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ST I-II Q. 18 Aquinas Why are wrong actions wrong?

 " We must therefore say that every action has goodness, insofar as it has being; whereas it is lacking in goodness, insofar as it is lacking in something that is due to its fullness of being; and thus it is said to be evil: for instance if it lacks the quantity determined by reason, or its due place, or something of the kind." https://aquinas.cc/la/en/~ST.I-II.Q18.A1.C So, if you smoke a brisket for too long, the action is wrong because it "lacks the quantity determined by reason"--not because the brisket is dry. So, why is it wrong to shake a can of beer before opening it? "Evil acts in virtue of deficient goodness. For if there were nothing of good there, there would be neither being nor possibility of action. On the other hand if good were not deficient, there would be no evil. Consequently the action done is a deficient good, which is good in a certain respect, but simply evil." Shaking a can of beer before opening it has goodness insofar as it has be...
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SCG III.i.3

[1] Every agent acts for a good. [2] We know that an agent tends toward something and not toward something indefinite. So what is this something? It must be something that is appropriate to it--an agent would only incline to something if there was some agreement with it. If something is appropriate for a thing, it is also good for that thing. So, every agent acts for a good. [3] As Aristotle says, "the good is that which all desire." So, if a person obtains and enjoys something good, there is a satisfaction of desire--in other words, there is a termination of the desire. The same can be said of an end. The appetitive inclination of an agent finds its rest in an end. So, every action and motion are for the sake of something good. [4] The goal of every action and movement is being--either that it may be preserved in the species or that something may come into being ("or that it may be newly acquired"). To exist is something good--so everything desires it. So, all acti...
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SCG III.i.2

[1] The first thing we need to show is: that in acting every agent intends an end . [2]  What is an end? Some things obviously act for an end and others do not obviously act for an end. Definition of an end: "that toward which the inclination of the agent tends." If an agent attains this, the agent attains its end. If an agent fails to attends this, it fails in regard to the end intended. For example, the end of a physician is health and the end of a runner is "a set objective" (to win a race, to reach a destination, etc.). This definition applies both to knowing beings and unknowing beings. The end of an archer is the target; the end of the motion of an arrow is the target. Does every inclination of an agent tends toward something definite? Different kinds of actions stem from different kinds of powers. The action of heating stems from the power of heat; the action of cooling stems from the power of cold. Some actions terminate in something that is made: For exampl...
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