Roman Catholic | Actuary | PhD Student of Aquinas| Lay Dominican Inquirer Usury Catechism: https://teapawt.org/t.co/gRNP7Be0r3 Podcast: https://teapawt.org/t.co/sLjb3HjqvF
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This books contains my defense and clarification of the Angelic Doctor’s arguments against usury and my argument against several common and traditional excuses for usury.
cuapress.org/9780997220537/r…
The confusion that usury is about just price in principle seems to arise from extrinsic titles, where the amount is determined by a just price. The principle on which usury is founded is restitution, not just price.
Sometimes when I present a paper I enter a zone. I feel like I’m sort of disembodied like I’m not giving the paper but just listening to myself do it. I feel so nervous that I feel like I cease being myself. I’m told I don’t appear nervous. Does this happen to others?
Opportunity cost is an economic concept that maps to lucrum cessans. However, properly lucrum cessans is a juridical concept. It is a doctrine of what is due or a claim that can be exercised.
Opportunity cost as an economic doctrine is nothing more than a tool for analyzing decision making. Given the profit/good/desire/etc. that I can gain now, what is the amount necessary to induce me to choose some other course. It has nothing to do with what someone is due, deserves or should be compensated for.
Since usury is intrinsically evil, it is a matter of the moral object and not merely the intention. However, this is obscured by two things.
First, there is the issue of "mental usury," that is giving a usury free loan, but hoping for some gain beyond that. There is a "usurious intent" even though the act in itself is non-usurious.
Second, there are issues around lucrum cessans. You had to be motivated by charity in order to receive. Thus, if you had a charitable intent it was not usury, otherwise it was.
Interestingly, Molina argued that the charitable intent for lucrum cessans was an absurd requirement, because a title it not made just because of the intention. He entirely ignores Cajetan's reasoning for allowing lucrum cessans under charity, but correctly reasons that a charitable intent can't make the lucrum cessans just. He simply makes the mistake of thinking lucrum cessans is a just title apart from something like Cajetan's "compulsion from charity."
Topologically 15. 12 from the holes in the chest. 2 holes at the arms. 1 hole for head. The bottom “hole” forms the outer edge of the shape when you reduce it to a plane. Though with a proper transformation any “hole” could be used as that outer edge.
What Molina gets wrong about restitution of something possessed virtually is that the discounting is according to the nearness of obtaining.
This confused the degree to which the potency has been actualized with what Aquinas actually says.
This is most clearly seen in the Sentences where what is restored is the typical amount, not according to its nearness to completion. This is because what is lost is the whole harvest or profit, but as it is virtual it may have been lessened by incidental causes, poor weather, pests, etc. Thus, what is due is not the harvest in nearness to actual but the harvest as could be reasonably obtained as by the judgment of wise men.
There are certain terms that the Church has attached Herself to in defining Her doctrines. Ousia comes to mind with respect to the Trinity and the notion of hypostasis or natures with respect to Christ. Mutuum is another. One who wishes to deny that the mutuum is perennially relevant to our understanding of usury just as well welcome polytheism or Nestorianism.
Independent of Musk's intent, this strikes me as more of an indictment against Putin than anything. Putin not only invaded another nation (twice), but cares little for his own people by continuing to throw unprepared young men into the war.
At this point, Elon’s mask is off and clearly exposes his bad intent. This isn't peace advocacy, it's psychological manipulation. 🎭
By directing public pity toward "poor conscripts" dying in drone strikes, Elon’s quietly erased Putin's invasion and reframed Ukraine’s self-defense as the primary source of evil.
He’s using selective empathy to turn the invader into the victim and the defender into the aggressor.
Michael Humpherys retweeted
Just saying
Through a careful reading of Aquinas, I’m able to show where Cajetan’s potnetia pecuniae goes wrong and with it the rest of the later developments of lucrum cessans. After addressing Cajetan I’ll need to address some other arguments from later Scholastics and show how they fail to prove lucrum cessans.
About 15 pages in and shooting for about 35.
Had a really great time at the SCSS. The panel was really amazing and got a lot of positive feedback. Numerous people came up afterword to ask questions and suggest we’re on the right path.
Since Aquinas theory of usury is grounded in ius instead of physical objects, modern deposits prove no difficulty for analyzing in terms of usury.
There are those traditionalist who are truly rapt up in the wonder and glory of our faith and adore the splendor of the Lord. These traditionalists I have common cause and may consider myself as one.