destiny. Additionally, St. Aquinas also has the belief that ethical perfection can only be attained from God and the Beatitudes (Pope, 2002).
However, with regard to Rhonda's case
St. Aquinas and Augustine will tend to differ in their approach to handling the matter. Augustine believes the action should be judged by the intentions of the actors. Therefore, if they have no bad intentions, gossiping can be ethically right. On the other hand, St. Aquinas believes that since gossiping paints other people in bad light and leads to individual harm, it has more evil than good.
References
Augustine & Outler, A. C. (2002). The confessions of St. Augustine. Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications.
Pope, S. J. (2002). The ethics of Aquinas. Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press.
