Is it a Crime?

We have concluded that ethics is a study on things that benefit and bring enjoyment to our lives verses the things that destroy and bring deficiency. Virtue describes what is best for certain arenas of the soul. But to know what these are specifically, we have to sort out the different parts of the soul. The three parts are passions, faculties, and states of character. We have feelings that come with pleasure and pain such as longing, envy, confidence, joy, appetite, anger and fear. The feelings themselves belong to the passion part of our soul. We have memories, sight, sounds and associations. The capacity to feel comes from our faculties. There are standards that tell us how much of each passion to apply in order for it to be good. It might be bad to act out in rage or wrong to be passive about something. This is our state of character.

We can’t say that virtue and vices are passions because feelings aren't chosen so we shouldn't make judgments according to how someone feels. Feelings aren't bad in themselves, it is how they are applied. To be angry over nothing or to care too little can both be bad. Anger is a passion we need. We approve of those who apply it properly. Passions are not a choice since we talk of how certain things move us and not the other way around. Virtue and vice concern purpose and choice.  Since having the capacity to feel a certain way or to have a certain kind of personality isn't a crime then we have to conclude that virtue must be a state of character. We avoid the generality that clams abstaining from our natural passions is the only way to be happy. This allows us to focus better and learn what brings improvement to our character and happiness to our souls by getting the most out of our passions.