Our Best

My hope is that this brings clarity to those who read it as helps us examine the world of emotions and passions in an objective way. It seems that faced with issues in life it is best to step back and look things over without preconceived notions. This kind of thinking is relaxing to me. I love seeing passion in people (probably too much) and motives, good or bad, fascinate me. So here is the ending to book one. Only nine left...   

The goal in finding virtue is to bring what is good and what brings happiness to humans. Human virtue originates in the soul and so we are safe to say that happiness comes from there also. A doctor is interested in getting the best out of one’s body. He will want to know all about every area and how it works. Knowing all about the human soul is equally important especially since it is the arena of happiness. This isn't an exhaustive study but we will catch the highlights enough to answer questions sufficiently in the topics we discuss. We don’t want to get distracted or bored. There are numerous theories where the physical, emotional and spirit separate but these aren't pertinent to our study. Our focus will be on the rational and irrational areas of our souls.

The irrational part has two parts. One part can be observed in anything that is living; the part that causes nutrition and growth. From embryo to adults, there is something inside us that commands our functions to do what they were designed to do. We see it at work the most when we are asleep. During this time we don’t participate in good or bad since that part of the soul is unaware. We certainly cannot hold people accountable for their dreams. Some say that good people have better than normal dreams but this is a futile debate in the same way that saying that happiness is influenced by the dead. We have to conclude that this part of the soul is for nourishment only and cannot be a part of human excellence since we have no control over it.

But there is a part of the irrational soul where we do participate in decisions. That is our passions and desires. Some people seem to have the natural ability to do obey what is right.  The rest of us struggle with this. We all have an element inside of us that fights against doing what is best for our soul. It affects the soul in the same way that a malfunctioning nerve does in the body. A limb with a bad nerve might spasm or go numb. A malfunction of the soul isn't as obvious. Where the negative element comes from is anyone’s guess, but we have to recognize that it exists and it is kept in line with rational principles. A temperate man will keep his passions in line according to these principles while an undisciplined person follows the unproductive part, many times against his own will.

 The two parts of the irrational soul are vegetative without reason while the appetite and desire part of our soul has an element of consideration. Take into account those we love for example; We don’t do mathematical accounting when making decisions concerning them but our decisions are affected by how we feel about them. This part of the soul is influenced more by giving and taking advice than teaching data and knowledge. We use these advised principles to temper our emotions and feelings. It can be said that this particular part of the irrational soul also has two parts: The passions and feelings themselves that are to be taken at face value and a part that is principled that we obey like a father. Now that we recognize the different areas of the soul we can go on to virtue. 

Virtue has two parts that parallel what we have been discussing. There is both the intellectual and the moral part. Philosophy, understanding and practicalities are intellectual pursuits. Liberality and temperance are moral pursuits. While having knowledge gives one merit, directing our passions properly gives a person good character. Virtue is simply developing both our intellect and character in a manner that brings out the best in a person.