NE 203: Ethics & Moral Reasoning for Naval Leaders
Virtue is Habit Forming (or, Habits are Virtue Forming)
Moral habits are, well, habit forming. The implication here is that we ought to do the kinds of things that are characteristic of the kind of person we want to be or become. Secondly, the things we do tend to form the kind of person we become. Our perceptions shape our purposes, our purposes manifest in action, actions form habits, habits rarify into character, and our character helps fix our nature, which, in turn, grounds our perceptions.
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The habits we form will affect our performance:
This is both good and bad news:
Reflect on these questions:
- If character has an impact on moral deliberation, what is the impact of habit on character?
- How can we develop the kinds of habits that lead to good character that lead to good choices -- and the courage to make them?
- What is the buried caution in the video about the backward bicycle?
- In what ways do we sometimes--even unintentionally--pick up bad habits that scuttle our ability to maintain azimuth?
- Can habits be learned? How?
