Aristotle's Twelve Virtues

By Kekeli Fortune

Have you ever been asked by anyone, maybe by a mentor or an interviewer, "what virtues do you currently possess?" What answer did you give to that question? Until recently, I didn't quite know what virtues were. I knew it was important to have them and to know those you had. I also knew it was important to aspire to obtain the ones you didn't have and to master them, but I didn't have a proper understanding of the individual traits.

In this article, my goal is to properly present to you the 12 virtues which were initially introduced by Aristotle in one of his treatises. According to him, human beings have these 2 distinct categories of virtues: Intellectual virtues, which he believed was attained through education and inheritance, and moral virtues, which are learnt through modeling and mastered through practice— and this will be our focus for today. So, What are virtues?

Virtues are a set of constructive and productive character attributes that enable us as individuals to choose to do good irrespective of a person's desires or emotions; On the other hand, vices are set of character traits that instigate bad actions or behaviors in response to a person's desire. Examples of vices include vanity, injustice, pettiness, and greed.

In his work, Aristotle indicated that virtues are developed to keep our desires in check; however, he also warned that an overindulgence in the application of the virtues, or a deficit in the use of virtues will ultimately result in vices. What this simply means is a virtue is the mean between two relating vices. Now let's take a look at these 12 virtues that will help you make the right decisions, and to manage those negative desires:

1. Courage

Courage means bravery; the ability to do what frightens you. It is the ability to square up to pain, fear, and insecurity. Maya Angelou described courage as "the most important virtue of all the virtues; because without courage, one can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can't be consistently kind, or fair; not without courage because if you don't have it sooner or later you'll stop, and say the treat is too much, the difficulty is too high, the challenge is too great". This is the first virtue, and having it will empower you to control the unresourceful emotion— fear. Absence of courage or too little courage results in cowardice whereas, an excess results in rashness.

2. Temperance

This is the ability to abstain from self-seeking practices that are destructive to that individual and to others. Temperance is the second virtue and it requires the use of self-control to manage the desire of pleasure.

3. Generosity or Liberality

The third virtue is generosity and this is characterized by giving freely, and expecting nothing in return. This virtue curbs the desire to be parsimonious.

4. Magnanimity

A person with this virtue can be defined as being kind and happily indulging in actions that are self-sacrificing for the benefit of others.

5. Self-confidence

This is another significant virtue and we all know why; the ability to believe in yourself. Having confidence in yourself means you recognize that with the right planning, the right timing, and the adequate amount of resources and opportunities, you can achieve anything you wish to achieve. The superfluous use of this virtue will result in self-conceit, whiles lack of the virtue results in timidity.

6. Ambition

Ambition is a trait that results in the determination to succeed in more than one field. There is still controversy about whether or not ambition is a virtue, but I think that having the right amount of ambition, with good intentions is needed in society. If a person is ambitious with the purpose of being magnanimous, then it goes without saying that it is a virtue. But if a person is ambitious or overly ambitious with the intent of amassing wealth, power and honor for his/her self-gratification only, that form of ambition becomes a vice.

In fact, society would be a much better place if good people were courageous enough to be ambitious.

7. Good temper

This virtue is needed to control anger. Without practicing good temper, a person becomes ill tempered; however Aristotle noted that, being angry is not all bad. This is because by being impassive even in times that require the expression of anger, one might fail to protect themselves, and the people that they love.

8. Truthfulness and Integrity

The trait of being honest to one's self and to any one that may depend on that honesty. This virtue is characterized by doing and saying the right things no matter what situation you find yourself in.

9. Friendliness

An individual with this virtue is a true friend; they are dependable, trustworthy, helpful in hard times, and very welcoming.

10. Modesty

Being modest in this case means presenting yourself in a manner that doesn't induce any form of sexual interests.

11. Wittiness

Having a good sense of humor and being jovial is a trait that allows others to be comfortable around you. However, this is not an excuse to engage in clowning.

12. Sense of justice.

This trait encourages the open opposition of injustice that is dealt to others. It also allows one to be fair and just to everyone in every circumstance.

Virtues can be learned and mastered through consistent modeling and practice. So what ever virtue you wish to attain or master, you will have to look up to others who exhibit these virtues and learn from them. One by one, strive to replace the moral vices with their corresponding virtues. Being consistence and intentional is definitely the way to achieve mastery.

Finally...

I hope that you can now assess yourself and clearly state what virtues you have currently mastered, and those that you hope to learn. This is very important because your virtues define who you are in terms of character. It also defines who you aspire to be as an individual, and what you can contribute to an organisation or the society.

Always Challenge yourself and keep improving on your virtues. Thank you for reading.

Reference

Fieser, J. (2017). Virtues. Retrieved from https://www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/300/virtues.htm