History Main / VirtueViceCodification

* Temperance. See chastity. Opposite of wantonness.

* Trustworthiness. The principle of safeguarding the trust placed in oneself by others. Opposite of treacherousness.

* Trust. Suffers a strained relationship with vigilance. The inclination to allow strangers the benefit of the doubt rather than assuming the worst about them without due cause. Opposite of mistrust, which in many ways is similar to paranoia (see vigilance).

* Tolerance. The principle of reserving judgement until certainty is achieved that it is due. Opposite of [[PrejudiceTropes prejudice]].

* Ambition. The motivation to strive towards one's goals. This may in turn be motivated by personal satisfaction, societal glory or material gain. The version that is motivated exclusively by the last of these is a classic [[EvilVirtues Evil Virtue]]. Opposite of lethargy.

* Autonomy. The principle of acting out of one's own moral convictions, rather than out of simple obedience to external authority. This is necessary for moral accountability. Simply acting on the whim of an external authority has been a classic way to escape responsibility and accountability for one's actions. Autonomy needs to be tempered with virtues pertaining to the collective like duty, loyalty and fidelity, but since the definition entails acting in accordance with one's moral views, as long as these values are part of one's personal ethical code, there is no contradiction. Loyalty can be evoked from autonomy as easily as from its opposite. Opposite of servility.

* Obedience. The unswerving dutifulness to political or familial authority. Deeply problematic for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who has studied any contemporary history whatsoever. History is ripe with examples of mass slaughter (wars included) and other crimes against humanity resulting simply from people being obedient to an immoral authority. Obedience ceases to be good the moment the authority toward whom it is exercised ceases to be so.

* Loyalty. The principle of guarding the interests of those with whom bonds of trust, affection or camaraderie have been formed. Opposite of fickleness or illoyalty.

* Tolerance. The principle of reserving judgement until certainty is achieved that it is due. Opposite of prejudice.

* Camaraderie. The willingness to form social bonds based on affection and habit of facing joy and hardship together with friends rather than alone. Needs to be tempered with independence, see below. Opposite of severance.

* Solidarity. The insight that one can accomplish much more in union with others with whom interests are shared than alone, through the means of organization and co-operation. Opposite of self-sufficiency ([[http://www.facebook.com/apeaceofconflict/posts/434220453312926]]).

* Charity. Synonymous with generosity. The will to give of oneself and one's own property to help satisfy the greater need of another. Opposite of stinginess (in the specific sense unwillingness to give). Note that greed is ''not'' an exact opposite of this virtue. The opposite of greed would rather be the satisfaction to lead one's own life with a minimum of personal property. This has seldom been called out as a virtue in western culture, for some reason.

* {{Forgiveness}}. The capacity to relate to the flaws of others with empathy, and forego any punitive action or attitude out of this understanding. Opposite of vengefulness.

* Humility. A realistic view of one's own limitations and place in the world, while at the same time possessing a true sense of one's own worth. This need not imply acceptance, unless one truly knows that one's lot cannot be changed. Opposite of [[Main/{Pride} pride]] or arrogance, both of which denote having an inflated sense of self-worth. Can also be regarded to be at odds with meekness, which is having a deflated sense of the same. A "golden mean" virtue.

* Humility. A realistic view of one's own limitations and place in the world, while at the same time possessing a true sense of one's own worth. This need not imply acceptance, unless one truly knows that one's lot cannot be changed. Opposite of [[{Pride} pride]] or arrogance, both of which denote having an inflated sense of self-worth. Can also be regarded to be at odds with meekness, which is having a deflated sense of the same. A "golden mean" virtue.

* Humility. A realistic view of one's own limitations and place in the world, while at the same time possessing a true sense of one's own worth. This need not imply acceptance, unless one truly knows that one's lot cannot be changed. Opposite of [[Pride pride]] or arrogance, both of which denote having an inflated sense of self-worth. Can also be regarded to be at odds with meekness, which is having a deflated sense of the same. A "golden mean" virtue.

* Humility. A realistic view of one's own limitations and place in the world, while at the same time possessing a true sense of one's own worth. This need not imply acceptance, unless one truly knows that one's lot cannot be changed. Opposite of pride or arrogance, both of which denote having an inflated sense of self-worth. Can also be regarded to be at odds with meekness, which is having a deflated sense of the same. A "golden mean" virtue.

