How To Be Good

Yes, habit is stronger than reason, something Aristotle understood 2,300 years ago.

When Plato claimed that moral wrongdoing was the result of ignorance, that no one would knowingly do wrong, Aristotle replied that people often know what they’re doing is wrong, but do it anyway. Think of drug addicts or wife beaters, for example.

Ethics depend on character, and Aristotle understood that character is the result of repeated actions, of habit.

Recognizing that fact, I would therefore suggest that the school of thought called “virtue ethics” has a lot to recommend it. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that virtue ethics “…emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing one’s duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences. A virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: ‘Act as a virtuous person would act in your situation.’”

What this means, as a practical matter, is that to increase the odds that you will behave like a good person, you should practice being one.

If you regularly act with honesty, with courage, with kindness, with forethought and forbearance — even when, or especially when, you may find it difficult to do so — those qualities will finally be habitual. They will form your character. They will become you, in more ways than one.