토마스 아퀴나스의 ‘탐식(gula)’에 관한 이론의 시론적 재고찰 - 죄종(vitium capitale) 개념에 주목하여 -

초록

This article aims to examine Thomas Aquinas’s theory of gluttony and its applicability to today’s ethical problems. Thomas Aquinas developed a systematic theory of gluttony by synthetically considering various perspectives on the desire for food — namely, the naturalness of such desire, the situations in which this natural desire can degenerate into moral corruption, and the serious consequences that may result from gluttony etc. In particular, his understanding of gluttony as a capital sin includes the insight that such a moral vice, although it may at first appear to be merely a personal failing, does not remain on a purely individual level but can lead to further and more serious evils. This provides a basis for the applicability of his theory of gluttony to contemporary ethical issues. For Thomas, gluttony is defined as an intemperate desire for the pleasure of eating, which takes five concrete forms. , such as the desire for expensive food, overly delicate preparation of food, and eating greedily, hastily, or excessively. As these forms suggest, gluttony may seem to be a minor fault that depends on circumstances. However, when considered from the viewpoint of its consequences, gluttony proves to be a serious sin, as it gives rise to various other grave problems. Such vices as gluttony, from which many other vices arise, are called capital sins by Thomas Aquinas. He enumerates dullness of the senses, improper joy, and disordered actions and speech as examples — vices that might initially appear trivial from a modern standpoint, as does gluttony itself. Yet by considering the particular circumstances in which we live, reason can identify new moral evils that are intrinsically connected with gluttony but were not recognized in Aquinas’s time. In this way, Thomas’s theory of gluttony as a capital sin reveals itself to be a flexible and open theory.

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