It seems that one way to understand why depression is on the rise, including this low-grade malaise and melancholy in our society, is by looking at the values within our secular, highly materialistic society. It is a house of cards, and at a certain point, it cannot provide what we truly need to be satisfied.
This is why I argue in my work that that our lists of virtue/vice pairs allow us not only to recognize and parse virtuous and vicious behaviors and thus pursue virtue and avoid vice moment to moment, but also allow us to orient our attitudes and actions towards the future. I can only make virtuous plans and see the opportunities in the world to actively pursue virtue and avoid vice if I maintain an attitude of virtue that leads me forward into the future.
It does seem that our great problem is one of sight and that we only start to see when we inhabit or practice virtue. For me the question is what is the highest good? There seem to be definitions, especially in the context of civic religion, which are contrary to the Logos.
It seems that one way to understand why depression is on the rise, including this low-grade malaise and melancholy in our society, is by looking at the values within our secular, highly materialistic society. It is a house of cards, and at a certain point, it cannot provide what we truly need to be satisfied.
I think that is exactly right.
Reminds me of the poem by William Stafford:
Wisdom is having things right in your life and knowing why
If you do not have things right in your life you will be overwhelmed
You may be heroic but you will not be wise…
This is why I argue in my work that that our lists of virtue/vice pairs allow us not only to recognize and parse virtuous and vicious behaviors and thus pursue virtue and avoid vice moment to moment, but also allow us to orient our attitudes and actions towards the future. I can only make virtuous plans and see the opportunities in the world to actively pursue virtue and avoid vice if I maintain an attitude of virtue that leads me forward into the future.
It does seem that our great problem is one of sight and that we only start to see when we inhabit or practice virtue. For me the question is what is the highest good? There seem to be definitions, especially in the context of civic religion, which are contrary to the Logos.