On the Possibility of Virtue
The intriguing thing about life is that, no matter how things change in the world, the fundamental attributes of goodness stay the same. Virtue is something that I understand to be very difficult to attain and even more difficult to preserve. It refers to a high degree of moral excellence, merit, and a capacity to act (according to Merriam-Webster), and there are many ideas, mostly religious and philosophical, of what makes a person virtuous. The importance of studying virtue lies in its effectiveness, its unbelievable simplicity of cutting the world’s darkness into pieces and replacing that with pure light. I will try to discuss this in great detail, particularly emphasizing the possibility of obtaining virtue.
Aristotle’s conception focuses on virtue as a ‘golden mean’ between deficiency and excess, both of which he considers to be the categories of vice. For example, if the virtue being discussed is courage, then the deficient vice is cowardice, and the excessive vice is rashness. If the virtue is modesty, then the deficient vice is shamelessness, and the excess vice is shyness. If the virtue is truthfulness, then the deficient vice is mock modesty, and the excess vice is boastfulness. I like this way of explaining virtue because it perfectly illustrates a spectrum of possible action, and guides us to a proper path. Virtue is a monitoring of oneself, a contemplative manner of existing. It is represented in graceful people, those for whom kindness is the norm.
This idea of being balanced in one’s conduct also appears in Buddhism’s 10 virtues, which are 1. Not destroying life 2. Not taking what has not been given 3. Refraining from sexual misconduct 4. Not telling falsehood 5. Not using abusive language 6. Not slandering others 7. Not indulging in idle gossip 8. Not being covetous 9. Not being malicious and 10. Not holding wrong views. Indeed, I subscribe to many tenets of Buddhism, but I am not good enough yet to practice all of these virtues. If we are to compare Aristotle’s conception to this one, we see that Buddhism focuses more strictly on certain actions, while the Golden Mean focuses on the attributes of a virtuous individual. A person who can harness these models of virtue will surely be better for it.
It is important to emphasize virtue as a reflection of the ideal. The ideal exists because so many fail to even come close to it. Since there is such great disagreement in our collective values, there is a more pressing need to objectively distinguish the good from the bad. There are people around us who, in their desire to assert control over the world, resort to incredibly unethical means to get what they want. Oftentimes, these people hurt those who are morally good but vulnerable to manipulation, instilling a sense of distrust in the possibility of virtue at all. Furthermore, such people appear competent, since they seem to have easier lives. However, it is plain to see that such people do more harm than good for society. The problem of virtue is therefore one of what is right, rather than what is beneficial to us — the conditions for such a problem come about because we are rewarded for being self-interested, but not for being good.
There is an obvious discomfort to the idea that there is some objective, higher conception of being a good person. Furthermore, many people conveniently argue for particular moral values, but fail to provide effective systems of right moral action. There should be no ambiguity about what is right, since we can clearly see what happens when one acts in healthy moderation, towards the Good. This is not to say that we should prescribe virtues as though they’re the solution to all moral problems, but rather that, in realizing their effectiveness, we would become more closely aligned with the form of Virtue itself, with a capital V. Therefore, we must continue to understand what virtue itself really is, not just its parts. We must get at the thing in itself.
I will say this: virtue should most likely be something that adds a good into the world, and maybe it also takes away some evil. Virtue is never inconsistent, and it always manifests itself in terms of the best possible conduct, action, and methodology. Virtue belongs to the virtuous.
Thank you.
