#virtue-ethics

#virtue-ethics

What do you envision when you think of meekness? You probably see a mousy doormat, someone sheepishly acquiescing to the will of the stronger. When Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," you might think that those wimps will hand it over without a whimper or word of objection to stronger, more ambitious people. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called meekness "craven baseness."

Physical strength develops through the perseverance of training, and strength of character is demonstrated by adhering to and applying integrity-the universal moral and ethical principle of doing no harm. Neither one of these is easy. Both require self‑initiated discipline, dedication, determination, perseverance, and resilience to develop and advance self‑empowerment potential, understood as the individual's inherent capacity for autonomy and agency; yet even with such effort, empowerment is not guaranteed, as it is realised only through consistent action rather than stated intention.

Billionaires are often lauded in America, but some condemn them as evil simply for being billionaires. This raises the moral issue of whether a person can be morally good and a billionaire. The issue is whether, in general, you could be a billionaire and still plausibly be a good person. Proper resolution of this issue requires determining which moral theory (if any) is correct. But we can rely to some degree on our moral intuitions and some basic logic.

In examining the term tì 弟/悌 from a linguistic perspective, one may observe that its original meaning as 'humbly respectful' evolved significantly over time.