How Can We Become More Virtuous?

Many people start out with wonderful intentions and high hopes around New Year's Eve. They want to lose weight, travel more, read X number of books, break old habits, start new ones. But besides weight or books or travel, what about a more central consideration--growing in virtue or character? Can we truly experience deeper change? Is it all a matter of sheer self-effort? And won't that makes us proud rather than humble?

Now, the moral relativist will say there's no point in trying to change since no real moral standard exists. While relativism is a topic we've discussed previously, we'll assume that virtue is objective and important.

At our last Socrates Cafe, we quoted the late Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Price winner, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn:

"It was granted me to carry away from my prison years on my bent back, which nearly broke beneath its load, this essential experience: how a human being becomes evil and how [a human being becomes] good…

Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains… an unuprooted small corner of evil. "

Even if we have "the best of all hearts," what do we do with that "unuprooted small corner of evil" in it? Often we don't want to talk about these uncomfortable matters, but hopefully we can gain insight by tapping into the wisdom of the ages that goes beyond the quick fixes and "how to" solutions that seem to leave us fairly empty.

Join us for another robust discussion just like we had last time when we talked about the just war question.

PS: As a reminder: our Meetup group costs $180 every six months. For most of the last 15 years, I've just paid it, but within the last year I've been asking members that, if they've benefited from our group, to chip in and help. I get billed in March and September. So I've just paid up, but I would invite you to share in offsetting the cost. If you haven't contributed at all or in a while, please consider doing so.

Feel free to bring cash to our next meeting, or you can Zelle my wife's account at any time: Jacqueline Copan: 561-603-0050. She is conscientious and will let me know about your help. Thanks to you all.