Morally Virtuous

Morally Virtuous

Virtue and morality are things we all possess to some degree. We all try to be as virtuous as possible. It is a daunting task to be the most morally virtuous since we are competing against each other everyday. However, being morally virtuous might hinder another aspect of a person like attractiveness. Attractiveness whether physical or mentally can be lessened. Being morally virtuous does in fact entail that an individual be a personally unattractive character.

In todayÐ'Ѓfs society we demand perfection in every way. Physical beauty is one of the most desired aspects of a person. Sometimes we focus more on visual beauty than being a good person. But to be a virtuous person several things are needed. First of all for one to be virtuous one also has to forget about his physical attributes. Moral virtue is based on Ð'ЃebeingÐ'Ѓf and the quality of character. The character therefore includes all types of qualities, good and bad. Normally we exclude the bad qualities since we do not relate them to virtue. Aristotle said Ð'Ѓgvirtues are simply those characteristics that enable individuals to live well in communitiesÐ'Ѓf. So to live well or happy we need those characteristics that are good. Going back to beauty, it contrasts to moral virtue. Because physical attractiveness is desired so much, we can derive that we are all shallow. We can confirm this because we all have the urge to engage in sexual activities. And usually one would want to have contact with another who is physically attractive. The will to find a beautiful mate is not virtuous because we are excluding those visually challenged. Beauty can even affect business and religion. An example of this is the prejudice employers have against someone who is less visually attractive than someone who is attractive. In this case the attractive person will get the job based on looks only. This visual sifter is not a good characteristic because pleasure can be acquired no matter how beautiful an individual is. Shallowness is not a good quality to have although everyone is to some extent. Since shallowness is a trait we all have it opposes moral virtue making us unattractive mentally. To argue against this one can say that beauty makes us happier; it sort of makes everything around us more pleasant. And that is okay because we look for happiness. Another way physical