How Do You Rate Duty, Virtue, and Values?

You are all packed up, and get on the plane with your family, headed for Hawaii. What is your number one thought as you get on board? Have lots of fun, right? Wrong. It is something much more basic, and so important that you take it for granted. And what is that?

That the pilot should be competent and sober, and should take you and family safely to Hawaii. In brief, you want the pilot to do his or her job, or duty.

Duty is not a four-letter word, at least not when it applies to other people. Obviously, they should do their duty. Then what about you?

Right and wrong

Some things are right, and some things are wrong. Doing our duty is the right thing. However, we often disagree about what exactly is right, and what exactly is wrong. Who should decide that, anyway?

Values

There is a lot of hue and cry about values these days. Family values, social values, they are all headed south, if you believe a segment of the media. But what exactly are these values? And again, who decides?

Morality

The same is true of morals and morality.

We can all agree that morality is important. But there is vigorous disagreement again about what exactly constitutes morality. Or is it just another name for tradition?

Answers are crucial

Unless we can come to some general agreement about these issues, society is going to flounder. The older generation will blame the younger generation, and vice versa. And conservatives and liberals will continue knocking heads.

Let us go back

In fact, let us go way back to seek answers to important questions.

We will need to investigate virtue, and values. Did you know that the Greeks were also examining virtue? And what about value?

Objects and thoughts do not usually have intrinsic value. People and society decide what to value, and how much. Mostly, this depends on how much benefit the individual or society gets from that particular thought or object.

Usefulness

We value things which make our lives better, or easier.

Almost everybody values money. It allows us to buy things which can make us comfortable. Food, shelter, clothing: they would all be almost impossible without money.

But how much money? Is there a declining return on investment here?

Is the ability to buy a luxury yacht or a private plane of value? It might be, if you owned a large business and traveled frequently. But the yacht? Building it provides employment to people. But beyond that, what is its value?

Is flashing your status to the world of value? It might be useful to you, in the sense that it might help you increase your contacts with other super-rich people, and help expand your business.

But is that the value we want to pass on to the next generation? How to come into contact with rich people and earn more money? Or is there something more to life, something of greater value?

And what about societal values? Does society value things differently than individuals do?

Gold, silver and diamonds

The entire world (nearly) is crazy about gold, silver, and diamonds. What value do they add to our lives, or to society?

Silver is useful for many industrial purposes. But people also use it and gold as ornaments, and as reservoirs of value. Apparently, in times of world crises, these metals will appreciate in value. Why do they become more valuable? Is it because paper currencies can collapse? There is nothing in the physical properties of those metals which makes them gain value.

If you took all that gold to a tribal person living in a remote area, far from the so-called ‘civilized’ society, of what use will that be? Will that person even cast a second glance at it?

Diamond is your best friend?

If that is true, you have a huge problem. What glitters on your finger might fetch you some money, but can it replace a true friend? Or have money, status, and beauty become more important than friends?

Value of ideas and beliefs

We are usually able to assign a certain value to material objects, even though it is often arbitrary. Why is a Rolls Royce assigned a value many times that of a Hyundai? Surely it cannot be that much more expensive to manufacture? Again, are we valuing the machine, or the status it is supposed to declare?

What about the value of intangible things?

Do a philosopher’s musings have any value? And how do you quantify the value of the ideas of different philosophers? Is it based on how much they help society to make progress? But that is often not evident until decades, if not centuries, later. And what constitutes progress, anyway? Is it just the acquisition of more and more material goods by more and more people?

Areté and virtue

Going way back in history, one discovers the Greeks using the term areté. This was used to mean lots of things. Dictionaries today supply the meaning “virtue, moral excellence, perfection.”

The ancient Greeks used this term to imply excellence, and all people were supposed to aim for areté, to live up to their full potential.

Areté is related to “aristos,” which means the best. This is also the root for “aristocrat.” So areté implied being the best you could be.

Areté is a quality, not just in people, but also in things and animals. A strong horse, beautiful pottery, an excellent house: the Greeks considered all of them to have areté.

In his “Allegory of the Cave,” Plato implies that areté is the ideal form of a thing.

You always strive for it.

Thus Homer’s heroes were noble, chivalrous in warfare and well-versed in appropriate social conduct.

Clearly, there is value in the concept of virtue.

A life of money or virtue?

Money can be stolen. Achievements can pale. Virtue, however, shines forever, through centuries.

Virtue adds value to the human race.

Areté, virtue, and justice

Areté was also a goddess in Greek mythology.

Praxidike was the goddess of justice, and had two daughters, Homonoia and Areté. Together, these sisters were known as Praxidikai, or the exacters of Justice.

Prodicus, a Sophist from the 5^th century BC, tells a story where the hero Heracles meets Areté as a young maiden at a crossroads. She offers him glory, as well as a life spent in fighting against evil. Kakia, a counterpart of Areté, offered Heracles a life of pleasure and wealth.

Heracles opted to follow Areté: a personification of virtue.

Go back even more?

The Greek civilization was ancient, but not ancient enough. The Greek language is ancient, but not ancient enough.

The Indians and Ṛta

Around 4000 BC, the Indians conjured up the concept of Ṛta. This was a universal force, a universal order.

The Proto-Indo-European language, a precursor of most of the languages of the modern world, has this root, ṛta, which is similar to ṛtam in Sanskrit (order, truth, rule; that which is properly joined). This is the principle of a cosmic order. This regulates the entire universe, and embodies what is right and what is wrong.

From this ṛtam are derived the words “right,” “ritual,” and “arithmetic.”

Interestingly, from this root arise the concepts of Dharma, or duty, and Karma, or action. These concepts embody the entire philosophy of leading a virtuous, happy and satisfying life.

More about this in subsequent posts.

Stay tuned!

Read more about a satisfying life

You can examine the concepts of duty, selfless action, and happiness in the book “How to Lead a Satisfying Life: 11 Universal Lessons from the Gita,” which is available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W5TGM1U.