The past week has focused the world’s attention on several violent incidents. The murders of Henry Nowak and Austin Metcalf, along with the recent knife attack in Belfast, all highlight the growing disorder in our society. For many ages, the moral virtues – patience, temperance, fortitude and others – safeguarded the common good. As we have lost a true understanding of human nature, we have also lost sight of its purpose. Without reason to direct them, the moral virtues waste away. Without these virtues, society becomes incapable of understanding justice or preserving the common good. The violent acts that have shocked public attention this week are not merely isolated crimes; they are symptoms of a deeper moral crisis. A society that neglects the cultivation of virtue will eventually find itself unable to secure either justice or social peace.
9:00 PM
The common good depends on a constellation of virtues
Recent acts of violence reveal what Aristotle and Aquinas understood: justice cannot survive in isolation but depends upon the cultivation of the moral virtues
David Hahn
5 min read
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