Essay: Written Analysis On Virtue

On Virtue

“Humility is the awareness that there’s a lot you don’t know and that a lot of what you think you know is distorted or wrong.”

― David Brooks, The Road to Character

On this occasion, I am particularly grateful for all the situations, experiences, and academic knowledge that have brought me to write about virtue and how it connects across various fields of the humanities. Before embarking on this new journey, I believed that virtue could be attained by consistently making correct or expected decisions in my life. For example, simply attending church on Sundays seemed like it could make me virtuous. Perhaps it did to some extent, but not in the way I understand it now. In essence, the concept of virtue is closely intertwined with the inner essence of each human being. While it may not be visible, the actions stemming from virtue can serve as profound examples for the society we live in. One medium through which we can gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of virtue is art. Whether it be in literature, music, visual art, or even philosophy, virtue can be linked and interpreted in various ways. I only discovered this when I took the time to admire these works of art. This realization highlights that virtue can be conveyed and interpreted, thereby imparting new ideas, concepts, beliefs, or principles that help us grow and gain a better understanding of our existence, our purpose, and why we are here.

Within every individual lies a special aspect called the soul, which also houses the spirit. Many religions in various regions offer complex yet concrete explanations for the soul's significance. In Christianity, it is believed that our earthly bodies are temporary vessels, merely the means through which we experience life and make choices through our free will, either indulging or abstaining from life's pleasures. This implies that we can improve or diminish our being and spirit by nurturing or neglecting them. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, my faith is of great importance to me, akin to the nourishment that my soul relies on daily. In this context, I refer to faith. Faith is intangible, something that cannot be seen or touched but can be deeply felt. Everything has a beginning, and virtue without faith is like trying to grow a tree without watering it. In the artwork "The First Vision" by Minerva Teichert (1934), we can see the close connection that our beloved Prophet Joseph Smith had with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. This connection was made possible by his unwavering faith and his tireless quest for truth.

LDS artist Minerva Teichert's "The First Vision" (1934) depicts the key moment of the Restoration.

Brigham Young University Museum of Art

The Socratic method clings to the idea of always keeping us on the path of truth. Clearly, in this work of art, the principle of believing before getting any sign is undoubtedly

the first step to new open doors. In this case, the relationship between faith and virtue is that without faith or the compelling virtue of seeking the right, they cannot be one without the other. On the other hand, having faith does not always mean that we will receive what our precious Prophet Joseph Smith had the opportunity to experience. However, we all have different ways of receiving divine contact to receive the truth and fill ourselves with the courage to continue learning. Indeed, the unattainable search for the divine teaches us how to live, since a fundamental part of our being is to feed our own soul. Another example can be found in the art piece of Jesus and Peter On The Water by Gustave Brion (1863).

“Jesus and Peter on the Water”, Gustave Brion (1863)

The context behind this beautiful scene can be found in the Holy Bible, Matthew 14:22-33. The need for Peter before Jesus Christ, his savior, can be clearly seen. Undoubtedly, the concept has led me to think that we are alive to nurture the soul that our creator has given us, and acquiring knowledge is a fundamental part of acquiring faith and virtue because faith can also become an unbreakable virtue. Art has always been present in the history of humanity. At some irrational point where our experiences are not so good, we wonder why we are here on this earth. The teachings they give us from a young age are the basic things with which they allow us to survive in this

world. To be born, to study, to work, to support a family, and to die. The moral part is the influence that is given to us at home. I frequently wonder what happens with societies that do not have the opportunity to have ethics and morals. I mean that, by culture, we know what is good and what is bad, what is moral and immoral. In the course of this course, I was able to understand that the human being is exposed to the bonds of the unclean more than the divine. Thank God, I have been able to experience different sensations in life, although many times I would also appreciate not having gone through many of them. At this point, it is infallible to have enough understanding, know how to discern, and act diligently. In David Brooks's book, The Road To Character, it is mentioned some parts that society teaches us from an early age and the things that we acquire along the path. It should be noted that according to Aristotle, (a great philosopher in our history), there are different types of virtues, 12 to be exact. So how can these virtues be acquired?

