Chastity as a virtue

Abstract

Aquinas's analysis of chastity as a part of temperance points the way towards a positive virtue ethic of sexuality, even though he himself did not develop his analysis in this direction. This alternative illustrates that ‘the tradition’, that is to say, the moral heritage in terms of which Christians define themselves through affirmation or rejection, is more complex than we sometimes assume, including diverse approaches to difficult topics even within one author. Even more importantly, considered on its own merits a broadly Thomistic, virtue-oriented approach offers an attractive sexual ethic which implies that ideals of restraint and consideration for others have substantive content, without tying these ideals to specific norms in a reductive or overly inflexible way.