MSLD 634 Module 6 - What are Virtues

What are Virtues?

            Most people think morality constrains human behavior and is a set of rules barring us from doing what we want to do and demanding that we do things we had rather not. Virtue theorists think morality is a prescription for the best life we can live. Aristotle holds the belief that a virtuous person must do the appropriate action; do so regularly in a variety of circumstances; enjoy acting virtuously; know what is virtuous; and know why is virtuous (LaFollette, 2007).

Benjamin Franklin, a man with less than two years of formal education, reflected his entire life in self-improvement, working constantly to improve his mind, body and behavior. At the age of 20 he decided to embark on a journey which he called “moral perfection”. He created a list of four resolutions which included a set of thirteen virtues, that he felt were important guides for living along with principles for each that would, in his opinion, define a person of good character (PBS, n.d.).

Benjamin Franklin's self-improvement program included the following virtues:

Temperance: Eat not to dullness. Drink not to elevation.

Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.

Order: Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time.

Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.

Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself.

Industry: Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions.

Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; and if you speak, speak accordingly.

Justice: Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

Moderation: Avoid extremes. Forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes, or habitation.

Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable

Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

            Upon taking the Virtue Quiz, developed by PBS, the following result was presented:

            “You made some very virtuous choices. You chose the answers that closely reflected Ben's own self-improvement plan. You might want to think about how you approach cleanliness. Ben wrote "tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes or habitation”. 
            
            I do not believe in anything that should be not tolerated. For instance, when it comes to cleanliness, I would not clean anything in the middle of the night (if already in bed) or avoid going somewhere with a stain in my clothes (examples based on the quiz). For not being concerned about others’ opinion, I keep myself and my surroundings clean but not constantly and perfectly tidy. Cleanliness is in the bottom of my list virtue, if ranked. And tolerance, based on context and priorities, should be part of the content of virtues.

Three of the virtues that I believe I need improvement are: tranquility, silence and industry. When it comes to tranquility, I do not have the ability of not being disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. I often catch myself anxious or worried about something out of my control, which leads to my other two undeveloped virtues. Although I have learnt a lot throughout the years on how to control my words, often I fall into the trap of expressing all my opinions, especially if lacking tranquility. The loudest voice is of my own mind. For the agitation, among other reasons, I often lose time, employed on useless things and taking unnecessary actions.

To include tranquility and silence in my life, I believe meditation to be the most effective strategy. It would assist me on calming down my mind and silencing my thoughts, consequently enhancing my self-awareness. Including five minutes of mediation in the first and last hours of my day, in my perspective, would generate fruitful results. Regarding the industry virtue, I believe the best move would be following my timetable. Knowing the waste of time on useless actions and procrastination is a pattern behavior which I have been through lately, I have already created a general timetable to assist me on having a more productive day, however my efforts faded.

I believe Franklin’s strategy of putting into practice one virtue per week and journaling the progress being great. Creating small goals have being an effective way of achieving overall results. Journaling the process and progress could have triple positive effects: follow up, documented opportunity for improvements and self-awareness.

References

LaFollette (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing

PBS (n.d.). Ben’s 13 Virtues. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/pop_virtues_list.html

PBS. (n.d.). Self-improvement plan. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/1726.html