"A man might be called virtuous for sharing his wealth with someone in need of money, for lending a hand to someone in distress, for using kind words of comfort. However, the same man may have ulterior motives that are hidden. He could be a loan shark, a corrupt politician, a predator priest etc."
Exactly!
"Society can ascribe value to something in one generation or culture which is condemned in the next generation or from some far off place."
Exactly!
"The judgment of individuals or society wrt specific circumstance or practices may be flawed"
Exactly! But that is all we have. What actions constitute virtue vary from culture to culture and from time to time and from individual to individual. So when we talk about virtue we are employing definitions and characterizations common to a western educational, philosophical, and social/cultural conditioning. We recognize that the person so viewed may only appear to be virtuous. And many of us recognize that the acts we consider to be fair, decent, kind, good, pure, and virtuous are relative to time, place, conditioning, and culture. We recognize that acts of kindness are different acts depending on the color of the uniform.
"the ideal forms of virtue persist across time and circumstance, and are known by individuals and recognized by humanity at large."
What do you mean? I can't make anything out of that sentence. I asked my wife (another individual and member of humanity) and she doesn't understand what you are talking about either. |
