So, what is moral virtue? How have philosophers understood it?
A moral virtue is an acquired disposition that becomes an integral part of a person’s character and manifests itself through habitual behaviour. It is not an occasional act of goodness but a consistent way of being. Trustworthiness, for instance, is one of the defining virtues of a person of character. Such an individual does not cheat others and, without seeking recognition, safeguards the moral interests of others rather than remaining confined to self-interest. A virtuous person naturally places the common good above personal gain. It is this habitual disposition that makes such a person worthy of our trust.
Today, this idea deserves renewed attention if we are serious about repairing the ethical foundations of society. The fundamental questions of morality must be asked repeatedly: What qualities make a human being morally good? What kind of habits shape an ethical life?
Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics: The Golden Mean
Aristotle answers by describing moral virtue as a habit that prepares a person to live according to reason. Habits are formed through repeated actions, and it is these repeated actions that cultivate reason-based decision-making, even in situations of power, temptation, or pressure. He argues that virtue lies in the Golden Mean—the middle path between the two vices of excess and deficiency.
Take the emotion of pleasure. Self-indulgence represents the vice of excess, while self-deprivation represents the vice of deficiency. Repeatedly choosing either extreme gradually forms habits that deform character rather than strengthen it. The virtue that lies between these extremes is temperance. Aristotle reminds us that virtues, like all habits, are acquired through repetition. If a person repeatedly chooses excessive or deficient emotions and actions, there is little possibility of becoming virtuous. Virtue ethics therefore asks us to cultivate habits that consistently choose the mean over either extreme.
Consider another example. Power often breeds ego and narrows one’s vision. “We” is quietly replaced by “I”, and the capacity to learn diminishes because the willingness to unlearn disappears. Whether in governance or everyday life, ego corrodes trust, empathy, and compassion. It eventually gives rise to envy, where those driven by arrogance fail to appreciate the contributions of others and even lose their own joy when those around them succeed.
Take the simple act of speaking about oneself. The vice of excess is boastfulness. If boasting becomes a repeated behaviour, it eventually turns into habit and gradually weakens one’s moral character. The vice of deficiency, on the other hand, is false modesty. This too distorts character when practised repeatedly. The Golden Mean here is honesty. A virtuous individual neither exaggerates nor conceals the truth. Such a person feels comfortable speaking honestly and uncomfortable with falsehood. Over time, truthfulness becomes not merely an action but a settled disposition of character.
Virtue and Public Service
For a civil servant, this means exercising authority without becoming authoritarian, showing compassion without compromising fairness, and maintaining integrity without becoming self-righteous. Virtue lies in balance.
Now imagine institutional leaders interacting with ordinary citizens while repeatedly displaying behaviours rooted in excess or deficiency. Virtue ethics offers a powerful mirror to examine the quality of trust between institutions and the last person in society. The same principle applies to all human relationships. A society in which both leaders and citizens habitually drift towards excess or deficiency is bound to witness the slow erosion of its ethical fabric. Incidents of fire, collapsing bridges, corruption, fraud, cheating, and institutional failure will continue to dominate newspaper headlines until they become the new normal.
Yet, whenever we walk into a government office, meet a public servant, speak to a neighbour, or place our faith in an institution, we expect the person before us to act with integrity. We expect virtue. But how can the world we refuse to build ever come into existence?
George Orwell’s 1984, Munshi Premchand’s Godan, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Bhagavata Purana continue to confront us with the same timeless question: Is it really so difficult to become a morally good person?
If the answer is no, then why do so few choose the habits that lead to the Golden Mean? Why do we continue to cultivate the vices of excess and deficiency instead of the virtues that sustain trust, justice, and human dignity?
Perhaps the world does not merely need better laws or stronger institutions. It needs more virtuous human beings.
(The writer is the author of ‘Being Good’, ‘Aaiye, Insaan Banaen’, ‘Kyon’ and ‘Ethikos: Stories Searching Happiness’. He teaches courses on and offers training in ethics, values and behaviour. He has been the expert/consultant to UPSC, SAARC countries, Civil services Academy, National Centre for Good Governance, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI), National Judicial Academy, etc. He has PhD in two disciplines and has been a Doctoral Fellow in Gandhian Studies from ICSSR. His second PhD is from IIT Delhi on Ethical Decision Making among Indian Bureaucrats. He writes for the UPSC Ethics Simplified (concepts and caselets) fortnightly.)
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"Perhaps the world does not merely need better laws or stronger institutions. It needs more virtuous human beings", writes our ethicist Nanditesh Nilay. (Image source: AI generated) 
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