Virtues
A virtue is a character trait that a human being must cultivate in order to maintain and enhance his or her life. Even though individuals act autonomously at any moment, over time they tend to acquire certain habits of character by which their behavior can be predicted to some degree. While this observation cannot be used to justify negative behavior arising from character flaws, it does help us to understand such behavior. (Similarly, when we examine political systems in Section 5, we shall find that social and cultural factors may explain trends in crime and other negative behavior, although they do not justify such actions in any way.) Humans, like all life forms, are self-generated beings (cf. p. 1.4:19). Within limits and over time, consequently, individuals determine their own traits of character. In seeking to build a virtuous character, the egoist is motivated, not by a sense of "duty," but by love for his or her life. As we shall show, each of the virtues discussed here has important practical benefits for the individual, both inwardly (in its consequences for one's mental life and psychology) and outwardly (in its effects on one's interaction with reality and with others).