Moral Habits or Mental Habits?
by Joseph Rowlands
I've seen some Objectivists describe virtues as a kind of moral habit. I believe the idea is that by practicing them consistently, they become second-nature to you. If you consciously practice the virtue of honesty, then your immediate reaction in any given situation is to tell the truth. As you act virtuous, it gets easier to do.
I don't intend to disagree with that view of virtues. I think that benefit is real and useful. But I have a very different view of the important of virtues. I see them as a kind of mental habit. You get used to thinking in a particular way, and seeing things that are sometimes unclear. Let's look at some examples.
I'm told that someone has lied to get a better job than they deserve. The virtue of honesty makes me immediately explore what kinds of consequences there might be. He won't be able to perform at that level, and so he's going to build up a reputation of being incompetent. Instead of impressing his future coworkers, he's going to disappoint them. He may get a momentary "win" by getting something he doesn't deserve, but he'll lose in future opportunities.
Or take independence. I'm told how some girl has it so lucky. She managed to find some guy who takes care of her. He makes the money, and she gets to spend it. I'm told it's a great deal, and it's everything she could hope for. But I see that there are major problems. As he brings in the money, whatever skills or potential she might have had disappear. She may benefit financially, but she's ending up relying on him. The longer she goes, the more costly it would be. While she thinks she has the better position between them, he's the one who can afford to leave it. Her reliance on him puts him in the position of superiority. I could go on to show how that major inequality could damage the relationship, or cause resentment on both sides.
In each of these cases, understanding the virtues and their roots gives you insights into the effects of a course of action. The benefit of the virtues in these cases is not to automate your own good behavior. The benefit is to automate your understanding of these kinds of actions. The principles allow you to focus quickly on the underlying reasons behind the virtues, and consequently allow you to quickly assess the costs and benefits of these actions.
The examples I gave above have been talked about by others who were envious. They might have believed that the person was doing something wrong or immoral, but they fully expected them to reap positive rewards from their actions while avoiding any costs. They only saw the promotion to the better job. Or they only saw the financial benefits without any labor. They didn't think about whether there were costs associated with those choices.
Part of that stems from an underlying perception of a moral/practical dichotomy, where morality is seen as a roadblock to successful living. That's certainly true when one's morality is based on a standard of self-sacrifice. But that only partly explains it. Another part is a focus on the obvious benefits gained by the actions, without seeing the more subtle "unseen effects" of the actions.
I think this is primarily because virtues are often treated as rules or duties. Practicing them may still give you the positive side-effect of making the actions habitual, but you lose sight of the reasons for the virtue, and it's easy to think that violating it might lead to success. By merely treating them as habits of action, you neglect the focus on why they are virtues in the first place. You lose sight of the benefits to your own life.
A ruled-based morality wants to encourage automatic, unthinking behavior. Objectivism differs in trying to promote principled thinking that leads to principled actions. It focuses on understanding the benefits of right action, and the costs of taking shortcuts. While it is important to practice the virtues, it shouldn't be done blindly.
Virtues should create a habit of thinking, not just a habit of action. These mental habits should aim at bringing the highest level of clarity and understanding to your choices. You should act morally not because you're used to it, but because the benefits have become so clear and obvious, there's no temptation to do otherwise.
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