t as its virtues. The virtue of the will is justice. There are two types of appetites- pleasurable and aggressive. Temperance and fortitude are their respective virtues. Of these virtues, the cardinal virtues will be discussed. These are prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. Prudence is the most important of the virtues because control of oneself is impossible without it. Justice, temperance, and fortitude also hinge on each other and are equally important. When one is missing the others cannot exist. Prudence“Prudence is the ability to discern the becoming ends of human conduct and the morally good act in all contingencies of life.”(Man, p. 155) In other words, prudence is the ability to reason correctly about things that are done here and now. Aquinas agrees on this point in the Summa Theologica in the first part of the second book, question 61, article 2. (Philo. , p 565) “It orders man to his last end and makes clear the golden mean of other virtues.” (Man, p. 155) Its object is reason, which leads man to human nature adequately understood and therefore leads him to his end. The reason allows each of the virtues to function properly by making the work of reason done well. An example is fortitude in which reason is essential because man cannot choose which difficulties are worth bearing and those that would be unreasonably born. Aquinas talks of ignoring prudence and says that it is worse to ignore prudence than any of the other virtues since rejecting prudence is the same as rejecting reason. Rejecting another virtue ignores reason, but at a more specific level than that level ignored in prudence. This is because the virtue of prudence controls the other virtues and to ignore prudence means that all of the virtues are ignored. Justice Justice is the virtue where we give each individual that which is due to them. An example is that man should respect each other’s property...
