Byte-Sized Virtue S11E01 – Preparing for Virtue
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Podcast Topic
What is a virtue? The word comes from the Latin term virtus, which refers to manliness, fortitude, or courage. Of course, we don’t use the term “virtue” only in relation to men; our understanding of the word has widened significantly. The broadest definition of the term denotes excellence or perfection of something. In theology, we’d say that a virtue is habit which is superadded to a faculty of the soul, and in philosophy we’d broaden that a bit to say that a virtue is a habitual disposition to good acts that are in alignment with our nature.
We all know what a habit is, of course – it’s a learned behaviour that has been repeated, practiced, and honed so much that it has become essentially instinctual. We also recognize, hopefully, that not all habits are for our good, or even good for us. So when we speak about virtue in the context of habitual behaviour, we should understand that we aren’t talking about those habits that are bad or destructive; there is no virtue of alcoholism, for example.
Virtue, then, is the habitual disposition to good acts which are consonant with right reason. Because it’s habitual, it’s something that we pour out on others unbidden and unprompted. And to do it best, we would do well to be aware of it — aware of the particular habits that our virtues have at their core — and approach every day with a prepared readiness to do these things.
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Music
Minoc (Positive), from the Ultima 9 Soundtrack by George Oldziey
In which we explore the idea of what a virtue is, and how we can better practice our virtues.