* Forgiveness. The capacity to relate to the flaws of others with empathy, and forego any punitive action or attitude out of this understanding. Opposite of vengefulness.

Some gender theorists, notably Simone de Beauvoir, have argued that the leading cause of [[DoubleStandard sexism]] is the traditional emphasis on [[MenActWomenAre utilitarian virtues for males, and social virtues for females]]. This creates a deep identity schism, leading to all sorts of [[GenderDynamicsIndex unsubstantiated prejudices about both genders]].

One classical system of virtues from history is the SevenHeavenlyVirtues and their counterparts the SevenDeadlySins, but there have been many others. This is the trope for works that define or otherwise deal with such a system in order to form a moral narrative.

* The Charge of the Goddess names the eight virtues as wisdom, beauty, strength, power, mirth, reverence, compassion and humility.

When featured in video or tabletop games, virtue systems often takes the form of [[KarmaMeter scorekeeping scales]] that represent a protagonist's prowess in a certain virtue. The player's actions in the game will add to or subtract from the player's virtue scores. These scores themselves may be anywhere from fully visible to completely hidden to the player, but they are sure to have some kind of effect on the gameplay. Sometimes they affect whether [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] react positively or negatively towards the PlayerCharacter, for instance. Character trackers of this kind are particularly common in computer-based role-playing games, particularly [[WesternRPG western]].

When featured in video or tabletop games, virtue systems often takes the form of [[KarmaMeter scorekeeping scales]] that represent a protagonist's prowess in a certain virtue. The player's actions in the game will add to or subtract from the player's virtue scores. These scores themselves may be anywhere from fully visible to completely hidden to the player, but they are sure to have some kind of effect on the gameplay. Sometimes they affect whether [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] react positively or negatively towards the PlayerCharacter, for instance. Character trackers of this kind are particularly common in computer-based role-playing games, both [[EasternRPG eastern]] and [[WesternRPG western]].

* Autonomy. The principle of acting out of one's own moral convictions, rather than out of simple obedience to external authority. This is necessary for moral accountability. Simply acting on the whim of an external authority has been a classic way to escape responsibility and accountability for one's actions. Should however be tempered with virtues pertaining to the collective like duty, loyalty and fidelity. Opposite of servility.

* Autonomy. The principle of acting out of one's own moral convictions, rather than from external influence. This is necessary for moral accountability. Simply acting on the whim of an external authority has been a classic way to escape responsibility and accountability for one's actions. Should however be tempered with virtues pertaining to the collective like duty, loyalty and fidelity. Opposite of servility.

* Humility. A realistic view of one's own limitations and place in the world, while at the same time possessing a true sense of one's own worth. This need not imply acceptance, unless one truly knows that one's lot cannot be changed. Opposite of pride or arrogance, both of which denote having an inflated sense of self-worth. Can also be regarded to be at odds with meekness, which is having a deflated sense of the same.

* Humility. A realistic view of one's own limitations and place in the world, while at the same time possessing a true sense of one's own worth. This need not imply acceptance, unless one truly knows that one's lot cannot be changed. Opposite of pride or arrogance, both of which denote having an inflated sense of self-worth.

* Mirth. Closely related to cheer but includes an element of sharing of one's joy through laughter or playful activity. Often follows cheer naturally and without further effort. Can also be simulated even when down in order to safeguard the cheer of others, although finding cheer for oneself is of course the preferred route to expressing mirth, as simulation of emotions is both exhausting and insincere. Opposite of glumness. ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNrXMOSkBas]])

* Mirth. Closely related to cheer but includes an element of sharing of one's joy through laughter or playful activity. Often follows cheer naturally and without further effort. Can also be simulated even when down in order to safeguard the cheer of others, although finding cheer for oneself is of course the preferred route to expressing mirth. Opposite of glumness. ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNrXMOSkBas]])

* Mirth. Closely related to cheer but includes an element of sharing of one's joy through laughter or playful activity. Often follows cheer naturally and without further effort. Opposite of glumness. ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNrXMOSkBas]])