What are the Four Cardinal Virtues? – Greek Philosophy

The Want to be Good

Well-being is attained by little and little, and nevertheless is no little thing itself.” — Zeno

What makes a person good?

This is the problem that the self-improvement world is trying to solve.

How should one go about improving themselves? What is to be done, and why? What is the target, precisely?

We’re never really thought about this sort of thing. So many of us don’t know what to do or where to go. We simply follow along with what we’ve been conditioned to do. Most people lack knowledge. It’s ignorance, but not the insulting type. It’s just a lack of knowledge and understanding; there’s no awareness of what’s going on. We lack wisdom and therefore put our efforts in the wrong places, aiming at the wrong things.

Eventually, the following idea is found: “self-improvement is what you should be doing because it’s worth it; focus on yourself!”

Arete is another key principle in Greek Philosophy. It means “excellence”, and it’s crucial to know if you want to improve yourself. Read more about it here: What is Arete? – Greek Philosophy

What it Means to Improve Yourself

The self-improvement journey usually starts off by incorporating some gym sessions and a healthier eating plan. Others look to the mind; building up a reading habit or applying for a new course. Methods of improving oneself can range from being complex to trivial; studying Jungian psychology versus giving one compliment to a stranger every day.

In trying to make ourselves better, we’re trying to make living better. Maybe everyone else around us might benefit from that too.

We all want to be good people. This is it, really. But what exactly does it mean to be good? Is there an ideal, or a blueprint, of what it means to be a good person with no denying it?

Becoming Good

“Wise men, though all laws were abolished, would lead the same life.” ~ Aristophanes

What makes someone a good person?

The main question at the heart of The Republic is the following: what is justice? In answering this, Plato compares the state and the individual.

In his eyes, they’re the same thing. Both are made up of the same elements.

The ideal political state and the perfect individual are both built upon The Four Cardinal Virtues.

The best individual souls and states embody these four virtues. Harmony in the individual is achieved by adopting the Cardinal Virtues in correct appropriation to one another.

This is what makes someone objectively good, or at least pretty damn close to being such.

The Four Cardinal Virtues

What are The Four Cardinal Virtues?

They are:

Wisdom
Courage
Self-Discipline or Moderation
Justice

Why do they even matter?

Virtue can be defined as good behaviour.

Virtue is about doing the right thing, but not necessarily the easy thing. It’s about acting well, no matter the circumstances. It’s a disposition or state of mind. It’s a drive to do the right thing. To act in accordance with something greater than ourselves and our immediate pleasures and desires. To live in accordance with virtue is live nobly.

Socrates and Plato had The Four Cardinal Virtues. St Thomas Aquinas added in the virtues hope, faith and charity, to have seven virtues combat the opposing seven deadly sins. Aristotle had an even longer list. All other virtues stem from The Four Cardinal Virtues.

Virtue has been defined in relation to the human experience. All knowledge is gained through living. We have come to acknowledge that virtue is of great benefit to us and others. This has been tried and tested through the experiences of countless souls once alive and now gone.

Adopting wisdom helps us to avoid making stupid decisions and suffering because of them.

Facing our fears and standing up against a challenge keeps us moving forward and grounded in our stances.

Being balanced means we gain control of our irrational desires; we aren’t being dictated by the tyrant in our minds.

Doing what is right will always bring about the best in ourselves and others, even if it causes immediate pain and suffering.

The virtues have been tried and tested over thousands of years. They are worthwhile for us to adopt. This is just how it is. They help us become good.

We might not be perfect in everything that we do. But The Four Cardinal Virtues can guide us in getting as close to the ideal as we can.

Trying our best is what matters.

The Pathway to Harmony

“The beginning seems to be more than half of the whole.” – Aristotle

How does someone cultivate wisdom, courage, self-discipline and justice within themselves?

Firstly, we should always avoid comparing ourselves to unrealistic ideals. Do The Four Cardinal Virtues help make a soul perfect? Arguably, there is a good case to make.

Remember: perfection can never truly be attained.

Its more practical for someone to become good than to become perfect. We don’t want to give ourself an impossible task.

Ideals are a harsh judge if you don’t meet them. Don’t let them push you around; they should serve only as a guide.

Aristotle noted a similar idea in The Nicomachean Ethics. Ethics should serve as a rough outline, or guide, that can be applied to all contexts and circumstances. This is practical and achievable.

