Vices

Vices

Wikipedia defines vice as “a practice or a behavior generally considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society”.  In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, or a bad or unhealthy habit. 

The poet Dante Alighieri identified these as the seven deadly vices:

Ø  Pride/vanity

Ø  Envy/jealousy

Ø  Wrath/anger

Ø  Sloth/laziness

Ø  Avarice (I had to look this one up—it means “greed” or a desire to possess more than one has need or use for)

Ø  Gluttony

Ø  Lust

There’s been some newer thinking about what constitutes a vice.  Those identified above are character traits expressed by actions.  The newer definition of vices looks at emotions that are felt and gives examples of hate, greed, vanity, envy and cruelty (you can see the overlap).  The notion is that these emotional vices are overcome not by suppressing them but rather by feeling and cultivating the opposite virtue.

I’m surprised that none of these examples of vices include criminality.  Maybe that’s because different “associated societies” have different definitions of what constitutes criminal behaviors.  I think people also use the term “vice” in a more casual fashion, such as when they describe their enjoyment of chocolate, or coffee, or even stitching.  I certainly wouldn’t call any of those depraved or immoral!