Making Moral Decisions: A Comparison of Marcus Tullius Cicero (De Officiis) and the Apostle Paul (Letter to the Romans) on Social Instincts
How do we know what is the better choice between two morally right proposals? Ethics is not just about what is or is not morally right. It is also about how to choose between two right actions. I will here compare Marcus Tullius Cicero’s answer to this question to what Paul says in his letter to the Romans, focussing specifically on one of his points: having the right social instincts about God and fellow humans. In discussing how to choose between two moral actions, Cicero says that we must weigh matters according to four sources ( De Officiis 1.152): prudence social instincts courage temperance Note that these correspond to the four Greek cardinal virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance. Cicero is offering a Roman correction to these by emphasising what is practical. He defines prudence as ‘practical knowledge of things to be sought for and of things to be avoided’ (1.153). He corrects the idea that wisdom is the ...