{"id":751,"date":"2025-04-01T21:18:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T20:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rebelrebel.org.uk\/?p=751"},"modified":"2025-04-01T21:18:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T20:18:52","slug":"virtue-and-the-philosophers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rebelrebel.org.uk\/?p=751","title":{"rendered":"Virtue and the Philosophers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mini-Reflection #94 (8th December 2024 at Essex Church \/ Kensington Unitarians)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know about you \u2013 but when I think about life and how I want to go about living it \u2013 my basic (really basic) starting point is that I want to be a good person and I want to live a good life. I know that might sound ridiculously basic but for all the sophisticated philosophising I might have tried to do over the years, for all that this basic intention comes up against the world\u2019s troubles and complexities, that\u2019s a significant part of the background music of my brain, a part that has always had some sort of influence on my life choices: I want to be good and do good. And I\u2019m pretty confident that I\u2019m not alone in this \u2013 it\u2019s part of why you show up at church, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Like I said at the start of the service, philosophers have spent centuries wrestling with this question of what it means to be good, to do good, to live a good life, and one approach to answering the question is by considering the path of virtue. As we heard in the piece by Alain de Botton that John just read, these days it might seem a bit old-fashioned (at best) to speak of virtue, or make efforts to improve our own character, even the character of our whole society. But it seems to me that this is something that we would do well to embrace in the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s generally thought that consideration of virtue started with the Ancient Greeks \u2013 Plato and Aristotle \u2013 I\u2019d say that Aristotle especially is perhaps regarded as the Godfather of virtue ethics. He wrote of the telos of life \u2013 life\u2019s ultimate end, the purpose or point of it all \u2013 as eudaimonia. I have seen this term translated in various ways: \u2018living in a way that is well-favoured by God\u2019 is one way to put it, if you\u2019re God-minded. More often it\u2019s understood as \u2018flourishing\u2019 \u2013 a deep and holistic kind of happiness \u2013 living a good and meaningful life \u2013 that\u2019s the point of existence according to Aristotle (broadly speaking). I\u2019d suggest we might even embellish the idea further and connect it to such notions as self-realisation, fulfilling our potential, and contributing to the common good. It is not about transient pleasure but about a life that is good when considered at as a whole. And cultivation of the virtues is a significant part of the path to eudaimonia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Aquinas, the Dominican theologian and Catholic Saint, picked up the idea of virtue in medieval times. He defined virtue as a habit or disposition \u2018by which we live righteously, of which no one can make bad use, which God works in us, without us.\u2019 Aquinas was especially associated with the four Cardinal Virtues \u2013 justice, fortitude, temperance and prudence \u2013 which are depicted on the front of your order of service. This idea of there being four cardinal virtues had been around since Plato\u2019s time but Aquinas made more of it. For Aquinas these four Cardinal Virtues are the principal moral virtues which will help us rise to the challenge of living a good and meaningful human life. Justice is the disposition that gives us concern for others and the common good. Fortitude (also known as courage) is the disposition that enables us to endure suffering, persist in hard work, and face our fears, for the sake of what is ultimately worthwhile. Temperance is the disposition of moderation and self-control (in a modern context you might think of it in relation to what we consume or give our time and attention to). Prudence is the quality that brings them all together \u2013 practical wisdom \u2013 knowing how to make good decisions about our actions and the overall direction our life is headed in. Aquinas also highlighted the three Theological Virtues that are probably very familiar to most of us \u2013 faith, hope and love \u2013 which we sang about in our opening hymn this morning. And the story of virtue ethics doesn\u2019t end in the medieval period of course \u2013 there\u2019s been a revival of interest among contemporary philosophers since Elizabeth Anscombe got the ball rolling again in the 1950s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key feature that distinguishes virtue ethics from some other ethical frameworks is that it is focuses on the person rather than the action. The central question is not \u2018what should I do?\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s not about making moral calculations of utility or duty when faced with a particular dilemma \u2013 but \u2018what kind of person should I be?\u2019 \u2013 this is a life-long project of personal moral development. By becoming a virtuous person, and developing good habits and dispositions, the idea is that in any given situation the next right action will just come to you as second nature. Because of the person you are you will know intuitively what needs to be done. This is not to suggest that it comes easily though \u2013 virtue ethics acknowledges the complexity of the moral life \u2013 sometimes different virtues will seem to conflict with each other and point in different directions \u2013 and part of our task is to integrate the different virtues, using practical wisdom, as we live them out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do we go about becoming more virtuous? Some virtues may come naturally to each of us but others may be more of a stretch. Well, according to the philosophers, one way to think about cultivating virtue is to compare it with acquiring a practical skill or art \u2013 like learning to play the piano, for example \u2013 in general virtue is something we learn by doing. It takes conscious awareness \u2013 as the Buddha apparently once said: \u2018as we think, so we become\u2019 \u2013 and it takes a great deal of practice and persistence too. To start with it might feel as if we\u2019re just going through the motions, but by acting \u2018as if\u2019 we are virtuous, we can get ourselves into a virtuous circle and reinforce our good intentions. Sometimes you might just have to \u2018fake it till you make it\u2019. Virtue is not just a habit of behaviour though \u2013 it needs to take root in us, to shape our character \u2013 so that in time we think, feel, desire and perceive virtuously, and can reliably discern what is good and virtuous. If we want to be a good person, and we want to live a good life, focusing on virtue is a good place to start. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mini-Reflection by Jane Blackall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n