Virtue Versus Vice (And Vice Versa)

“Good” and “evil” do not exist, at least not in the sense of the simplistic dualistic dichotomy found in popular thinking.

“Right” and “wrong” are better concepts, because those represent underlying governing principles, not specific discrete acts or omissions.

“Virtues” and “vice” are best, because they do sum up specific actions, yet at the same time can be judged separately from “right” and “wrong”.

A virtue performed without love or compassion or mercy can wound just as badly as the most selfish act.

A vice performed selflessly, even though it violates societal norms, may be just the thing needed in a given situation to provide the best outcome.

The ancient taoists got it right:  It’s never all one thing or the other.  It’s often mostly this or mostly that, but it’s never 100% of everything.

In the middle of the densest part of one thing, there’s an island of the opposite.

© Buzz Dixon