Exploring the Virtues of the Intellect

INTRODUCTION

A virtue is a “habitual and firm disposition to do the good” ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", pg. 903).  Therefore, virtue is a state of the human person in which he or she has the capacity, capability, and readiness to respond to the Divine will.

There are different types of virtues.

I have grouped the virtues into the following groups:

·       theological

·       intellectual

·       moral

·       human

This article is going to focus on the intellectual virtues.

A key feature of each intellectual virtue is the development of the intellect.

Important facts about the virtuous life:

·       The virtuous life takes place by God shepherding the person from above--from the place of the fullness of truth--and guiding the person home on his or her journey.

·       The virtuous life will enable the human person to be of the same substance as God--to possess the Divine life--and thus to be united to God.

·       The virtuous life is spiritual.  The intellect and will comprise the soul, which animates or forms the body of the human person.  This allows for the person, a natural and supernatural being, to “fit in” in the way of God.

·       The virtuous life is made possible by the free will choice of the person.  It is through human effort and cooperation with God that virtue is achieved.

This article (1) provides an introduction to intellectual virtue, (2) identifies the specific virtues in the intellectual group, and (3) defines and explains the specific virtues.

I have used Catholic teaching as my guide and done my best to adhere to Catholic reason.

INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES

The intellectual virtues are stable dispositions of the mind allowing it to make proper use of the world through reason and thus live in truth (based on Modern Catholic Dictionary definition by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. and work in The Catholic Encyclopedia).

The intellectual virtues exist in the mind and must be enacted by the will to find meaning in the human person and the world.

In other words, the human person puts on the mind of Jesus Christ and puts the mind of Christ into action effectively to become one with the truth and thus part of the body of Christ and being of God.

It is important to consider the natural law before identifying and explaining the individual intellectual virtues.

The natural law is defined, in this context, as an “equivalent to the laws of nature, meaning the order which governs the activities of the material universe” (Encyclopedia, Catholic Answers).

“The natural law is also naturally known, by natural human reason and experience.  We don't need religious faith or supernatural divine revelation to know that we're morally obligated to choose good and avoid evil” (Kreeft, CERC).

The natural law, found in the heart of the human person, requires the person to avoid doing harm and do what is consistent with the character of being human in the world.

The intellectual virtues allow

·       the human person to be united to God and thus experience a way of being that pagans and nonbelievers cannot

·       for a relationship with God that reflects our human need to act and have existence

It is in God we “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).  It is in God we are children of God and possessors of the intellectual virtues.

God governs his entire creation.  The human person has a role in creation.  Each human person has a specific role in creation.  Each human person will be judged by God.

The intellectual virtues involve the physical and spiritual parts of the human person.  It is not possible to examine the intellectual virtues without examining the spiritual life.

The intellectual virtues are as follows:

·       knowledge

·       understanding

·       wisdom

Knowledge

Knowledge is the presentation of an object outside of the mind in the mind (Modern Catholic Dictionary).  The mind must encounter the reality of the object and have an actual representation.  This encounter results in union between the external and internal, which entails possession of knowledge.

Possessing knowledge is a fundamental requirement for existence.

A human person who possesses knowledge possesses

·       natural truth

·       exists in the spirit of the world and fulfills the natural law

Defining good and evil at a natural level is different than defining good and evil according to the teachings of Jesus Christ for the Christian.  Jesus expects more from a Christian.

In order to be follower of Christ, the Christian must deny his or self and be united to the cross.  It is from the cross of Jesus--his death and resurrection--that life goes out to the person.

The human person must leave his old ways behind.  He must leave the “old” for the “new”.  It is “get behind me Satan”.  He must leave Adam for Jesus.  He must confront “original sin”.  He must “die to self”.

Every human person must act in a way that is reflective of God’s plan.  However, every human person has their own intellect and will.

It is possible for God to impose his will from the outside to force a person to obey the natural law.  Thus, an unjust person can be both just and unjust at the same time.

The Christian is expected to be formed in body and spirit, in worldly and spiritual things.  One you must do without sacrificing the other.

Knowledge is not understanding and wisdom.  Knowledge is necessary for understanding and wisdom.

These concepts can be further explored and contrasted to distinguish knowledge from understanding and wisdom: (1) the old law or the law of Moses or the old covenant and (2) the new law or the law of Jesus or the new covenant.

Understanding

Understanding is the mental act of possessing knowledge and the awareness of how to use that knowledge for good (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

Awareness of how to use knowledge for good is a gift from God that the human person must seek to find.  This means the human person must be in a state of grace, that is, have the proper disposition, to receive the gift of understanding.

Understanding requires knowledge and the consciousness of how God wants you to use that knowledge.  Understanding thus takes the person from the natural level to the supernatural level.

Through understanding, the person’s intellect is lifted above worldly matters to heavenly matters, such as the salvation of one’s soul, unity to God, and doing the Divine will.

The person has an awareness of God and God’s action in his or her life.  The human person thus possesses meaning and purpose.

An understanding mind has a union with truth that allows for a deeper union with truth called wisdom. 

A person without understanding can only participate in God’s plan in a passive way.  The person is united to God, has meaning, and has purpose.  However, the intellect is not formed to be able to actively choose higher things, that is, to act on the intention of God for the human person.

It is through acting on the will of God for the human person that human person possesses Divine meaning and Divine purpose.

When the human person chooses God, he or she chooses life.  Choosing life means the human person is rational and reasonable.

