The Blog of Virtue

"I prefer an interesting vice to a virtue that bores."
Moliere

Nicomachean Ethics discusses quite explicitly the true characteristics of virtuous man, which is something I truly appreciate. As a sinful young man, virtue is something I strive for, it is something to attain by emulating Jesus. From a secular standpoint, Ethics, provides 3 important standards that I will review in this blog. According to Aristotle, in order to be a virtuous man I must:

1. Know what I'm doing. Christian teachings agree that, while I was created to love and be good, I am ultimately self-centered, which leads to unrighteousness. Aristotle states that I have to actively pursue virtuosity, the same way Christ asks me to pursue Him. It only makes sense, then, that attaining virtuosity should be a constant struggle and the fuel behind our actions.

2. Choose the act for its own sake. This goes back to good ol' selfishness, doing things just for yourself and your own personal glory instead of the glory of God and His goodness. It striked me rather odd that sacrifice by itself is not a virtuous act, but everyday self-sacrifice is. Of course it makes sense that, if your doing a great act just for your own glory but wouldn't do the same thing every other day, you're not virtuous.

3. Do things according to my type of character. Again, my behavior must manifest itself as a fixed disposition. The way we are affect what we consider to be good or evil. Aristotle suggests that this should not be, that there is a standard of virtue that cannot be changed and is not a gray area. As a Christian, this standard is God. I'm not really sure what that standard is for athiests, but they should still strive for it regardless as a means of being virtuous.

As you can clearly see, there are many parallels between Christianity and the teachings of Aristotle. Kind of a funny coincidence, don't you think? Anyway, this is my interpretation of this passage, please feel free to comment with accolades, corrections, etc.

BTW, I commented on Lucas Hester's post, Chronic Arete.