The Brain and “Virtue”

One doesn’t hear much about “virtue” these days. Growing up, I certainly heard more about it than in recent years. I was taught that the word itself referred to behavior showing high moral standards; a quality considered morally good or desirable in an individual and something to be practiced whether the person was alone—with no one watching—or when with others. Indeed the Latin words virtus and the Ancient Greek ἀρετή "arete" refer to moral excellence. So what is “moral excellence? The term moral was defined in several dictionaries as “the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong.” The word excellence was defined as the quality of being outstanding or extremely good. Combining them the definition could be the quality of being outstanding or extremely good in doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. More tomorrow.