MASTERING THE VICES When I teach my students about virtue, unlike most of my contemporaries, I don’t start with the cardinal virtues—I start with the capital vices (i.e. The Seven Deadly Sins/Vices). The fundamental reason for why I do this is because vices are irrational and virtues are rational. That means that if you haven’t learned about good or bad habits, your default will be to form bad habits. I teach them about vice so that they can be more practically prepared to actually build virtue. The alternative—that you’ll just learn about virtue and be good—is accordingly shortsighted, naive, and potentially negligent, by my estimation. The real lesson we need is instruction in vice and its distinctions with virtue. From there we can investigate virtue and grow accordingly.
Mastering the Vices
Mastering the Vices
Mastering the Vices
MASTERING THE VICES When I teach my students about virtue, unlike most of my contemporaries, I don’t start with the cardinal virtues—I start with the capital vices (i.e. The Seven Deadly Sins/Vices). The fundamental reason for why I do this is because vices are irrational and virtues are rational. That means that if you haven’t learned about good or bad habits, your default will be to form bad habits. I teach them about vice so that they can be more practically prepared to actually build virtue. The alternative—that you’ll just learn about virtue and be good—is accordingly shortsighted, naive, and potentially negligent, by my estimation. The real lesson we need is instruction in vice and its distinctions with virtue. From there we can investigate virtue and grow accordingly.