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Stoic q&a: Is virtue a subjective concept?
J. writes: I have seen Stoic virtue (arete) defined in a number of different ways: Human excellence, following Nature, living rationally, acting for the benefit of all mankind, acting with wisdom, justice, courage, moderation, etc.. In “Build Your Resilience” Donald Robertson even defines it as “acting in accord with our true personal values,” bringing Stoicism in line with modern ACT.
But surely all of these definitions are open to interpretation and individual differences. A soldier may kill many people, believing that this is necessary for the greater good. A pacifist may campaign fervently against the soldier, believing that killing is always wrong. Would a Stoic consider both individuals virtuous, because one is an excellent soldier and the other an excellent pacifist? Or would they say that one of them must be mistaken? How would they determine who is right and who is wrong?
Ah, very interesting and crucial question! I must say that, with all due respect to Don Robertson, arete cannot reasonably be construed as “acting in accord with our true personal values,” because — as you note — different sets of personal values can be dramatically at odds, and if all those sets were equally acceptable then Stoicism would be a formal of moral relativism. Which most certainly it is not.
Most of the other meanings you list are, however, compatible with each other, if not in many cases downright synonymous. But first, let’s go back to the basics. Arete, often translated as virtue (from the Latin virtus) actually means “excellence.” The term does not have to refer to the moral realm. We can speak, for instance, of an excellent soccer player, or an excellent lawyer. We can apply the term to animals, as in an excellent dog. Or even to inanimate objects, like an excellent knife.
The idea is that there are good and bad ways to be a soccer player, a lawyer, a dog, and a knife. And among the good ones, some will excel, meaning that they will be the best soccer player, lawyer, dog, and knife one can think of.
Of course, where Stoicism is concerned we are referring specifically to moral excellence, but we use the same word because it is meant in a way that is analogous to those other applications I just mentioned. There are good and bad human beings, and there…
