Idea

Virtue

The excellence of character. For the Greeks, virtue was not merely moral goodness but the fulfillment of one's nature, being what a human can be at its best.

Aretē is often translated as virtue, but it means something closer to excellence or being fully what you are. A knife has aretē when it cuts well. A person has aretē when they reason well, act justly, and live courageously. Socrates argued that virtue is knowledge. Aristotle said it is a habit. The Stoics believed it is the only thing that matters. The question of what makes a good life runs through every school of Greek thought.

Thinkers Who Shaped This Idea

Ancient Greece· 624–262 BCE

Socrates

c. 470 BCE – 399 BCE

Plato

c. 428 BCE – c. 348 BCE

Diogenes

c. 412 BCE – c. 323 BCE

Aristotle

384 BCE – 322 BCE

Theophrastus

c. 371 BCE – c. 287 BCE

Zeno of Citium

c. 334 BCE – c. 262 BCE

Rome & the Stoics· 106 BCE–485 CE

Plutarch

c. 46 CE – c. 120 CE

Related Ideas

LogosJusticeHappinessBeingNatureSkepticismReasonChangeModerationStoic EthicsNatural LawThe RepublicInner Freedom