life

IAn PInTO

T

here isn’t much talk about
virtues today. Even if there is, it
isn’t nearly enough. Nowadays,
we prefer to talk about values.
Schools and most other educational
institutions have Value Education as a
subject, so that students understand
the value behind certain actions.
The underlying hope is that once
they master the theory, they will
be in a better position to put it into
practice. How far is this strategy
successful? Each of us can do a quick
self-evaluation and find out for
ourselves how helpful this academic
requirement has been. I, for one, can
testify that all the ‘A’ grades I scored in
Value Education contributed very little
to the development of my character.

Values and Virtues

Values can simply be understood
as good ways of behaving. You
might recall hearing the story of
the young village shepherd who
decided to play a prank on the
villagers and shout “Wolf! Wolf!”
He managed to get away with
his trick twice but when the wolf
actually appeared, nobody came to
his rescue. This story is often told to
impress the seriousness of a lie and

the importance of honesty. It is a

classical example of a value.

Virtue, on the other hand, is an

aspect of character. It defines who we

are in a way that values can never do.

One can practise a value irrespective

of one’s character; that is, an evil

person can practise good values like

generosity or kindness but it doesn’t

affect him/her in any way. Go back to

the example of the shepherd; despite

being a person who did not value

others’ time or interests, he could

still very well have been a diligent

worker. Now, diligence is a value that

the shepherd perhaps possessed but

it definitely doesn’t count as virtue.

The shepherd behaved the way he did

because he didn’t possess virtue. He

was not of sound character otherwise

he would never have behaved in

that way. Value remains as value if

it is practised merely for the sake of

doing so or for some other equally

unprofitable motive. Value becomes

virtue not simply when it reflects in

the ordinary behaviour of a person but

when it enters into his/her mind and

heart, that is, into one’s very being and

forms part and parcel of who one is,

namely, one’s character. Values thus,

are closely related to what one does

while virtue is related to who one is.

Virtue is not simply something that

can be practised by anyone. It takes a

just person to practise justice, a loving

person to spread love and a forgiving

person to forgive someone who

causes hurt. Consider for a moment a

friendship. One has to be a friendly,

approachable and likeable person in

order to make friends easily.

If you have noticed, the qualities I

mentioned earlier resemble virtues.

Now think for a moment if you

knew a person who was gifted with a

golden tongue, that is, someone who

could speak beautifully and deliver

the most convincing speech, but was

not a trustworthy person; would you

feel comfortable to associate and be

around that person? Most likely you

would not. I certainly wouldn’t! So,

this brings us back to the fundamental

point that we have been discussing:

Virtue is far more important than

value. Don’t get me wrong. There

is nothing wrong with practising

values. In fact, they are very important

elements in the process of developing

virtues. One does not become a

virtuous person overnight. It takes a

lot of practice. One has to regularly

and consciously practise values in

order to develop virtue and thereby

shape one’s character.