Dear Readers,
Welcome to Part VI of our course, Wisdom is the Way: The Timeless Art of Leading a Life. In today’s meditation, we explore principles (or virtues). Over the next four weeks, we will discuss the cardinal and theological virtues and how we can embody them in modern life.
The Cardinal Virtues: An Introduction
What comes to mind when you hear the word virtue?
For some, it can feel outdated or old-fashioned. But virtue (or arete) is reasonably practical; it translates to excellence or moral virtue. The notion of excellence connects with living up to one’s full potential or the highest good (summum bonum).
Plato initially identified the four cardinal virtues with the character of a good city as described in The Republic. According to Plato, “Clearly, then, it will be wise, brave, temperate, and just.”
The cardinal virtues of courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom are four near-universal principles adopted by Christianity and most of Western philosophy. The English word cardinal comes from the Latin word cardo, which means hinge.
Courage
In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle observed, “Our aim is not to know what courage is but to be courageous; not to know what justice is but to be just.” When thinking of virtue, we are wise to view virtue as action.
