What is Truth? Virtue, Authentic Self, and Beatitude

As one rationally chooses to pursue habituation, Virtue develops in the individual. For Aristotle, Virtue is not necessarily something that exists in the human being as much as it is an idea that can be developed. Virtue, simply put, describes any characteristic that reorients one from non-rational self-involvement to a rational, relationship-based mindset. That is, as we pursue Virtue we shift from fixation on material Truth and the floor and walls of the Pit, and we begin to look at “the Other” and a possible route leading out of the Pit. Virtue makes one more concerned about the well-being of the self and others as it relates to eudaimonia or Beatific Vision and less concerned about the non-rational appetitive mind of the self, which tends to be selfish in nature. The result of the habituation of Virtue in the individual is a relationship-oriented ethic which further fosters harmony within and between the individual and others, the result of which is Peace. 

Trinitarian Abbey in Adare, Co. Limerick, Ireland. The Sacred Heart of Jesus, perhaps more than any other Christological image, represents the Authentic Self and what it means to be "fully human". (photo P. Smith).

Aristotle does not state this directly, but it is in this state of Peace and harmony where we experience little or no anxiety; where we can be free to “speak” and “hear” what Augustine will call our Verbum. This Virtuous state of humanity further allows one to hear the Verbum of others, which, according the Aristotle, makes the Virtuous the most likeable of all characters. The Virtuous experiences eudaimonia or Beatific Vision because they can relate well to their authentic “voice” or “Verbum” and they can relate well to the authentic voice or Verbum of others. The rational mind, Prudence, habituation, Virtue, and ethics, therefore, relate to form an individual and social condition whereby the individual and others can relate in such a way that their Authentic Self can best be expressed. Just as the Trinity is in perfect union within itself and each person of the Trinity can speak their Verbum, when we are in increasingly similar relationships, we approach our Authentic Self. Those increasingly similar relationships can be experienced in time and space; essentially, the Virtuous and enduring relationships we experience in time and space are Sacramental visions of the transcendent Authentic Self.