It has long been said that there is only one virtue, wisdom, and one evil, ignorance. Technically, this is true in the long run; wisdom and ignorance are the only things which can transcend one's self and live on long past one's actions. A person can act in a bad way in an instance, a person either is ignorant or not. In life, there are many virtues. Among these include the means of goodness and the ends of goodness.

The source of goodness: Wisdom; a word with no easy definition. The way I define it is that wisdom is the ability to perceive reality for what it is, and to be able to draw true, justified conclusions using one's intellect. The ability to perceive reality isn't based on the sense alone; it is primarily based on the abilities of the mind, and the soul within. From wisdom, one can see the one, true face of reality which exists independently of human experience. To be wise is to give up the notion that human beings are the only creatures of importance, or to think that knowledge is relative. To be wise is to see the reality of all humanity, that all people have, or should have, natural rights. Wisdom naturally includes kindness, mercy, and charity towards all , respect for the natural order of the universe, the dignity of all things in the universe, temperance, fortitude, and universal, unrequited love for all concepts and ideas that are good and just. In addition to being the first means of goodness, wisdom is the highest end in all of reality.


The means of goodness: Love; When one speaks of love, one usually means romantic love, but in this case, Platonic love is the subject. In interpersonal relationships, the word Platonic means a sort of friendly affection, but in the context of virtue, Platonic love is literal philosophy (love of wisdom) itself. To have love of wisdom is to love it for its own sake, not for any extrinsic gain. Without love, one cannot even take the first step towards wisdom, nor truly be called a philosopher (lover of wisdom.) Love is what can and will save humanity from its problems, if we let it. True love gives without taking or expecting anything in return. This is called unconditional love, and is a form of Platonic love that is so high and lofty, that human beings have a hard time even comprehending it.

Faith: In the modern setting, faith is said to have religious connotations. But faith is found in all realms of learning; if people didn't have faith in science, nobody would trust it. But faith is more than believing in something because it's totally trustworthy. Sometimes, what a person believes in can disappoint him. However, if a person truly has faith, than they will be able to see that they believe in through to the very end, and at the end, it will come through and be what is believed in. Faith differs from trust in that trust is totally based on empirical reasons ("I can/can't trust you because of...") Unlike trust, faith endures even when the reasons to believe seem lost. If one is to be a scientist, philosopher, or believe in a religion, one has to have faith in their subject, otherwise, they won't know anything about their subject, as knowledge is justified true belief.

Hope: Hope is the belief that something will happen or that something will or will not be true. Hope is often confused with faith in that faith is based less on logic and more on indirect evidence, while hope is based on reason and rationality. If one has a true, justified reason to hope, only then is hope really justified. It is said that with belief comes hope, and that without hope, belief is empty. Hope without a reason is often referred to as false hope, but it is more accurately called wishful thinking. The cynicism of our modern world often brands faith as an delusion, and hope as a bad joke. But without hope, no one would be able to continue living their lives.

The ends of goodness: Moderation: Being moderate is to be temperate and balanced in all things. This prevents unjust action, as unjust actions are a result of immoderate ideas. To some, moderation would look like less of a virtue, and simply the lack of sin, but moderation is a virtue in itself, as it speaks of the soul within a person, and shows that such a person is willing to apply oneself and maintain a narrow course which leads to goodness ("the straight and narrow.") This shows faith in goodness and hope that justice will come through after all. Moderation is needed to help one's appetitive soul (id), and prevent one from being selfish.

Courage: Courage is hope in action. One acts courageous because of the hope that they will succeed, even if the odds may be against them. A person who fights to the death with no hope of success is considered to be stubborn (or devoted, in a good cause) or fanatic (in a bad cause), not truly courageous. Courage is needed in order to fulfill promises and maintain honor, as well as to maintain the concept of integrity. Additionally, everyone needs courage to overcome their problems. If there was no courage, no one could ever do anything, and civilization wouldn’t be able to continue. Courage is shown by three things: effort, hope, and willingness to sacrifice. Note that sacrifice does not mean suicide. When Socrates drank the poison hemlock, he did so knowing that his sacrifice would be a noble act, knowing that there was no other way out, and as he drank the poison, he didn't let fear cloud his actions. Had Socrates not drank the poison, someone (a guard, most likely) would have forced it down his throat. It is important to be able to distinguish sacrifice from suicide. Sacrifice is dying so that others may live, while suicide is dying for selfish reasons (killing others, or losing all hope.) Had Socrates fled the city of Athens when called to trial (knowing that if he went to trial, he would almost certainly be sentenced to death), he knew that a city-wide pogrom of philosophers could take place. This would have happened because the corrupt leaders of Athens (rich, Athenian-born men who owned slaves) were afraid of philosophy freeing the people from their false, controlling ideas. Socrates knew that in order to keep philosophy alive, he would have to sacrifice himself, and to do this, he needed to have courage. Courage is needed in one's spirited soul (ego), and enables a person to overcome the challenges of life.

Wisdom: In addition to being a disembodied concept that is independent of human experience, wisdom is needed in the rational soul (superego), which is the only part of a person which "goes out of the way of death and is preserved safe and sound." (from Plato's Phaedo.) Wisdom enables the soul to recognize what is real, true, and good. The rational soul, being the true soul (the other two are products of life, and are reborn every time a soul enters a new body), needs to be able to head towards the form of the good and partake of it, and be with it for as long as possible, before inevitably returning to life and becoming forgetful of what goodness is. In everyday life, wisdom is needed to distinguish true from falsehood and good from evil. Without wisdom, humankind would have long since destroyed itself.

Justice: Justice is the penultimate end of all goodness, and can be said to be the ultimate goodness in everyday life, as wisdom is focused as much on eternity as it is on life, while Justice is about doing the right thing when one (when we're still alive) is on Earth. It is such a high aspiration that no individual can ever perform pure justice; not even a judge can be the sole arbiter of justice (even in a bench trial, the laws are still made by the legislatures, the judge has to be impartial, and the accused has the right to legal counsel and the right to defend himself without self-incrimination.) Justice is an attribute which can only be obtained by the state. As such, justice holds legality. But legality alone isn't enough to make something just; it has to posses the other ends of justice as well. Moderation is needed to prevent atrocities (which is why we have protection against cruel and unusual punishment.) Courage is needed to make difficult decisions (such as Brown V. Board of Ed), even when such decisions may be unpopular with certain people (such as racists) or difficult to enforce (it took years on end to desegregate the schools, and even today, complete integration remains elusive.) Wisdom is needed in order to act without bias, and to see the reality of the a legal case, and then acting upon that reality in an appropriate manner. In short, perfect Justice is the flawless fusion of legality and morality.