Virtue – a particular moral excellence

I believe that Self-control is a moral excellence.
Human beings are creatures driven by appetites. We hunger for food, power, sex, comfort, security, meaning, purpose, justice, freedom and a host of other good things. We can end up spending our lives pursuing them. The desire for these things and how we go about satisfying those appetites define much of what we do and who we are.

Our passions constantly tempt us to chase one or more of these things to the exclusion of all other things. The price we are willing to pay to get what we hunger for is often high for us personally and for those we love. Sometimes, we would rather die than live without the things we hunger for. Often, once we’ve paid the price, we find that the thing we thought we could not live without does not satisfy like we thought. It is s not worth what we had to pay. When that happens, we live with regrets.

When we abandon the good of others (or even our selves) in order to chase the things that satisfy our appetites; when we abandon the other virtues in order to get what we want right now; when we become driven by our appetites we become self-centered – we become selfish.

Self-Control is the ability to overcome these desires and live according to what we know is right. The
Self-Controlled person defines life by Virtue rather than appetite.

The Self-Controlled person is in control of his appetites. He is able to live in a way that is good for himself and the people around him even when his appetites are screaming at him to get what he wants at any cost.

The Self-Controlled person knows that experiences and possessions do not define her. She is aware that she lives as part of a community and that her immediate desires do not necessarily translate into what is good for the community.

Self-Controlled people are able to choose whether they will serve themselves or their community. If they have other Virtues, that translates into choosing to exercise Virtue rather than pursue appetites.

Imagine a community in which people exercise Self-Control – not only would vice begin to disappear, but everything would begin to get better. People would stop taking the lazy way and start putting in the effort necessary to do the right thing. Our communities would get cleaner (people might put forth the effort to throw garbage in a garbage can). It might become a pleasure to drive in traffic (people might actually let the other guy go first). Those things are just the beginning.

What else could happen if people were Self-Controlled?

What would that look like?