Values Vs. Virtues

There are real and very important differences between what we now call values and the virtues as they had traditionally been understood. Let me put it this way. A value is like a smoke ring. Its shape is initially determined by the smoker, but once it is released there is no telling what shapes it will take. One thing is certain, however. Once a smoke ring has left the smoker’s lips it has already begun to evaporate into thin air.

Volition and volatility are characteristics of both smoke rings and values. By contrast, a virtue might be compared to a stone whose nature is permanence.…