Final answer:
According to St. Thomas Aquinas, speaking the truth with the intent to deceive is considered immoral because it violates the virtue of honesty. Intention plays a critical role in Aquinas' virtue ethics, and honesty requires not just factual accuracy but also transparency of intention.
Step-by-step explanation:
For St. Thomas Aquinas, speaking the truth with the intent to deceive would be considered morally wrong. Aquinas' moral philosophy is deeply grounded in the idea of intention behind actions. He subscribes to a virtue ethics framework that prioritizes the intention and the virtue of the actor over the outcome of the action. The concept of honesty in Aquinas’ view is not just about stating facts but also about the transparency of one's intention towards others. Hence, even if what is being said is factually correct, if the intention is to deceive, it violates the virtue of honesty. This approach is related to Aquinas' understanding of the Doctrine of Double Effect, which examines the ethical permissibility of an action that causes a serious harm as a side effect of promoting some good end.
To apply this to a modern context, telling the truth with the intent to deceive could be compared to telling a partial truth or framing a truth in such a way that it misleads someone—an act often referred to as a 'lie of omission' or 'misleading by truth.' Therefore, according to Aquinas, a person should align both their actions and intentions with moral virtue to be considered ethical.