Amor naturalis as the foundation of every kind of love in st. Thomas Aquinas’ “Summa Theologiae”

Abstract

Despite limitations of the Lithuanian language in the terminology of love, st. Thomas Aquinas’s various conceptions of love can nevertheless be reflected upon in Lithuanian, if one starts with the analysis of natural love (amor naturalis). “Amor naturalis”, as a definition of love, functions in all forms of love in a fundamental sense. The concept of “amor naturalis” as “inclinatio boni” also reveals how human nature functions on a metaphysical level. Natural love, defined as an inclination towards the good, appears as a precondition for all human action because the object most loved becomes the guiding principle for all areas of life. This article also analyzes how the metaphysical principle “gratia supponit naturam” is consistent with the concept of “amor naturalis”, and operates in Thomas Aquinas’s understanding of charity. The creature loves the Creator more than himself through natural love. Thus, the action of grace through caritas does not abolish natural love, but actualizes its potential.