On the one hand, we have the desire to be recognized momentarily and temporarily, since time in this world is an illusion and nothing is permanent, everything is constantly moving. So each virtue also has its opponent. In the aforementioned book by David Brooks, the example of Adam I and Adam II is given. This stems from the idea of Adam and Eve. Adam, the first man with a mission to fulfill, is carried away by his most carnal desires. On the other hand, Adam also wants to carry out God's commands correctly. In the book, this is explicitly compared to our inner and outer selves. Which is more important and how they can help us know how to live. On the one hand, we have our wild instinct to achieve material and superfluous things. For this, we do the impossible to show that we are the best, that we deserve while internally there is a void, there is something missing. This concept leads us to a very coherent result that the human being should obtain, and that is, to be able to balance our best virtues and discard everything that does us wrong. It is true that the body gives us signals, and by this, I mean that any signals such as depression, anxiety, and everything that we struggle with every day, are guidelines for the things that we have to analyze. Not only with the mind but also with the body. A person is open-minded to differentiate between harmful and unhealthy things that can end with their lives.

It can be implied in the previous poem that without virtue we can fall into the wrong arms of momentary pleasures that soon end our happiness. Without a doubt, a work of art that transcends and teaches us how to live.

The knowledge and the search for that requires a lot of humility since we can distort what is good for us. I mean, we just want to hear what we would like, but we don't accept reality as it is. That is why in The Basic Works of Aristotle - Nichomachean Ethics Book II, the concept of virtue is emphasized as an act of wisdom and action.

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”

― Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics

A call to service and act is the best way to summarize and describe this Aristotle concept. Presumably, the human being is implicated with intellectual and moral virtue. This means that there are virtues that we learn through teaching, experience, and time. On the other hand, moral virtues are obtained through habits that consequently entail the need for the act. Acting will shape our concepts of life and wisdom. It is necessary to experience as much as we can, we only live once, but having this knowledge discards the possibility of acting just to act, and of despising the valuable body and time that we have in this life. Through our actions and wisdom, our thinking can be changed to bring great ideas to social change, all for the greater good.

The School of Athens – Raphael (1509 -1511)

Again, art intercedes in our beliefs and transports us to a new thought that is fundamental to finding our purpose. Learning and humility in doing so is a virtue that opens new doors to the greatness of life. Living a correct life is not based only on material but on the wealth that we carry within us and the firmness with which we make decisions every day to find our true purpose. In this work of art by Raphael, it can be seen that education is a step to victory, not only intellectual but also divine.

Michelangelo – The Creation of Adam (c. 1508–1512)

The divine connection that we have with the most unprecedented and indescribable leads us to think that wisdom is a step towards the divine. In this work of art by Michelangelo, there are many ways to interpret it. The brush of fingers that means the connection that we can have with the Heavenly Father, our creator and on the other hand the responsibility that we have to grow in knowledge. The right part where God is located, has the shape of a brain, it can be interpreted as the pineal gland of the human being. The connection of the divine, the intellectual, and the moral go hand in hand. In conclusion, it is a way of discovering ourselves and knowing why we are alive and why we are here.

Finally, there may be different ways of thinking, and it is very important to know that the points of view and the perception before them will always be interpreted in different ways. Each work of art conveys some kind of sensation, for me, these are the ones that motivate me the most, from literature to philosophy. It is an advance in my life to be able to learn how virtue can serve in different ways, and how this has led me to conclude that there are many concepts to internalize through the act. Especially when we learn about morality, we also learn how to value the life we have, and it is what I like the most. It is not necessary to have a life of luxury, since the simple fact of being able to read, write, think, etc., is a luxury. It is necessary to clarify that knowing how to live is a virtue, and knowing how to live leads us to a new purpose in life that can change many other lives in the world.

References:

Aristotle, & Ross, W. D. (1959). The Nichomachean ethics. Oxford University Press.

Brooks, D. (2016). The road to character. Large Print Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning.

BYU Museum of Art Store. (2021, March 9). The First Vision. BYU Museum of Art Store. https://moastore.byu.edu/product/the-first-vision/.

Kgao, A. (2020, September 2). Aristotle's 12 virtues: from courage to magnificence, patience to wit. Kevin Habits. https://kevinhabits.com/aristotles-12-virtues-from-courage-to-magnificence-patience-to-wit/.

Michelangelo, Creation of Adam, from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome, 1508-1512

Raphael, School of Athens, 1509-1511, fresco (Stanza della Segnatura, Palazzi Pontifici, Vatican)

Wheatley, P. (n.d.). On Virtue by Phillis Wheatley. Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45466/on-virtue.