Gratitude- A short Anaysis

The final question in my kids' Literature CA2 paper is a personal response question which touches on the concept of "Gratefulness".

Some questions which popped up in my mind: Can Gratefulness be shown towards an object that is unable to register the feeling of gratitude?

Does Gratefulness necessarily entail repayment? (To this, I may say quite confidently that the answer is no. Because firstly it is not always repayable. Secondly, the good act which was extended should be out of free will and not involve any possible hope of being repaid since that would corrupt the deed as a good in and of itself. But then again, I am opening a can of worms with this notion.)


So I went to read up. And Aquinas steps up.

for Aquinas all men are evil as well as incomplete(the contingent nature of human existence and the telic nature of their necessary movement towards the good)

it is a metaphysical need to be fulfilled for man to become what he ought to be.

Aquinas then goes on to say that gratitude is a virtue which men should aspire to develop.

He goes on to explain that a favor may be defined as greater according to the gratuitous nature in which it is given. Hence the greater amount of reciprocal gratitude should be felt/ demonstrated I concur. And this would help seal up the can of worms that I had opened earlier.

Thus according to this logic, the Baby in the Iain Crichton Smith's "The Incubator" would not be showing ingratitude since the machine was designed and programmed to fulfill that function. It possesses no free will and certainly could not have done it out of a want for a good.

Are thanks due to one who works a benefit for profit? I have often wondered about this when my kids thank me for something that I have done for them. Then again I think, I am a teacher, it is my job. This is what I am paid to do. But of course I chose to be in this profession. Definitely I could have done a purely mechanic and produced a minimalistic effort just to keep my job and earn my pay. But still, it bugs me.

To this, I apply myself more and find out that the answer is simple. If the giver exceeds his/her duty and is plying his/her trade with a dedication that is self-willed and self-motivated, then he/she is in effect giving. And since he/she is giving out of his/her free will, the receiver is indebted to feel gratitude.

Aquinas drives home another important point, “A poor man is certainly not ungrateful if he does what he can. For since kindness depends on the heart rather than the deed, so too gratitude depends chiefly on the heart.” We are all poor in our own ways and limitations, so in this sense repayment is rendered incalculable and not entirely necessary. And the feeling of gratitude is the main repayment and indeed if the giver were giving out of his/her free will for the pure good of it, then the feeling of "having done a good" should suffice for the giver. This reminds me of the time when I rescued those two dogs from certain doom on the roads and the owner did not thank me at all.

Let's top off this short analysis with this powerful phrase by Aquinas, “As in injustice…we consider equality of things, so in gratitude we consider equality of wills."