All these naturally take precedence of the other goods… “For wisdom is chief and leader of the divine class of goods, and next follows temperance and from the union of these two with courage springs justice, and fourth in the scale of virtue is courage. “Now goods are of two kinds: there are human and there are divine goods… Many theorize that the “ends” of all virtue is “happiness.”.There is no one perfect list of virtues and vices, but most lists point toward the same basic group.These aren’t just metaphysical concepts, but are names given to those feelings we all find common that lead to both happiness or a lack there of.We can use this truism to create tables like we do below. For each virtue, there is generally two vices (one of excess and one of deficiency).There are different orders of virtues (some higher, some lower) that apply to different areas of life.Here is the anatomy of vice and virtue (which can essentially be gleaned from the Greeks): The basics of vices and virtue (like so many things) were perhaps best expressed by Plato and Aristotle. Understanding the Basics of Vices and Virtue With that said, by examining different virtue theories and virtue theorists like we do below, we’ll be better understand why past cultures and thinkers considered these somewhat metaphysical aspects of the human condition important enough to include in their major works. Virtues are those honorable qualities that we respect in ourselves and others, the ones with positive ends (and Vices are the absence of these qualities). There are countless ways to discuss this, but all theories lead back to the same concept. Instead we’ll explore what different thinkers have thought (leaving the final call up to you). Likewise, “ vice” is simply the absence of virtue, that which does not lead to happiness (that which we generally consider “bad” qualities).įor Aristotle a virtue was a mean between two vices, for Smith and Hume virtue was just the aspect of our emotion/sentiments/feelings that compelled us to act positively, to Aquinas it was an attribute bestowed upon us by God.Īre virtue and vice physic or metaphysic? Are they natural or divine? That isn’t the question to answer here. Instead, virtue should be understood as any positive sentiment that leads to the happiness of ourselves and others (the “good” qualities a person can possess so to speak). What are Vice and Virtues?Īlthough we can, we shouldn’t just understand “ virtue” as some floating metaphysical form. That also means we will discuss virtue theories like Aristotle’s Theory of “Golden” Means, Plato’s Theory of Forms, Smith’s Moral Sentiments, Kant’s metaphysics of Morals, Hume empirical theories on morals, the Greek concept of arete, the Christian virtues and vices, the chivalric virtues of the Code of Chivalry, Plato and Aristotle’s ideal city state (and the related “ virtues of the state“), Montesquieu’s “springs” (the virtues as they relate to different types of laws under different types of governments the “ virtues of the laws“) from his Spirit of the Laws, and other longstanding virtue theories pertaining to vices and virtues of all sorts. That means we will discuss a range of “ virtue theories” pertaining to both “ moral virtues” and other types of virtues (such as virtues related to specific “ spheres of life,” such as statesmanship in the political sphere, health in the physical sphere, friendship in the social sphere, etc). We present a list of vices and virtues and look at vices and virtues as understood by philosophers like Aristotle and Aquinas.
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