Aquinas vs Socrates

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Charlemagne_II said:
spockrates

**She goes to a clinic to have the abortion she knows she should not have. Is she, at that moment wise or unwise? **

She has the wisdom to know that abortion is wrong, but not the fortitude to uphold her wisdom. As did Solomon have the wisdom to know what was right but not the fortitude to resist evil.

Are we parroting ourselves by now? 😉
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🙂

And did we agree earlier that both cognition and volition are required to become or remain wise? That is, did we agree that one becomes unwise who knows the truth about what she must do but instead does what she knows she should not do?
 
The answer, I’m sure you will agree, is yes, we did agree. So then, I’m sure you now see how we have the answer to question (2) of the opening post: Is it impossible for a wise man to sin?

For a wise man is not one who merely has wisdom. No, a wise man is one who lives according to the wisdom he has. As soon as a wise man chooses to live contrary to his wisdom, he ceases to be wise. He becomes unwise and a fool.

The wise Simon who proclaimed Jesus was the Son of the Living God and said he would die for Christ, became the unwise Peter who three times denied he knew Jesus. The unwise Saul who lead death squads, which hunted down and murdered Christians, became the wise Saul who gave up everything to live for Christ. The unwise man who steps into the river is not the same as the wise man who steps out. As Paul said:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

So the unwise can become wise, and the wise can become unwise in a moment. For wisdom is insufficient to make or keep one wise. And since the wise man becomes unwise when he chooses to sin (whether it is a lack of fortitude, or lack of love, or lack of self control, it matters not the cause) he is never wise when he sins. Therefore, we have the answer we seek to the second question of the opening post:
**
It is indeed impossible for a wise man to sin.
 
But this does not mean we’ve proven Aquinas wrong. Do you see why?
 
I just want to thank everyone who gave their time to help me think this through–especially Charlemagne. Hope to see all of you in another discussion, soon.

🙂
 
Tercon said:
Hello Spock,

That’s not what I said is it?
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Sorry I missed your reply, Tercon. You are correct. What you said was:

It is impossible for a righteous person to sin while they are being righteous.

Blesssings

What I inferred was that you must then agree it is impossible for a wise person to sin while she is being wise. But please tell me if my inference is incorrect. Do you think a person with much wisdom is being wise or unwise when she chooses to sin?
 
Hello Spock,
There’s an inherent contradiction in your question and it is leading. As if “she chooses to sin” then she is unwise in the first place, as it isn’t truthful to call someone wise who is being unwise and “chooses to sin”. We must call things what they are when and while they are being what they are and not in some kind of static state that doesn’t resemble life, we live in the now and thus must deal and call things what they are according to when they are in fact occurring, that’s why we are called sinners, as even saints are sinners and they would be the first to call themselves sinners.
In this case it isn’t true that choosing to sin is wise, and the fact is that we aren’t thinking at all but NOT thinking (wrongly thinking) if we are thinking that “a person with much wisdom” is being wise when “she chooses to sin”. That’s the problem with calling humanity anything but sinners, we are never always being wise and we are walking contradictions. The real problem is when we no longer think that we are walking contradictions but “professing to be wise, they were made fools”.

Because, having known God they did not glorify [Him] as God, nor gave thanks, but were made vain in their reasonings, and their unintelligent heart was darkened, professing to be wise, they were made fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of fowls, and of quadrupeds, and of reptiles. (Romans 1:21-23)

Blesssings.
spockrates said:
What I inferred was that you must then agree it is impossible for a wise person to sin while she is being wise. But please tell me if my inference is incorrect. Do you think a person with much wisdom is being wise or unwise when she chooses to sin?
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spockrates said:
Sorry I missed your reply, Tercon. You are correct. What you said was:


It is impossible for a righteous person to sin while they are being righteous.

Blesssings
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