VIRTUOUS LIVING - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

African police in dangerous operations motivated by racism, or destructive operationsby activists against an oppressive system, motivated by anger and sometimesinvolving innocent victims. Where the intrinsic link between “courage” and the“pursuit of good” is absent, courage is almost meaningless as a virtue. For instance,courage has been attributed to villains, such as the action of a burglar. Wrightmaintained, for example, that some actions require “guts” or a display of bravery thatcould be referred to as courageous. Foot argues that some villainous actions takecourage to perform, even if we should hesitate to describe them as courageous acts(Walton 1986:221).Fear is not the only motivation and need not be the qualifier emotion (real orperceived) for courageous actions. Neither is courage limited to heroic actions only.There are small courageous victories in daily lives, recounted by Geach, from whichan individual builds self-awareness and confidence.For example, we may consider the progressive courage of a child learning how towalk, which comes to an end once the child masters the skill. Perhaps the courage totrust again after enduring hardships and disappointments comes eventually. Thecourage to try after failure requires one to summon inner strength and resilience. Thecourage to challenge a status quo may be of the radical type, while courage topersevere in hardships calls for a patient spirit. The courage to disclose one’sHIV/AIDS status, the courage to accept one’s situation as opposed to a sense ofresignation may be prized, the ability to endure shame and public ridicule, and so thelist of different “forms” of courage goes on. Habitual acts of courage qualify asvirtuous actions because they provide impetus for courageous living. Courageousliving, in turn, develops into the experience of proper judgement. This enables aperson to know when it is appropriate to undertake a particular task. This is the virtueof temperance.3.1.2.2 The virtue of temperance/moderation“Temperance” and “moderation” are two words often used interchangeably to refer tothe same virtuous trait. According to Aristotle, temperance is the virtue in which themoral agent is judged by his/her ability to choose the appropriate “means” between186