Plato’s cardinal virtues

According to the old Greek thinkers, there are in all seven virtues of which four are called Cardinal Virtues while rest three are called Theological virtues. The “Cardinal” ones are those which all civilised people recognise. The “Theological” are those which, as a rule, only Christians know about.

Plato identifies four “cardinal virtues” that are necessary for a happy individual and that are necessary for a good society. He also believed that the ideal state should be with people with such virtues. The four cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude {or Courage}.

Here is a brief description of these four virtues keeping in focus the public service.

Prudence

Prudence literally means “discretion in practical affairs”. Prudence is called the charioteer of the other virtues because it guides and sets the rule and reason for the other virtues.  Prudence is the footprint of Wisdom.

In public servants, the qualities like courage, perseverance, loyalty and fidelity to principles matter. But different circumstances may demand different attributes. If we have to settle on one quality above the others, it would be prudence, which encompasses practical wisdom, insight, and knowledge. Prudence is right reason in action. Prudence plays a vital role in terms of guiding and regulating all the other virtues. For example, courage in the pursuit of a foolish policy can lead to a catastrophe. For these reasons, prudence is the charioteer of the virtues.

Justice

Justice is the flawless order by which every human being do their own business, the right man in the right place, i.e. the class and division of citizens. Justice is a more abstract than the other virtues. He states that justice in the State means justice in the individuals who form the State. Justice states civic strengths that underlie healthy community life.

• Teamwork: working well as a member of a group or team; being loyal to the group.
• Equality: Treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice.
• Headship: organizing group activities and seeing that they happen.

Temperance

Temperance is a strength that protects against excess; and consists self-regulation and obedience to authority. It suggests harmony among conflicting elements. The virtue of temperance is the friendship of the ruling and the subject principles, both in the State and in the individual. Temperance does not detain the reasonable pleasures that are contrary to our reason. It requires us to prepare ourselves even when we are not faced with an immediate temptation. The lack of temperance challenges prudence, i.e., being careful about one’s choices; not taking undue risks; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted.

Fortitude / Courage

Courage is bravery based on justice. It removes obstacles that come in the way of justice. It is a willingness to sacrifice one’s own life for others. It enables us to face the difficulty that comes in the way of justice. Fear is the reaction that comes naturally to any threat.

A brave man acts in the face of his reasonable fear. It is the never-failing salvation of the opinions which law and education have prescribed concerning dangers. It is the emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition, external or internal.

• Valour: not shrinking from threat
• Determination: finishing what one starts
• Reliability: speaking the truth but presenting oneself in a genuine way
• Vigour: approaching life with excitement and energy

What is Unity of Virtues?

There has been a longstanding ethical debate about what is called “the unity of the virtues.” To many of the ancient Greek philosophers, a person could not possess one of the cardinal virtues without possessing them all. These philosophers ask: How could a person who cannot control his or her appetites (thus is intemperate) be just or prudent? Socrates believed that virtue was a matter of understanding, and that once a person understood good and evil; he or she would naturally be prudent, temperate, courageous, and just. The example of the unity of the virtues, is that a politician who cheats on his wife is not someone who can be trusted with the public’s business either. True virtue is that where all parts of the soul are pulling in the same direction i.e. toward the good. The cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, are like the upper management of the other virtues for they regulate our practical actions or good habits in specific ways.