Anger that follows a righteous judgment made by proper reason is 'good.' A philosophy professor in the Catholic Times presents the thoughts of St. Thomas Aquinas on what is meant by Just Anger.
These days, the news frequently reports crimes that are difficult to understand, caused by 'anger.' There have been instances where people, filled with rage, have taken weapons to the streets and attacked complete strangers with knives. Anger toward neighbors due to noise between floors can even escalate to murder.
Looking at similar incidents, one might agree with some ethicists who view the inability to control anger as a kind of disease or who claim that 'anger is a flaw and therefore cannot contribute to a virtuous life.'
This raises the question: does anger harm human happiness, or can it also have a positive side for our well-being? Is suppressing anger always virtuous, or only sometimes?
Thomas Aquinas' theory on anger provides a framework for answering these difficult questions. Moreover, it offers insight into “for what, how, and to what extent one should be angry.”
Even Christ was angry when He purified the temple (see Matthew 21:12-13). This anger arises not from wounded emotions but from love for justice and piety. However, using anger for its own sake gives rise to many vices and sins.
Thomas defines anger as 'the desire for revenge (ira est appetitus vindictae).' Anger, however, arises not from trivial matters but from 'important matters,' that is, when one experiences significant and grave evils. Anger is the impulse of the heart to retaliate for the wrongs suffered, and within it lies a dual purpose: to defend the good that one desires, hopes for, and enjoys, and at the same time to demand reparation for the injury received, hoping that the evil will be repaid.
However, just because anger is accompanied by reason does not mean that anger always obeys reason. Therefore, Thomas says, "Anger more clearly obstructs the judgment of reason more so than other passions do".
Anger varies according to each person's temperament and can disturb the mind and whole body, making it comparable to fire. When anger intensifies, the blood boils, the heart races, and the tongue may even become immobile, causing stammering or blocking speech. Due to this physical and mental agitation, anger makes deep reflection, contemplation, and calm judgment very difficult. Rather than merely suppressing anger, it should be used for justice and love. When it aims at disorderly revenge, it becomes unjust and a source of sin, turning otherwise righteous anger into sinful anger.
However, Thomas does not view anger as inherently immoral. Anger can be just or unjust. In fact, since it arises from the desire for rightful revenge against an unjust act, anger is closer to justice (iustitia) than to injustice (iniustitia) (I-II,46,7). When anger arises under proper control of reason and constitutes 'rightful revenge,' it is regarded as an expression of the virtue of justice. Conversely, when anger aims at disorderly revenge—acting outside legal order in a private manner, or seeking to destroy and annihilate the wrongdoer rather than address the sin—it becomes sinful.
Because of this issue, Thomas considers anger one of the seven deadly sins and analyzes how various vices, such as quarrels, cursing, and violence, flow out of it. When appropriately managed, anger becomes a fire that burns for justice, but if left unchecked, it becomes the 'mother of vices,' producing many sins.
Furthermore, Thomas sees the state of witnessing injustice without any response as yet another vice. He explains the lack of movement corresponding to a just cause—the absence of the will to punish—as a vice of deficient anger. In other words, it is a failure to feel anger where it should be felt. Justified anger and sinful anger
However, Thomas does not see anger as a sin unconditionally. Anger can be just or unjust. Rather, because they want just revenge for an unjust act, anger is closer to justice (iustitia) than to iniustitia (injustice). (I-II,46,7) If anger arises under the proper control of reason and is 'just revenge', it is considered to be the virtue of justice.
On the contrary, when anger is directed towards disorderly revenge - when it tries to punish in a private way outside the legal order, or when it seeks to destroy and annihilate the sinner instead of sin, Thomas sees anger as one of the capital seven sins and analyzes that various bad habits such as quarrels, curses, and violence flow from rage. When anger is dealt with justly, it becomes a fire that burns for justice, but when left unattended, it becomes the 'mother of bad habits' that gives rise to many sins.
Furthermore, Thomas sees the state of seeing injustice and not making any movement as a bad habit. He explains the lack of movement corresponding to the feeling of a justifiable cause, that is, the lack of will to punish, as a bad habit called the lack of anger. In other words, not being angry at all where you should be angry, and being insensitive in the face of fire is morally wrong.
Based on this reflection, Thomas says that hatred (odium) is much worse than anger. This is because hatred wants evil in itself, but anger wants evil in the 'good of just revenge'. The justly angry man at least puts forward the name of justice, and the punishment inflicted on him may be for the common good in a sense. On the other hand, hatred is a more evil passion than anger, because it seeks no good from the other person.
Thomas acknowledges 'righteous and commendable anger aligned with right reason.' Anger that precedes reason and disturbs it is evil, but anger that follows and aligns with the just judgment of reason is good and can be meritorious. Such anger can also manifest in struggles for the Church's common good, social justice, and the protection of the weak. Christ Himself was angry when He purified the temple (see Matthew 21:12-13). This kind of anger arises not from wounded feelings but from love of justice and piety. When anger is used for justice and love, it becomes an aid to virtue.
However, if anger is used merely for revenge, it becomes one of the seven deadly sins, giving rise to many vices. Believers should not merely deny or suppress their anger but should examine where their anger comes from, what sense of justice and what wounds provoke it, and then transform it into a force for justice and love.
