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Virtues Development

Virtue is excellence. The virtue of a knife is apparent in the sharpness of the blade and the fineness of its cut. The virtue of a violin is apparent in the quality of its sound.

Human virtue is excellence at being human.

Virtues describe a way of being–they are enduring character traits. They are not just a way of doing—they require more than the occasional laudable behavior. Virtue is a matter of persistent intention, and not only action.

Author Robert Merrihew Adams captures these ideas in his succinct defining phrase: "Excellence in being for the good".[1]

Assignment:

  1. Complete the Virtues course. Increase your virtuous behavior and decrease your vices.
  2. Complete the Moral Reasoning course. Develop your moral reasoning. Act on your well-chosen values.

Suggestions for further reading:

  • Comte-Sponville, André (2002). A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues: The Uses of Philosophy in Everyday Life. Picador. p. 368. ISBN 978-0805045567.

References:

  1. ↑ Adams, Robert Merrihew (2009). A Theory of Virtue: Excellence in Being for the Good. USA: Oxford University Press. p. 264. ISBN 978-0199552252.
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