Ideals can, however, get us to aim in the right direction at least. Like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the mountain, we want to be working towards such a goal like this for eternity; never satisfied but also never being oppressed by our own expectations. This will keep you motivated and moving for your entire life.

How to Adopt Each of The Four Cardinal Virtues Within Yourself

1) Wisdom

Imagine a world where you’d never read a book in your entire life, and that proper education wasn’t a thing. Everything that you learnt would be through your own living experiences and that’s it.

What type of mind do you think you’d have? What type of thoughts would be going on up there?

How much knowledge do you think you’d have been able to gain by mere life experiences alone?

Bertrand Russell said in his book The Problems of Philosophy that we learn everything through experience. This is the purpose of books.

Books tell us about other peoples life experiences.

Read more to broaden your mind. Literally. Take in as many new perspectives as you can. Read banned books and ask yourself why they’ve been banned. Think freely and let your mind ponder. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Do not be afraid to question or learn about anything, ever.

According to Plato’s The Republic, a true philosopher (the ideal) must be a keen seeker of knowledge no matter the subject matter, and must always be searching for the objective truth.

Prudence is what makes you careful in your judgments.

Absorb all knowledge you can find in search for the truth. Read, write and think. This is how to gain wisdom.

2) Courage

Being courageous doesn’t mean being fearless; it means standing bravely with fear still present.

Fear might always be there. At the end of the day, we’re still human.

To develop courage, one must learn to be brave in the face of adversity.

Maybe someone has done you a disservice. You’ve been wrongly insulted in a group setting. You’re standing face-to-face against an opponent in a jiu-jitsu competition. Adrenaline is running high and you know what the right thing to do is. The only thing is that fear is crippling you, holding you back and stopping you from acting.

Fear tells you where you must move to (or through) in order to grow.

We must overcome that which we fear most in order to become stronger.

This is how we develop courage.

Pick out all of the things that terrify you the most. It could be public speaking, driving or fighting in competitions.

Courage is built by facing your fears nobly and adamantly no matter the circumstances. Do more of the things that fear you, and do more of the right decisions when you are full of fear.

This is what you need.

3) Moderation

Modern living is not well suited towards optimizing balance naturally. We always have our phones on us, which serve as a source for instant gratification. Sugar and salt has gone from being a rarity to a commonality. Amazon and porn can be accessed at the click of a button.

In a world where we have everything at our fingertips, we need control and restraint.

Aristotle’s Golden Mean can help us find balance. We must carefully distinguish our boundaries of excess and deficiency. This not only relates to our personal vices, but also to our behaviour.

We must carefully define the sweet spot, but we must negotiate with ourselves.

How much alcohol can I have in a week?

How much could I allow myself to drink and not be in a heap tomorrow?

What’s a limit I could actually stick to long term?

This is just one example.

College work. Developing a reading habit. Hitting the gym. Studying. Seeing your girlfriend or boyfriend. Your turn at walking the dog.

You must negotiate with yourself to find your range of tolerance. Then, you must fall back from the extremes. Find the point of long term optimization.

A balanced life lies somewhere between living in excess and deficiency. To read more about how to adopt moderation, click here: How To Find Moderation With Aristotle’s Golden Mean

4) Justice

By the standard definition of justice, one could strive to do what is right, no matter the consequences.

This links in well with the other three virtues.

You must be wise in knowing what is right, and how to take necessary action.

You must be courageous in order to do what’s right, even if everyone else is against you.

You must never steer away from the right path; not being tempted or swayed by hedonistic or irrational thoughts, feelings and desires.

Plato argued that justice is a type of harmony.

By having the other three virtues work in harmony with one another, the human soul becomes characterized by harmony, and therefore, becomes just.

To cultivate justice, adopt the other three virtues and always strive to be fair and do what is right.

Is this the ultimate blueprint towards becoming a good person? No. But it’s definitely a start.

Go and Make Something of Yourself

Here’s a good argument for why you should bother trying to improve yourself:

“So you don’t have to suffer any more than you already are.”

Adopt the Four Cardinal Virtues to become a good person; it’s at least a better start than doing nothing.

Don’t chase pleasure or what feels good. Do what’s right instead. Strive to do something that will be of immense benefit to the you in a week, month, or years time.

The Four Cardinal Virtues can help with this. Become the good person who’ll stand firmly in the face of any problem. Unbeatable against the chaos.

When the flood comes, be the one who built the ark.

Check out more posts here: https://timelesswisdomformodernliving.com

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