WHAT
APPETITE DO YOU HAVE?
Ethics and virtue in
life and in society:
A utopia, a hope, a commitment.
by
Giovanni Perrone
According to Aristotle, the appetite is the natural tendency for each person to
realize what he or she considers "good." The concept of good is closely
related to the way of understanding life and the manner of relating to others
and society. The recent study by the OCSE, Trust in Government, comparatively
analyzes the situation of 29 countries in the world in regards to corruption,
highlighting the need, from the earliest years of life, to teach and to exercise
the ethics of good citizenship. Therefore, the report reminds all
of the institutions called upon of their responsibility to take care of the
growth of good citizens. However, even the citizens must know how to take care of the
institutions. In fact, often the unvirtuous
citizens make institutions empty
of value and full of wrongdoing.
The ethical life consists of taking
"care of oneself, care of others, and care of the institutions" (P.
Ricoeur). One develops the ability to take care of oneself from birth
thanks to the commitment and example of educators-leaders and to life in
environments that favor the practice of virtue. The ethics of care
interact with the ethics of justice thanks to an idea of good (the so-called
common good) that unites the self and the other. It is the willingness
to "be ready" for the other that characterizes the act with care.
There is no life without the ethical
practice of virtue. I refer to human and civic virtues that interact well with
those promoted by religion and favor its development. "Virtue is a habit and creates a firm
disposition to do good. The human
virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, and habitual
perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions,
and guide our conduct according to reason and faith. They make possible self-mastery and
joy in leading a morally good life. The virtuous person is he or she who freely practices the
good. Every virtue allows the person not only to perform good acts,
but also to give the best of himself or herself. With all of his
or her sensory and spiritual energy, the virtuous person tends toward the good; researching
and choosing it in concrete actions." Thus, this affirms the
Catechism of the Catholic Church. Some virtues have a
pivotal function; they are called cardinals: justice, fortitude, prudence, and temperance. Indeed, “if one loves
justice, virtues are the fruits of his or her labor. In fact, the
virtues teach temperance and prudence, justice and fortitude” (Sap 8.7). The other
virtues gravitate around them. The virtues are not declaimed but lived, matured day by day, even in the little choices and actions of our daily lives.
The appetite to do good guides and supports in making sound choices and living a virtuous lifestyle. A good appetite ...........
ETHICS AND VITUES en/fr/es/it
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