Virtues are dispositions to act morally that can be cultivated through habits and practices over time. Training virtue requires intentional repetition, community support, and integration into a moral identity that transcends self-interest. Virtuous habits must be practiced in the situations that demand them, such as cultivating patience by actually waiting. Virtue cultivation is difficult and imperfect, but progress along the trajectory toward better moral character yields greater well-being, more positive emotions, less negative emotion, increased life satisfaction, and a stronger sense of meaning.
I think people often think of virtues as about the self, and am I happy and fulfilled? But that self starts to look kind of empty if it is not stretching outwards. You really do need to train for virtue. It requires habits. It requires a community. It requires a lot of work. But just because something is difficult doesn't mean you shouldn't try.
I'm Sarah Schnitker. I'm a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, studying how people build virtue. So a virtue is a disposition that we hold to act in a moral way. We think of them as habits. These are things you can cultivate by practices over time. And then those habits need to be connected to a certain type of identity of who I am, that's moral and transcends the self.
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