Acquired Justice and Infused Justice according to Leonardo Polo

Abstract

This paper discusses the conception of Justice, both acquired and infused, in Leonardo Polo’s thought, in comparison with Aquinas’ view. It is widely assumed in Christian Thought that through the will effort, one acquires the virtue of justice, while infused justice comes from God’s grace. Acquired justice is a virtue of the will, and God’s infused justice is also received in the will. Inspired in Thomist systematization, Polo distinguishes justice’s integral elements, its subjective types, and its potential elements. The integral elements are two: to give each one her due when he lacks it, and not to take away one’s belongings, its subjective types are the commutative, legal, and distributive justice. Finally, justice potential elements have to do when one cannot pay what one owes, or when one is not obliged to satisfy the other’s right. We shall also see how infused justice improves each of these parts of acquired justice. In contrast with Aquinas, from Leonardo Polo’s anthropology the virtue of justice is superior to the virtue of prudence.