Choosing life means choosing understanding.  It is proper for the Christian to understand his or her self (their human nature), the world, all of creation, and God according to the standard of truth.

It is though God, through Jesus, that truth is revealed to the human person.

It is the proper role of Jesus to judge the human person--and all of creation--according to the standard of truth.  The human person is rewarded or punished accordingly.

Understanding is accepting Jesus as your savior, redeemer, and advocate.  This is the sure foundation upon which to build.

Wisdom allows for actual construction to take place in the world.

Wisdom

Wisdom is the ability to judge worldly things in accord with the Divine will (Blisard, Catholic Answers).  This means the person can apply knowledge, with understanding, to arrive at a judgment that is in accord with the Divine will.  It can be thought of as follows: What would Jesus want me to do and doing it.

The human person must be able to choose what is good.  It is only through a Divine process that the human person can do so.  The gates of heaven can only be opened by the new covenant.

It is only through him, with him, and in him (Eucharistic prayer) that the person passes into new life.

The Eucharist is the height of holiness and our measure.  We are meant to live the Eucharist in a real way, that is, to exist in time and space in a way that is good.

The wise person possesses knowledge, understanding, and the ability to judge according to the Divine will.

On the Wise Person

The wise person is a child of God.  Be wise “and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor 6: 18).

The wise person loves the other the way Jesus wants.  “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you” (Jn 15:12). 

The wise person is a friend of Jesus.  “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you” (Jn 15: 13-14).

The wise person possesses Divine knowledge.  “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing.  I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father” (Jn 15:15). 

The wise person will be given more.  “For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Mt 25:29).

CONCLUSION

There is an inherent relationship between all the virtues.

The virtues are gifts from God.  They are spiritual and find a home in the spiritual life of the human person.

The human person, who exists in the world, is responsible for making judgments that allow the person to subdue the world and at the same time to fit into the world.

The spiritual nature of the human person does not inhibit human growth.  On the contrary, the spiritual nature of the human person allows the person to rise above, with God, over the limits of nature.

The spiritual nature provides an entry way to exist with God in a spiritual way and natural way superior to what the human person can do without God’s intervention after creation.

The intellectual virtues are rooted in the spiritual life and find expression in the world.  As human beings, we are spiritual and material, soul and body. 

There is a sequential process to the intellectual virtues.  From knowledge to understanding to wisdom.  The process once completed, is simultaneous. 

We exist in time and space.  There is a logical mode of being.  As Catholics we do not deviate from logic, but fulfill it.

I have chosen to use the term wisdom to represent the highest way of existing for the Catholic.  This is just a preference for the frame of the virtues.  Outside of this frame, for example, discernment and judgment could be considered higher than wisdom.

To permanently exist with God to the highest extent possible is to conform to the Divine will.  This person lives in heaven, has fulfilled the Eucharist, and has the beatific vision.  This person has virtue in the eyes of God.  That is, this person has a “habitual and firm disposition to do the good”.   

REFERENCES

Frank X. Blisard.  Catholic Answers.  The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  06/10/2019.  Related to understanding.  Available, as of 05/08/2025, at https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-seven-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit

Frank X. Blisard.  Catholic Answers.  The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  06/10/2019.  Related to wisdom.  Available, as of 05/08/2025, at https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-seven-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit

Catechism of the Catholic Church.  2nd edition.  Libreria Editrice Vaticana.  Available, as of 05/07/2025, at https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/

The Catholic Encyclopedia.  Virtue.  The Divisions of Virtue: Intellectual Virtues.  New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912.  Available, as of 05/14/2025, at https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15472a.htm#:~:text=Intellectual%20virtue%20may%20be%20defined%20as%20a%20habit,in%20reference%20to%20their%20proper%20object%2C%20namely%2C%20truth

Encyclopedia.  Provided by Catholic Answers.  Natural Law.  James Fox.  Available, as of 05/08/2025, at https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/natural-law

Eucharistic Prayer.  Through Him, and With Him, and In Him.  Bishop William Waltersheid.  04/26/2023.  Available, as of 05/07/2025, at https://diopitt.org/news/through-him-and-with-him-and-in-him

Kreeft, Peter.  CERC (Catholic Education Resource Center).  What Is Natural Law and Why Is It Important?  Available, as of 05/08/2025, at https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/philosophy/what-is-natural-law-and-why-is-it-important.html

Modern Catholic Dictionary.  Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.  Available, as of 07/06/2025, at https://dictionary.catechismcourse.com/

Modern Catholic Dictionary.  Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.  Copyright Eternal Life.  Used with permission on Catholic Culture.  Related to the intellectual virtues.  Available, as of 05/15/2025, at https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=34261

Modern Catholic Dictionary.  Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.  Copyright Eternal Life.  Used with permission on Catholic Culture.  Related to knowledge.  Available, as of 05/16/2025, at https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=34449

Modern Catholic Dictionary.  Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.  Copyright Eternal Life.  Used with permission on Catholic Culture.  Related to the gift of understanding.  Available, as of 05/08/2025, at https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=36985

Summa Theologiae.  Thomas Aquinas.  Question 85.  Related to understanding.  Available, as of 05/08/2025, at https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1085.htm  

Understanding. Definition. Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  Available, as of 07/06/2025, at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/understand       

What are the Gifts of Understanding and Wisdom?  Catholic Straight Answers.  Available, as of 05/08/2025, at https://catholicstraightanswers.com/gifts-understanding-wisdom/